Nablus

Sunday, 03 February 2013

Witness - Nablus: The Business of Occupation

Ein Yanun, Nablus, West Bank | workforhope.org

Startup Weekend Nablus#2 2013 - Ibrahim Taha joke

Nablus Alternative Tour - Culture - Politics - People

Street Jokes (2.17) - Nablus نكت شوارع - من نابلس

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Abu Dis
Abu Dis (Arabic: أبو ديس‎) is a Palestinian town in the Jerusalem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority bordering Jerusalem. Since the 1995 Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Abu Dis has been part of Area B, under joint Israeli and Palestinian control. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Abu Dis had a population of 12,100 in mid- 2006.
Abu Dis was one of the most populous villages in the Sanjak of Jerusalem during the 16th century, with a population of several hundred. Wheat and barley formed the bulk of cash crops, but were supplemented by grapes, olives, fruit trees, beans, and products from goats and bees. Descendants of Saladin lived in the village and were entrusted one-third of the grain revenue by the Ottoman Empire. The adult males of the village paid a combined 6,250 akçe in annual taxes, a much more lower figure than other villages of the same size in the sanjak such as Beit Jala, Ein Karim, and Deir Dibwan. This could indicate that Abu Dis was less prosperous, alternatively it could be because it had fewer non-Muslims. In October 1553, Shaykh Sa'd al-Din al-Sharafi al-Maliki was appointed as the administrator of the waqf of the village, but was replaced in 1554 by Muhammad al-Fakhuri at the request of three prominent villagers who complained to the qadi of Jerusalem. He remained in this position until 1563.

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Abu Ghosh
Abu Ghosh (Arabic: أبو غوش‎; Hebrew: אבו גוש‎) is an Arab Israeli town in Israel, located 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) west of Jerusalem on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway. It is situated 610–720 meters above sea level. In 2010, it set the Guinness World Record for largest dish of hummus. Abu Ghosh is known for its good relations with the State of Israel and welcoming attitude toward Israelis.
Abu Ghosh is one of the earliest areas of human habitation in Israel. Archaeological excavations have revealed 3 neolithic settlement phases, the middle phase is dated to the 7th millennium BCE. Its old Arabic name of Qaryat al'Inab ("Grape Village") has led Abu Ghosh to be identified with the biblical site of Kiryat Ye'arim.Legio X Fretensis of the Roman army had a station house in Abu Ghosh until the end of the 3rd century. The village has also been associated with Anathoth, the birthplace of the prophet Jeremiah.
Abu Ghosh is the name of an Arab family that settled here in the early 16th century. According to the family tradition, they had Circassian descent, and the founder fought with Selim I. In the 18th century they lived in a village near Beit Nuba, from which they ruled the surrounding region. However, according to the tradition, the Bani Amir tribesmen and the villagers of Beit Liqya rose against them and slaughtered the entire Abu Ghosh clan except for one woman and her baby, who continued the Abu Ghosh name.

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Afula
Afula (Hebrew: עֲפוּלָה‎‎; Arabic: العفولة‎, al-ʻAfūlaḧ) is a city in the North District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley", referring to the Jezreel Valley. The city had a population of 40,500 at the end of 2009.
Located in the Jezreel Valley, Afula is roughly halfway between Jenin and Nazareth. It is mentioned in the Books of Kings (2 Kings 5, 24) in connection with Elisha and the disciple of Elijah, who lived in the vicinity.
The 12th-century sultan Saladin founded an Arab village named al-Fulah on the site. In 1226, Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi mentioned it as being "a town in Jund Filastin," and formerly a Crusader castle between Zir'in and Nazareth. In 1799, during Napoleon's Syrian campaign, the Battle of Mount Tabor was fought around al-Fulah.
In 1909 or 1910, Yehoshua Hankin completed his first major purchase in the Jezreel Valley. He bought some 10,000 dunams (10 km²) of land in Al-Fuleh (now Afula), which became the home of Merhavia and Tel Adashim. This purchase also marked the start of bitter disputes between Arabs and Jews over the rights of tenant farmers who had been evicted, and regarding the employment of Jewish or Arab watchmen for the land.

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Aleppo
Aleppo (Arabic: حلب‎ Ḥalab [ˈħalæb], other names) is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,132,100 (2004 census), it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant. For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppo is distinct in identity, architecture and culture, all shaped by a markedly different history and geography.
Aleppo is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world; it has been inhabited since perhaps as early as the 6th millennium BC. Excavations at Tell as-Sawda and Tell al-Ansari, just south of the old city of Aleppo, show that the area was occupied since at least the latter part of the 3rd millennium BC; and this is also when Aleppo is first mentioned in cuneiform tablets unearthed in Ebla and Mesopotamia, in which it is noted for its commercial and military proficiency. Such a long history is probably due to its being a strategic trading point midway between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia.

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Amman
Amman (Arabic: عمان‎ /ɑːˈmɑːn/; ʿAmmān; Rabat Ammon) is the capital and largest city of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost 6.5 million by 2025 due to constant and rapid immigration. The recent economic growth experienced in Amman is unmatched by any other Arab city except those located in the Gulf. Amman is also the administrative seat of the homonymous governorate. Amman is also ranked a Gamma global city on the World city index.
Amman was named one of the MENA's best cities according to economic, labour, environmental, and socio-cultural factors. Amman is among the most popular locations for multinational corporations to set up their regional offices, alongside Doha and only behind Dubai. Furthermore, it is expected that in the next 10 years these three cities will capture the largest share of multinational corporation activity in the region. It is a major tourist destination in the region and the capital is especially popular among Gulf tourists. Amman is considered one of the richest and most Western-oriented cities in the Middle East.

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Aqraba
Aqraba (Arabic: عقربة‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate, located eighteen kilometers southeast of Nablus in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Aqraba had a population of approximately 8,180 inhabitants in 2007.
Nearby hamlets surrounding Aqraba for natural extensions of the town; they are the khirbets of al-Arama, al-Kroom, Abu al-Reisa, al-Rujman, Firas al-Din and Tel al-Khashaba. The total population of these hamlets is estimated to be 500. The prominent families of Aqraba are Bani Jaber, al-Mayadima, Bani Jame', Bani Fadel and al-Deili.
Aqraba is mentioned several times in the Bible as Akrabbim being at the southern boundary of the "Promised Land". Its Hebrew translation is "scorpions".
In the town is a mosque built of ancient stones with Greek inscriptions and contained a cross. According to local tradition and a number of British scholars believe the mosque was originally a Byzantine-era church. To the north of the village there is a fort called Qal'at al-Hosn consisting of a block of buildings put on the hill. The masonry is drafted with a rustic boss. A cistern exists within the enclosure which still holds water. A birkeh ("pool") stands in the middle of Aqraba near the hillside nearby are some kokhim tombs.

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Awarta
Awarta (Arabic: عورتا‎) is a Palestinian town located 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) southeast of Nablus, in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 5,623 inhabitants in 2007. Awarta's built-up area consists of 540 dunams and is governed by a village council.
Awarta has been inhabited since Biblical times and throughout Palestine's rule by the Byzantine Empire, the Islamic Caliphate and during Ottoman rule. Between the 4th and 12th centuries, the town was an important Samaritan center, being the location of one of their main synagogues.
The Hill of Phinehas related in the Bible is associated with the location of the town of Awarta. Three large monuments in the town are attributed to the priestly family of Aaron. According to tradition, they are the burial sites of his sons Ithamar and Eleazar. His grandson Phinehas is believed to be buried at the site alongside his son Abishua — the latter is especially revered by the Samaritans, who believe that he wrote the Torah. The seventy Elders are believed to be buried in a cave near Phinehas' tomb. On the western side of Awarta lies the tomb Muslims attribute to Nabi Uzeir, Ezra the scribe.

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Azmut
’Azmut (Arabic: عزموط‎)is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in the eastern West Bank, located five kilometers northeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 2,724 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

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Baghdad
Baghdad (Arabic: بغداد‎, Baġdād, IPA: [bæɣˈdæːd]) is the capital of Republic of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Province. The population of Baghdad as of 2011 is approximately 7,216,040, making it the largest city in Iraq, the second largest city in the Arab World (after Cairo, Egypt), and the second largest city in Western Asia (after Tehran, Iran).
Located along the Tigris River, the city was founded in the 8th century and became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. Within a short time of its inception, Baghdad evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center for the Islamic World. This in addition to housing several key academic institutions (e.g. House of Wisdom) garnered the city a worldwide reputation as the "Center of Learning". Throughout the High Middle Ages, Baghdad was considered to be the largest city in the world with an estimated population of 1,200,000 people. The city was largely destroyed at the hands of the Mongol Empire in 1258, resulting in a decline that would linger through many centuries due to frequent plagues and multiple successive empires. With the recognition of Iraq as an independent state (formerly the British Mandate of Mesopotamia) in 1938, Baghdad gradually regained some of its former prominence as a significant center of Arabic culture.

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Balata
Balata Camp (Arabic: مخيم بلاطة‎) is a Palestinian refugee camp established in the northern West Bank in 1950, adjacent to the city of Nablus. It is the largest refugee camp in the West Bank. Balata Camp is densely populated with 30,000 residents in an area of 0.25 square kilometers.
In 1950, the UN gave the refugees from the Jaffa area temporary housing. These people initially refused the UN's offers, stating their eagerness to return to their homes. They desired no sense of permanence. After two years, they accepted the offer and settled at Balata. In 1956, the Jaffa refugees desired more permanent housing. After the border with the State of Israel was sealed, the refugees moved into concrete housing that replaced the original tents.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) funds a school in the Balata camp, with approximately 5,000 pupils. The Yaffa Cultural Center in Balata operates a guesthouse, children’s theater and cinema, children’s library and media center.

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Bani Suheila
Bani Suheila (Arabic: بني سهيلا‎) is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip's Khan Yunis Governorate. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics the population of Bani Suheila had grown from 8,220 in 1945 to 32,800 people in mid-year 2006. The city is currently under Hamas administration.
During the night of August 31, 1955, Israeli armed forces attacked Bani Suheila. On April 5, 1956 Israeli artillery shelled the town.

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Battle of Nablus
The Battle of Nablus was fought from April 5 to April 8, 2002 in the Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinian forces, as part of Operation Defensive Shield in the Second Intifada. It resulted in an Israeli victory.
Of all the West Bank towns, the IDF General Staff was particularly concerned about the expected resistance in Nablus, and especially in its Casbah. Hamas and Fatah had launched dozens of suicide bombers. Despite a previous successful raid on Balata, the General Staff still estimated hundreds of armed men would be entrenched in the city, causing the IDF heavy casualties. Two days after the start of Defensive Shield, an extension of the operation north of Ramallah, to Nablus and Jenin, was approved. Originally, the mission was given to a reserve division, but was later transferred to the more experienced West Bank Division. The division's commander, Brigadier General Yitzhak Gershon, received two regular infantry brigades, the Paratroopers Brigade and the Golani Brigade, along with a reserve armored division. A private contractor allowed the commander of the Paratroopers 890th battalion to use a construction site for training for three days. There was a near-mutiny among one reserve armored platoon, who claimed they were not properly trained for urban warfare. High ranking armor officers eventually talked them into joining the operation.

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Beit Furik
Beit Furik (Arabic: بيت فوريك‎) is a Palestinian town located nine kilometers southeast of Nablus, in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 10,339 inhabitants in 2007. During the 19th century and mid-20th century, Beit Furik was the main supplier of lime to the Nabulsi soap industry based in Nablus.

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Beit Hanoun
Beit Hanoun (Arabic: بيت حانون‎) is a city on the north-east edge of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 32,187 in mid-year 2006. It is administered by the Hamas administration. It is located by the Hanoun stream, just 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) away from the Israeli town of Sderot.
According to a legend, Beit Hanoun was the capital of the Philistine King Hanoun, who fought the Assyrians in the 8th century BCE.
The Ayyubids defeated the Crusaders at a battle in Umm al-Nasser hill, just west of Beit Hanoun, and built the Umm al-Naser Mosque ("Mother of Victories Mosque") there in commemoration of the victory. A Mamluk post office was located in Beit Hanoun as well.
In the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the vicinity of Beit Hanoun, and later Beit Hanoun itself, served as a tactical wedge (Beit Hanoun wedge), stuck by the Israel Defense Forces to disrupt the movement of the Egyptian army from Majdal to its forces to the south in the area that later became the Gaza Strip.

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Beit Hasan
Beit Hasan (Arabic: بيت حسان‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in the North central West Bank, located 14 kilometers East of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the village had a population of 891 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

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Beit Iba
Beit Iba (Arabic: بيت إيبا‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in the North central West Bank, located 7 kilometers Northwest of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 3,268 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

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Beit Imrin
Beit Imrin (Arabic: بيت امرين‎, transliterated as "House of Princes") is a Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 18 kilometers northwest of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the village had a population of 2,821 inhabitants in 2007.
Beit Imrin is an agricultural village with the main products being pulses, grains, vegetables, olives, grapes, alonds and figs. There is a girls' primary school and a boys' secondary school in the village. Other public facilities include a health clinic, telephone and postal services.
Beit Imrin was founded by Arabs from nearby Burqa and the Bani Hassan tribe of eastern Jordan who also populated Qarawat Bani Hassan. The towns of Sebastiya is located to the southwest, the village of Ijnisinya to the south, Burqa to the northwest and Yasid to the east.
The Beit Imrin Village Council was established in 1966 with the first mayor being Ayad Youssef Abdel-Rahman Ahsan. The council consists of nine members including the mayor who currently is Basheer Samarah.

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Beit Jala
Beit Jala (Arabic: بيت جالا (help·info)‎) is an Arab Christian town in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank. Beit Jala is located 10 km south of Jerusalem, on the western side of the Hebron road, opposite Bethlehem, at 825 meters (2,707 ft) altitude. In 1997, Beit Jala had 12,239 inhabitants, predominantly Christian Palestinians with a Muslim minority, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
In 1952, following a Israel Defense Forces reprisal raid in Beit Jala in which seven civilians were killed, a complaint was lodged that Israel had violated the General Armistice agreement. The United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation issued a condemnation of Israel for breaching the agreement.
Beit Jala control was assumed by the Palestinian Authority, following the 1993 Oslo accords.
During the Second Intifada, Tanzim militants used Beit Jala as a base for launching launch sniper and mortar attacks on the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo. Gilo is located on a hilltop across from Beit Jala, partially on the lands of Beit Safafa and Sharafat. The Israeli government built a concrete barrier and installed bulletproof windows in homes and schools facing Beit Jala. The gunmen positioned themselves in or near Christian homes and churches in the knowledge that a slight deviation in Israeli return fire would harm Christian buildings.

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Beit Lahia
Beit Lahia (Arabic: بيت لاهيا‎) is a city located north of Jabalia, near Beit Hanoun and the 1949 Armistice Line with Israel. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the city had a population of 59,540 in mid-year 2006.Hamas, an Islamist party, took control of it during the 2005 municipal elections, and is still administring the city, together with the entire Gaza Strip.
The word “Lahia” is Syriac and means “desert” or “fatigue”. It is surrounded by sand dunes, some rise to 55 m (180 ft) above sea level. The area is renowned for its many large sycamore fig trees. The city is known for its fresh, sweet water, berries and citrus trees.
Beit Lahia has an ancient hill and nearby lay abandoned village ruins. A mihrab, or mosque alcove indicating the direction of salaah (prayer), is all that remains of an ancient mosque to the west of Beit Lahia dating to the end of the Fatamid period and beginning of the Ayyubid Dynasty of Saladin, and two other mosques dating to the Ottoman period.

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Beit Sahour
Beit Sahour (Arabic: بيت ساحور‎ pronounced Bayt Saahoor (help·info)) (lit. Place of the Night Watch) is a Palestinian town east of Bethlehem under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority. The population of 12,367, is Christian and Muslim.
There are two enclosures in the eastern part of Beit Sahour which are claimed by different Christian denominations to be the actual 'Shepherds Field': one belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church and the other, the Catholic site, to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.
The name Beit Sahur belongs to two places in the vicinity: Beit Sahur al-Atiqah ("ancient Beit Sahur") and Beit Sahur an-Nasara ("Beit Sahur of the Christians"). 16th century Arab geographer Mujir al-Din mentions the former in a biography of a Muslim scholar Sha'ban bin Salim bin Sha'ban, who died in the town in 1483 at the age of 105. The former was noted by French geographer Guerin as being 40 minutes away from Jerusalem, a short distance south of the Qidron Valley.
Beit Sahur al-Atiqah surrounded the tomb of Sheikh Ahmad al-Sahuri, a local saint to whom the local Arab tribe of al-Sawahirah attribute their name. The Sawahirah originate from the Hejaz and entered Palestine through al-Karak. The Survey of Western Palestine describes the town as "Ruins of a village with wells and a mukam." The modern Beit Sahur was described by the same survey as "sort of a suburb of Bethlehem, situated on the same ridge, with the broad plateau east of it known as the 'shepherd's plain'".

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Beit Ummar
Beit Ummar (Arabic: بيت اُمّر‎) is an Arab town located eleven kilometers northwest of Hebron in the Hebron Governorate. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2007, the town had a population of 13,348 inhabitants. Over 4,800 residents of the town are under the age of 18. Since the Second Intifada, unemployment ranges between 60 to 80 percent due mostly to the inability of residents to work in Israel and a depression in the Palestinian economy. A part of the city straddles Road 60 and due to this, several propositions of house demolition have occurred.
Beit Ummar is mostly agricultural and is noted for its many grape vines. This has a major aspect on their culinary tradition of stuffed grape leaves known as waraq al-'inib and a grape syrup called dibs. Beit Ummar also has cherry, plum, apple and olive orchards.
Beit Ummar is believed to be the site of Biblical village of Maarath. The modern town was named after the Islamic Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab who supposedly frequented the town. Many of the town's residents are descendants of Arab Christian families and the old city contains Christian ruins.

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Beit Wazan
Beit Wazan (Arabic: بيت وزن‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 4 kilometers northwest of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 1,120 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

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Beitunia
Beitunia (Arabic: بيتونيا‎) also Bitunya is a Palestinian town located 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) west of Ramallah and 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) north of Jerusalem. The town is in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 19,761 in 2007, making it the third largest locality in its governorate after al-Bireh and Ramallah.
Beitunia's land area consists of 2, 617.4 hectares (26,174 dunams) of which 336.2 hectares is built-up area. The Israeli West Bank barrier separates the urban area from 66% of the town's lands, however most of the cut-off territory (Seam Zone) is made-up of forest and open spaces making it prime agricultural and grazing land.
Hussein Mahmoud 'Awad 'Alian (17 years old) was killed by IDF gunfire on 16 April 2004 during demonstrations against the barrier.

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Bethlehem
Bethlehem (Arabic: بيت لحم‎ Bayt Laḥm (help·info) or Bēt Laḥm, lit "House of Flesh"; Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם‎ Bēṯ Leḥem, Modern: Bet Leḥem, IPA: [bet ˈleχem], lit "House of Bread;" Greek: Βηθλεὲμ, Vithleém) is a Palestinian city located in the central West Bank and approximately 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism. The Hebrew Bible identifies Bethlehem as the city David was from and the location where he was crowned as the king of Israel. The New Testament identifies Bethlehem as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. The town is inhabited by one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, although the size of the community has shrunk due to emigration.
The city was sacked by the Samaritans in 529, but rebuilt by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. Bethlehem was conquered by the Arab Caliphate of 'Umar ibn al-Khattāb in 637, who guaranteed safety for the city's religious shrines. In 1099, Crusaders captured and fortified Bethlehem and replaced its Greek Orthodox clergy with a Latin one. The Latin clergy were expelled after the city was captured by Saladin, the sultan of Egypt and Syria. With the coming of the Mamluks in 1250, the city's walls were demolished, and were subsequently rebuilt during the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

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Bizziriya
Bizziriya or Bazzariya (Arabic: بزاريا‎) is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, located 20 kilometers northwest of Nablus at the northernmost point of the Nablus Governorate. It is situated in a valley, having an altitude of 460 meters above sea level. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Bizziriya had a population of over 2,252 inhabitants in 2007. In 1997, 7.3% of Bizziriya's residents were refugees. The village's prominent families are Hamad, Hassan, Awad and Salem.

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Cairo
Cairo ( /ˈkaɪroʊ/ KYE-roh; Arabic: القاهرة‎ al-Qāhira, literally "The Vanquisher" or "The Conqueror"), is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Located near the Nile Delta, it was founded in the year 969 A.D. making it 1,043 years old. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life. Cairo was founded by the Fatimid dynasty in the 10th century AD.; but the land composing the present-day city was the site of national capitals whose remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo is also associated with Ancient Egypt due to its proximity to the ancient cities of Memphis, Giza and Fustat which are nearby to the Great Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza.
Egyptians today often refer to Cairo as Maṣr (Arabic: مصر‎), the Arabic pronunciation of the name for Egypt itself, emphasizing the city's continued role in Egyptian influence. Cairo has the oldest and largest film and music industries in the Arab World, as well as the world's second-oldest institution of higher learning, al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in the city, and the Arab League has had its headquarters in Cairo for most of its existence.

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Como
Como listen (help·info) (Lombard: Còmm; Latin: Comum) is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como.
Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps has made Como a popular tourist destination and the city contains numerous works of art, churches, gardens, museums, theatres, parks and palaces: the Duomo (seat of Diocese of Como), the Basilica of Sant'Abbondio, the Villa Olmo, the public gardens with the Tempio Voltiano, the Teatro Sociale, the Broletto (the city’s medieval town hall) and the 20th century Casa del Fascio.
Como was the birthplace of many historically notable figures, including the (somewhat obscure) poet Caecilius who is mentioned by Catullus in the 1st century BCE, the far more substantial literary figures of Pliny the Elder and the Younger, Pope Innocent XI, the scientist Alessandro Volta, and Cosima Liszt, second wife of Richard Wagner and long-term director of the Bayreuth Festival.
The hills surrounding the current location of Como have been inhabited, since at least the Bronze Age, by a Celtic tribe known as the Orobii. Remains of settlements are still present on the wood covered hills to the South West of town.

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Constantinople
Constantinople (Greek: Κωνσταντινούπολις, Konstantinoúpolis; Latin: Constantinopolis; Ottoman Turkish: قسطنطینیه, Qostantiniyye; and modern Turkish: İstanbul) was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Latin and the Ottoman Empires. It was founded in AD 330, at ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine I, after whom it was named. The city was the largest and wealthiest European city of the Middle Ages, and shared the glories of the Byzantine Empire, which was eventually reduced to the city and its environs.
Although besieged on numerous occasions by various peoples, it was taken only in 1204 by the army of the Fourth Crusade, in 1261 by Michael VIII, and in 1453 by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. An inner wall was erected by Constantine I, and the city was surrounded by a triple wall of fortifications, begun during the 5th century by Theodosius II. The city was built on seven hills as well as on the Bosporus, and thus presented an impregnable fortress enclosing magnificent palaces, domes and towers. The Church of Hagia Sophia, the sacred palace of the emperors, the hippodrome, and the Golden Gate were among the largest of the many churches, public edifices, and monuments lining the arcaded avenues and squares.

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Crete
Crete (Greek: Κρήτη; [kriti]) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits (such as its own dialect, poetry, and music). Crete was the centre of the Minoan civilization (c. 2700–1420 BC), the earliest civilization in Europe, comprising the first palaces in Europe.
The island is first referred to as Kaptara in texts from the Syrian city of Mari dating from the 18th century BC, repeated later in Neo-Assyrian records and the Bible (Caphtor). It was also known in ancient Egyptian as Keftiu, strongly suggesting some form similar to both was the Minoan name for the island.
The Mycenaean Greek name for Crete is unknown; it is not mentioned in extant Linear B texts. The name Crete (Κρήτη) first appears in Homer's Odyssey. Its etymology is unknown. One speculative proposal derives it from a hypothetical Luvian word *kursatta (cf. kursawar "island", kursattar "cutting, sliver"). In Latin, it became Creta.

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Cyprus
Cyprus ⁱ/ˈsaɪprəs/ (Greek: Κύπρος, Kýpros, IPA: [ˈcipɾos]; Turkish: Kıbrıs, IPA: [ˈkɯbɾɯs]), officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία, Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía, IPA: [cipɾiaˈci ðimokɾaˈtia]; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti, IPA: [ˈkɯbɾɯs dʒumhuɾijeˈti]), is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria, Lebanon, northwest of Israel and north of Egypt. Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and the Republic of Cyprus is a member state of the European Union.
The earliest known human activity on the island dates back to around the 10th millennium BC. Archaeological remains from this period include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia, which has been declared a World Heritage Site with an "enhanced protection" status in the event of armed conflict by UNESCO, along with the archaeological sites of Paphos and the Painted Churches of the Troodos Region. Cyprus is home to some of the oldest water wells in the world.

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Damascus
Damascus (Arabic: دِمَشق‎ / ALA-LC: Dimashq; commonly known in Syria as al-Sham (Arabic: الشام‎ / al-Shām), and as the City of Jasmine (Arabic: مدينة الياسمين‎ / Madīnat al-Yāsmīn), is the capital and the second largest city of Syria. Both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religious center of the Levant. The city has an estimated population of 1,711,000 (2009 est.).
Located in southwestern Syria, Damascus is the center of a large metropolitan area of 2.6 million people (2004). Geographically embedded on the eastern foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range 80 kilometres (50 mi) inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean on a plateau 680 metres (2,230 ft) above sea-level, Damascus experiences a semi-arid climate due to the rain shadow effect. The Barada River flows through Damascus.
First settled in the 2nd millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad. Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. During Ottoman rule, the city decayed completely while maintaining a certain cultural prestige. Today, it is the seat of the central government and all of the government ministries. Damascus was chosen as the 2008 Arab Capital of Culture.

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Damietta
Damietta (Arabic: دمياط‎ Dumyāṭ), also known as Damiata, or Domyat, is a port and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the intersection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Cairo.
In Ancient Egypt, the city was known as Tamiat, but it became less important in the Hellenic period after the construction of Alexandria.
The Abbasids used Alexandria, Damietta, Aden and Siraf as entry ports to India and the Tang Empire of China. Damietta was an important naval base during the Abbasid, Tulunid and Fatimid periods. This led to several attacks by the Byzantine Empire, most notably the sack and destruction of the city in May 853.
Damietta was again important in the 12th and 13th centuries during the time of the Crusades. In 1169, a fleet from the Kingdom of Jerusalem, with support from the Byzantine Empire, attacked the port, but it was defeated by Saladin.
During preparations for the Fifth Crusade in 1217, it was decided that Damietta should be the focus of attack. Control of Damietta meant control of the Nile, and from there the crusaders believed they would be able to conquer Egypt. From Egypt they could then attack Palestine and recapture Jerusalem. When the port was besieged and occupied by Frisian crusaders in 1219, Francis of Assisi arrived to peaceably negotiate with the Muslim ruler. The siege devastated the population of Damietta. In October 1218 reinforcements arrived including the Legate Pelagius with the English earls Ranulf of Chester, Saer of Winchester, and William Aubigny of Arundel together with Odonel Aubigny, Robert Fitzwalter, John Lacy of Chester, William Harcourt and Oliver the illegitimate son of King John. In 1221 the Crusaders attempted to march to Cairo, but were destroyed by the combination of nature and Muslim defenses.

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Deir Sharaf
Deir Sharaf (Arabic: دير شرف‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 9 kilometers northwest of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 2,759 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

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Dublin
Dublin ( /ˈdʌblɨn/; locally /ˈdʊbᵊlən/; Irish: Baile Átha Cliath, meaning "town of the hurdled ford", pronounced [blʲaˈklʲiə] or Áth Cliath, [aː klʲiə], occasionally Duibhlinn) is the capital and most populous city of Ireland. The English name for the city is derived from the Irish name Dubhlinn, meaning "black pool". Dublin is situated near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and the centre of the Dublin Region.
Originally founded as a Viking settlement, it evolved into the Kingdom of Dublin and became the island's principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century; it was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire and the fifth largest in Europe. Dublin entered a period of stagnation following the Act of Union of 1800, but it remained the economic centre for most of the island. Following the partition of Ireland in 1922, the new parliament, the Oireachtas, was located in Leinster House. Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State and later the Republic of Ireland.

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Dundee
Coordinates: 56°27′50″N 2°58′12″W / 56.464°N 2.970°W / 56.464; -2.970
Dundee ⁱ/dʌnˈdiː/ (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Dè) is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 38th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea. Under the name of Dundee City, it forms one of the 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland.
The town developed into a burgh in Medieval times, and expanded rapidly in the 19th century largely due to the jute industry. This, along with its other major industries gave Dundee its epithet as the city of "jute, jam and journalism".
In mid-2008, the population of the City of Dundee was estimated to be 152,320. Dundee's recorded population reached a peak of 182,204 at the time of the 1971 census, but has since declined.
Today, Dundee is promoted as 'One City, Many Discoveries' in honour of Dundee's history of scientific activities and of the RRS Discovery, Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic exploration vessel, which was built in Dundee and is now berthed in the city harbour. Biomedical and technological industries have arrived since the 1980s, and the city now accounts for 10% of the United Kingdom's digital-entertainment industry. Dundee has two universities—the University of Dundee and the University of Abertay Dundee. A £1,000,000,000 master plan to regenerate and to reconnect the Waterfront to the city centre which started in 2001 is expected to be completed within a 30 year period, with the Dundee Victoria & Albert Museum opening within 5.

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Egypt
Egypt ⁱ/ˈiːdʒɪpt/ (Arabic: مصر, Miṣr, Egyptian Arabic: [mɑsˤɾ] ; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, Kīmi ; Sahidic Coptic: ⲕⲏⲙⲉ, Kēme), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: جمهوريّة مصر العربيّة (help·info), is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its over 81 million people live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.

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Einabus
Einabus (Arabic: عينابوس‎) is a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank, located 12 kilometers south of Nablus and a part of the Nablus Governorate. Nearby towns include Huwara and Beita to the east and Jammain to the south.
Settlement at Einabus' site dates back to the Jebusite era, however the village's inhabitants are descended Arab tribes that migrated to the area during the Rashidun rule of Palestine.^{[citation needed]} The village's old mosque was built during that time and is dedicated to Umar ibn al-Khattab. Until today, olives and figs remain primary sources of income for the residents of Einabus.
In 1596, Einabus appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Jabal Qubal of the Liwa of Nablus. It had a population of 49 Muslim households and paid taxes on wheat, barley, summercrops, olives, and goats or beehives.
In 1922, Einabus had a population of 227 inhabitants which rose to 340 in 1967 amounted to 1200 in 1987. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 2,340 in 2007.

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Florence
Florence (Italian: Firenze [fiˈrɛntse] ( listen), alternate obsolete form: Fiorenza; Latin: Florentia) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area.
Florence is famous for its history. A centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, Florence is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, and numerous religious and republican revolutions. From 1865 to 1870 the city was also the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy.
The historic centre of Florence attracts millions of tourists each year, and Euromonitor International ranked the city as the world's 72nd most visited in 2009, with 1,685,000 visitors. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. Due to Florence's artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and the city is noted for its history, culture, Renaissance art and architecture and monuments. The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Pitti Palace, amongst others, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics.

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France
France (English ⁱ/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km² (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km² / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.

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Furush Beit Dajan
Furush Beit Dajan (Arabic: فروش بيت دجن‎) is a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank, located 10 kilometers east of Nablus and a part of the Nablus Governorate. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of approximately 1,160 inhabitants in 2006.
Most of Furush Beit Dajan's residents are Bedouins or descendants of Bedouins who migrated from the village of Yattir in the Negev desert after being evicted by Israeli authorities in 1952. Most have abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and have adapted to farming. However, many still herd sheep and goats to the north of the village where there is a natural grazing area. Furush Beit Dajan receives most of its water from springs in the southern part of the village.

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Gaza
Gaza (Arabic: غزة‎ Ġazzah, Arabic pronunciation: [ˈɣazːa]), also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories. Inhabited since at least the 15th-century BCE, Gaza has been dominated by several different peoples and empires throughout its history. The Philistines made it a part of their pentapolis after the Ancient Egyptians had ruled it for nearly 350 years. Under the Romans and later the Byzantines, Gaza experienced relative peace and its port flourished. In 635 CE, it became the first city in Palestine to be conquered by the Rashidun army and quickly developed into a centre of Islamic law. However, by the time the Crusaders invaded the city in the late 11th-century, it was in ruins. In later centuries, Gaza experienced several hardships—from Mongol raids to floods and locusts, reducing it to a village by the 16th-century when it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire. During the first half of Ottoman rule, the Ridwan dynasty controlled Gaza and under them the city went through an age of great commerce and peace.

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Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (Arabic: قطاع غزة‎ Qiṭāʿ Ġazzah, IPA: [qitˤaːʕ ɣazza]) lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, within the Middle East (at 31 25 N, 34 20 E). The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest, 11km long, and Israel on the east and north, 51km long. It is about 41 kilometres (25 mi) long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres (4–7.5 mi) wide, with a total area of 360 square kilometres (140 sq mi). It has a 40 km coastline onto the Mediterranean Sea, but has no maritime claims due to Israeli administration. The territory takes its name from Gaza-city, its main city and administrative center.
The Gaza Strip has a temperate climate, with mild winters, and dry and hot summers, subject to drought. The terrain is flat or rolling, with dunes near the coast. The highest point is Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda), at 105 metres above sea level. Main resources are arable land (about a third of the strip is irrigated), and recently discovered natural gas. Environmental issues include desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation; and depletion and contamination of underground water resources.

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Halhul
Halhul (Arabic: حلحول‎, transliteration: Halhûl) is a Palestinian city located in the southern West Bank, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of Hebron in the Hebron Governorate. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the city had a population of 22,108 mostly Muslim inhabitants in 2007.
According to the Bible, Halhul was a city in the tribal territory of Judah, located in the hill country near Beth-zur.Biblical scholar Edward Robinson identified the modern town with the "Halhul" mentioned in the Book of Joshua.John Kitto noted that the modern name is identical with the Hebrew given in the Bible, hence "the name has remained unchanged for more than 3,300 years."
Chronicler Ali of Herat documented in 1173 CE, that while Halhul was a part of the Kingdom of Jerusalem of the Crusaders, it was a village in which the tomb of Yunis ibn Matta (Jonah son of Amittai) was located. Under the Ayyubids in 1226, a mosque with a minaret was constructed in the town. That same year, Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi visited Halhul, reporting that it lay between Hebron and Jerusalem and contained the tomb of Jonah. In the 14th-century, Jews were living in Halhul and Jewish traveler Isaac Chelo (1334) noted that the tomb of Gad the Seer was located there. For a time, the village served as a place of Jewish pilgrimage.

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Hama
Hama (Arabic: حماة‎ Ḥamāh [ħaˈmaː], Biblical Ḥamāth, ("Fortress") is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria north of Damascus. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 312,994 (2004 census), Hama is the fifth-largest city in Syria after Aleppo, Damascus, Homs and Latakia. The modern city is built on the site of the ancient city of Hamath ( /ˈheɪ.mʌθ/).
The city is renowned for its seventeen norias used for watering the gardens, which are locally claimed to date back to 1100 BC. Though historically used for purpose of irrigation, the norias exist today as an almost entirely aesthetic traditional show.
In the last decades, the city of Hama has become known as a center of the anti-Ba'ath opposition in Syria, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood. The city was raided by the Syrian Army, beginning with the 1964 Islamic uprising, and becoming the scene of carnage during the Islamic uprising in Syria in April 1981 and especially in 1982, when some 25,000 people were killed in what became known as Hama massacre. The city was once again besieged by the Syrian military, as one of the main arenas of the 2011 uprising.

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Hamaam
Hamaam (Arabic: حمام‎; Hebrew: חַמָּם‎‎), or Wadi Hamam, is a Bedouin village near the Sea of Galilee and Mount Arbel in northern Israel. It is the easternmost part of the al-Batuf Regional Council. It contains one fairly modern mosque and the trail head for the steep ascent of Mount Arbel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics the village had a population of 1,300 at the end of 2005.

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Hebron
Hebron (Arabic: الخليل (help·info) al-Ḫalīl; Hebrew: חֶבְרוֹן (help·info), Standard Hebrew: Ḥevron, Tiberian: Ḥeḇrôn ISO 259-3: Ḥebron), is located in the southern West Bank, 30 km (19 mi) south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters (3,050 ft) above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to an estimated 175,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter. The city is most notable for containing the traditional burial site of the biblical Patriarchs and Matriarchs and is therefore considered the second-holiest city in Judaism after Jerusalem. The city is also venerated by Muslims for its association with Abraham and was traditionally viewed as one of the "four holy cities of Islam."
Hebron is a busy hub of West Bank trade, responsible for roughly a third of the area's gross domestic product, largely due to the sale of marble from quarries. It is locally well known for its grapes, figs, limestone, pottery workshops and glassblowing factories, and is the location of the major dairy product manufacturer, al-Junaidi. The old city of Hebron is characterized by narrow, winding streets, flat-roofed stone houses, and old bazaars. The city is home to Hebron University and the Palestine Polytechnic University.

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Homs
Homs (Arabic: حمص‎ Ḥimṣ), previously known as Emesa (Greek: Ἔμεσα, Emesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is 501 metres (1,644 ft) above sea level and is located 162 kilometres (101 mi) north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is also the central link between the interior cities and the Mediterranean coast.
Homs is a major industrial center, and with a population of at least 652,609 people (2004 census), it is the third largest city in Syria after Aleppo to the north and the capital Damascus to the south. Its population reflects Syria's general religious diversity, composed mostly of Arabic-speaking Sunni Muslims and Alawite and Christian minorities. The city boasts a number of historic mosques and churches and is close to the Krak des Chevaliers, a world heritage site.
Homs did not emerge into the historical record until the 1st-century BCE at the time of the Seleucids. It later became the capital of a kingdom ruled by the Emesani dynasty who gave the city its name. Originally a center of worship for the sun god El-Gabal, it later gained importance in Christianity under the Byzantines. Homs was conquered by the Muslims in the 7th-century and made capital of a district that bore its current name. Throughout the Islamic era, Muslim dynasties contending for control of Syria sought after Homs due to the city's strategic position in the area. Homs began to decline under the Ottomans and only in the 19th century did the city regain its economic importance when its cotton industry boomed. During French Mandate rule, the city became a center of insurrection and, after independence in 1946, a center of Baathist resistance to the first Syrian governments. Homs has played a central role in the ongoing Syrian uprising against the Baathist government and since May 2011 has been under siege by the Syrian Army.

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Huwara
Huwara (Arabic: حُوّاره‎, ḥuwwarah, Arabic pronunciation (help·info)) is a Palestinian town located in the Nablus Governorate of the northern West Bank, 9 kilometres (6 mi) south of Nablus and forms an enclave between four Israeli settlements. It is approximately 4 miles (6 km) from Jacob's Well. As part of the West Bank Closures system, the town contains the main Israel Defense Forces checkpoint to enter the nearby city of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 5,800 in 2006.
In 1853, Huwara was engaged in a battle with the neighboring villages of Quza and Beita which left ten men and seven women dead.
At the time of the 1931 census, Huwara (together with the smaller location Bir Quza) had 240 occupied houses and a population of 955 Muslims.
The first elementary school was established in 1947, the school was converted in to secondary school in 1962, the first female elementary school was established in 1957. Huwara Elementary as well as secondary schools serves infants from neighboring villages up to the present time.

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Huwwara Checkpoint
Huwwara checkpoint (Arabic: حاجز حوارة‎) (Hebrew: מחסום חווארה‎, Makhsom Hawara) was a major Israel Defense Force checkpoint at one of the four main exits from Nablus. It was established on October 2000 to prevent smuggling of explosive belts and weapons from Nablus to be used in terror attacks in Israel. The facility was named for the nearby village of Huwwara.
In 2002, the checkpoint was open from morning to evening. Later, it remained open 24 hours a day. All vehicles were required to have special permits and be searched.
In 2008, renovations were carried out to ease the overcrowding.
In July 2009, the checkpoint was opened to allow pedestrians to cross freely without being searched. Vehicles were still spot checked.
On February 10, 2011, the IDF declared it was dismantling the checkpoint to enable Palestinian traffic between Nablus and Ramallah. Gershon Mesika of the Samaria Regional Council called it "irresponsible."
On March 24, 2004 a 16-year old, Hussam Abdo tried to pass through the checkpoint wearing a suicide explosive belt strapped to his body in an attempted suicide attack. In May 2005, a 15-year-old was arrested at the checkpoint with two pipe bombs inside a black bag, apparently instructed to give them to someone in Israel. In November 2007, two Palestinian teenagers were detained for interrogation after they were found to be carrying three bombs. A sapper detonated them without incident. In September 2008, a Palestinian woman threw acid in a soldier's face, leaving him blind in one eye.

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Idhna
Idhna (Arabic: إذنا‎) is a Palestinian town in the southern West Bank, located in the Hebron Governorate, 13 kilometers west of Hebron and about one kilometer east of the Green Line. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of approximately 19,012 inhabitants in 2007.
Idhna is physically divided into southern and northern parts by the Wadi al-Feranj. Idhna's primary source of income is agriculture and the town's total land area is 21,526 dunams (215km²), of which 2,809 dunams (28km²) are built up area. Idhna is governed by a municipal council of thirteen members and six departments.
Idhna's site was inhabited since Canaanite times (the Bronze Age), evident from ancient remains found in the town. The town is identified with the biblical city of Dannah, mentioned in Joshua 15:49.Hebrews, Byzantines and Arabs succeeded in gaining control of the town and coins, statues, tombs and pottery dating from these various rulers were found in the town.
Edward Robinson, who visited Idhna in 1838, recorded that the town's two parts were led by a sheikh and the inhabitants of each part followed and backed their respectable sheikh in internal quarrels. Adjacent to Idhna are the ruins of the original village which is totally covered by cultivable fields. Marble tesserae (mosaic stones) were found on the site.

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Ijnisinya
Ijnisinya (Arabic: اجنسنيا‎, ‘Ijnisinyâ ) is a Palestinian village located twelve kilometers northwest of Nablus in the Nablus Governorate. Most of the working-age inhabitants live as farmers. It has a population of about 560. Ijnisinya is governed by a village council. The village's history dates back to Byzantine rule in Palestine.
The Roman Empress Helena of Constantinople who temporarily resided in nearby Sebastiya (Sebastia) used to swim in the lake in Ijinsinya with her maids. The area at the time was a small lake surrounded by gardens. Men were forbidden from entering the area by Queen Helena in order to guarantee her and her maids privacy. The name Ijnisinya derives from Greek, translating as "the Eden of women" reflecting the original use of the village site.
Ijinsinya's mosque dates back to the days of Umar ibn al-Khattab and is currently part of the village school.
There is an Ancient Roman building named Sheikh Shu'la lies atop of a hill overlooking three villages, including Ijnisinya as well as, Sebastiya, and an-Naqura. The building is originally said to be a Roman monastery seven floors high. The remains of the monastery include stone closets, a prison, galleys, secret passageways, and several wells. Its name, Shu'leh is one of a number of Arabic words meaning "fire". The building was named thus because the Ayyubid sultan Saladin used it and similar buildings to transmit messages using fire.

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Israel
Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35
Israel, officially the State of Israel ( /ˈɪzriːəl/ or /ˈɪzreɪəl/; Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל‎, Medīnat Yisrā'el, IPA: [me̞diˈnät jisʁäˈʔe̞l] ( listen); Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل‎, Dawlat Isrāʼīl, IPA: [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel is defined as a Jewish and Democratic State in its Basic Laws and is the world's only Jewish-majority state.
Following the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 29 November 1947 recommending the adoption and implementation of the United Nations plan to partition Palestine, on 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine. Neighboring Arab states invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Portions of these territories, including east Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel, but the border with the neighboring West Bank has not yet been permanently defined.^{[neutrality is disputed]} Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have so far not resulted in peace.

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Italy
Italy ⁱ/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km² (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.

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Jabalia
Jabalia also Jabalya (Arabic: جباليا‎) is a Palestinian city located 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) north of Gaza City. It is under the jurisdiction of the North Gaza Governorate, in the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Jabalia had a population of 82,877 in mid-year 2006. The Jabalia refugee camp is adjacent to the city to the North. The city is currently ruled by a Hamas administration.
A large cemetery dating to the 8th century BC was found near Jabalia. The workmanship indicates that the Christian community in Gaza was still very much in existence in the early Islamic era of rule in Palestine, and capable of artistic achievements. The remains of the pavement spared by the iconoclasts show depictions of wild game, birds and country scenes. The late dating of the mosaic pavement proves that the intervention of the iconoclasts, after 750, is later than previously thought and is associated with Abbasid conservatives.
While working on the Salah ad-Din Road, laborers accidentally uncovered a monastery from the Byzantine period. The site was excavated by the Palestinian Department of Antiquities. Now the stunning Byzantine mosaics of the monastery are covered with sand to shield them from erosion caused by the direct impact of the winter rain.

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Jaffa
Jaffa (English pronunciation: /ˈdʒæfə/, /ˈdʒɑːfə/;Hebrew: יָפוֹ‎‎, Yāfō (help·info); Arabic: يَافَا‎ Yāfā (help·info); Latin: Joppe; also Japho, Joppa (transliteration from the Greek "Ιόππη") is an ancient port city believed^{[by whom?]} to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv in 1950 creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.
The name of the city is mentioned in Egyptian sources and the Amarna Letters as Yapu. There are several legends about the origin of the name Jaffa. Some say it is named for Japheth, one of the sons of Noah, who built it after the Great Flood.^{[citation needed]} The Hellenist tradition links the name to "Iopeia", which is Cassiopeia, the mother of Andromeda. An outcropping of rocks near the harbor is reputed to have been the place from which Andromeda was rescued by Perseus. Pliny the Elder associates the name with Jopa, the daughter of Aeolus, god of wind. The Arab geographer Al-Muqaddasi mentions it under the name Yaffa, which is used by Arabic speakers today.

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Jalud
Jalud (Arabic: ﺎﻟﻭﺩ‎) is a Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank. It is approximately 30 kilometers (19 mi) south of Nablus and is situated just east of Qaryut, south of Qusra and northeast of Shilo, an Israeli settlement. Its land area consists of 16,517 dunams (square kilometers), 98 of which constitutes its built-up area.
In 2007, Jalud's population was 464 according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). There were 91 non-residential buildings, 94 houses and five business establishments in the village. The average household size was 5.5 persons. According to Jalud's mayor, the village experiences high unemployment and migration due to land confiscation by Israel and sporadic violence from nearby Israeli settlements.
On 9 February 2011, Israeli settlers from Ahiya, a nearby settlement outpost, attacked Jalud, demanding residents evacuate their houses. Israeli police arrived following clashes between the settlers and Palestinian residents, dispersing the former using tear gas and stun grenades.

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Jenin
Jenin (Arabic: جنين (help·info)‎ Ǧanīn, Hebrew: ג'נין‎) is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 39,004 Jenin is under the administration of the Palestinian Authority.
Jenin was known in ancient times as the village of "Ein-Jenin" or "Tel Jenin". Tell Jenin, is located at the center of what is today Jenin's business district. The word "'ayn" means "water spring" in Arabic and the word "Jenin" might be related to the Arabic word جنّة (janna), which means "garden".^{[citation needed]} The arabicized name "Jenin" ultimately derives from this ancient name. The association of Jenin with the biblical city of Ein-Ganim was recognized by Ishtori Haparchi.^{[citation needed]}
Jenin overlooks both the Jordan Valley to the east and the Jezreel Valley (known in Arabic as "Marj Ibn Amer") to the north, and from the south it connects to the Samaria mountains.

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Jericho
Jericho ( /ˈdʒɛrɪkoʊ/; Arabic: أريحا‎ ʼArīḥā [ʔæˈriːħɑː] ( listen)); Hebrew: יְרִיחוֹ‎‎ Yeriẖo [jeʁiˈħo] ( listen) is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently inhabited site on earth. It is also believed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
Described in the Old Testament as the "City of Palm Trees", copious springs in and around Jericho have made it an attractive site for human habitation for thousands of years. It is known in Judeo-Christian tradition as the place of the Israelites' return from bondage in Egypt, led by Joshua, the successor to Moses. Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of more than 20 successive settlements in Jericho, the first of which dates back 11,000 years (9000 BCE), almost to the very beginning of the Holocene epoch of the Earth's history.

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Jerusalem
Jerusalem ( /dʒəˈruːsələm/; Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם‎‎ Yerushaláyim ; Arabic: القُدس‎ al-Quds and/or أورشليم Ûrshalîm) is the capital of Israel, though not internationally recognized as such, and one of the oldest cities in the world. It is located in the Judean Mountains, between the Mediterranean Sea and the northern edge of the Dead Sea. If the area and population of East Jerusalem is included, it is Israel's largest city in both population and area, with a population of 801,000 residents over an area of 125.1 km² (48.3 sq mi). Jerusalem is also a holy city to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times. The oldest part of the city was settled in the 4th millennium BCE. In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent. Today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters—known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond its boundaries.

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Jordan
Jordan ( /ˈdʒɔr.dən/;Arabic: اَلأُرْدُنّ, Al-'Urdunn), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Arabic: اَلمَمْلَكَة اَلأُرْدُنِيَّة اَلهَاشِمِيَّة), Al-Mamlakah Al-Urdaniyyah Al-Hashimiyyah) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing control of the Dead Sea with the latter. Jordan's only port is at its south-western tip, at the Gulf of Aqaba, which is shared with Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Over half of Jordan is covered by the Arabian Desert. However, the western part of Jordan is arable land and forests. Jordan is part of the Fertile Crescent. The capital city is Amman. According to the CIA World Factbook, Jordan has the second highest life expectancy in the Middle East, after Israel. The average life expectancy is one position behind the United Kingdom, although the age remains exactly the same (80.05 years).
The precursor to modern Jordan was founded in 1921 as the Hashemite Emirate, and it was recognized by the League of Nations as a state under the British mandate in 1922 known as The Emirate of Transjordan. In 1946, Jordan became an independent sovereign state officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. After capturing the West Bank area of Cisjordan during the 1948–49 war with Israel, Abdullah I took the title King of Jordan and Palestine, and he officially changed the country's name to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in April 1949.

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Judea
Coordinates: 31°41′56″N 35°18′23″E / 31.69889°N 35.30639°E / 31.69889; 35.30639
Judea or Judæa ( /dʒuː.ˈdiː.ə/; from Hebrew: יהודה‎, Standard Yəhuda Tiberian Yəhûḏāh "Tribe of Judah", Greek: Ιουδαία, Ioudaía; Latin: Iudaea) was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel (Hebrew: ארץ ישראל‎ Eretz Yisrael) from the 8th century BCE (Assyrian rule) to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.
The name Judea is a Greek and Roman adaptation of the name "Judah", which originally encompassed the territory of the Israelite tribe of that name and later of the ancient Kingdom of Judah. Judea was sometimes used as the name for the entire region, including parts beyond the river Jordan. It was the name in use in English until the Jordanian occupation of the area in 1948. Jordan called the area of Judea and Samaria ad-difa’a al-gharbiya (translated into English as the "West Bank"). "Yehuda" is the Hebrew term used for the area in modern Israel since the region was conquered and occupied by Israel in 1967.

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Jurish
Jurish (Arabic: جُريش‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 27 kilometers Southeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 1,384 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

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Kafr Qaddum
Kafr Qaddum (Arabic: كفر قدّوم‎) is a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank, located 13 kilometers west of Nablus and 17 kilometers east of Qalqilya in the Qalqilya Governorate. Surrounding towns include Jit to the east and Hajjah to the south. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of approximately 3,500 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.
Kafr Qaddum's total land area consists of nearly 19,000 dunams (about 8,000 under Palestinian civil administration and 11,000 under complete Israeli control). Its built-up area consists of 529 dunams. Olive groves make-up 80% of the remaining land, 15% is used for vegetation purposes, 5% are planted crops.
Prior to the Second Intifada, about 50% of the Kafr Qaddum's economy depended on work in Israel as the primary source of income, 20% depended on agriculture and animal raising, while 30% depended on jobs in private and public sectors. After 2002, over 75% of the population became jobless as business became the only other alternative for income generation. Emigration has registered a record level during the past two years ranging between 10-15 % of the total population. Since 2003 the road between Kafr Qaddum and Nablus is blocked thus elongating the travel distance by 14km. Since July 2011 weekly demonstrations are held in demand to re-open the road.

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Kafr Qallil
Kafr Qallil (Arabic: كفر قلّيل‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 4 kilometers South of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 2,421 inhabitants in mid-year 2006. Nearby cities: Nablus, Jerusalem, Amman

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Khan Yunis
Khan Yunis - often spelt Khan Younis or Khan Yunnis - (Arabic: خان يونس‎; literally Jonah's Caravanserai) is a city and adjacent refugee camp in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics the city, its refugee camp, and its immediate surroundings had a total population of 180,000 in 2006. Although Khan Yunis lies only 4 kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea, its climate is semi-arid with temperature of 30 degrees C maximum in summer and 10 degree C maximum in winter, with an annual rainfall of approximately 260 mm.
The Constituency of Khan Yunis had five members on the Palestinian Legislative Council. Following the Palestinian legislative election, 2006, there were three Hamas members, including Yunis al-Astal; and two Fatah members, including Mohammed Dahlan. The city is now under Hamas administration of Gaza.
Before the 14th century, Khan Yunis was a village known as Salqah. To protect caravans, pilgrims and travelers a khan was constructed there by Yunus al-Nûzûri in 789 Hijri / 1387 CE according to an inscription on its main entrance, accounting for the new name of the growing town. (Yunis Ibn Abdallah an-Nawruzi ad-Dawadar was the executive Secretary, one of the high ranking officials of Sultan Barquq and the first Circassian Mamluk Sultan.)^{[citation needed]} The town became an important center for trade and its weekly Thursday market drew traders from neighboring regions.^{[citation needed]} The khan served as resting stop for couriers of the barid, the Mamluk postal network in Palestine and Syria.

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Khasavyurt
Khasavyurt (Russian: Хасавю́рт; Chechen: Хасу-Эвла, Xasu-Evla) is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. Population: 133,929 (2010 Census preliminary results); 121,817 (2002 Census); 70,514 (1989 Census).
It was founded in 1846 and granted town status in 1931.^{[citation needed]}
Khasavyurt serves as the administrative center of Khasavyurtovsky District, although it is not administratively a part of it. Administratively, it is incorporated as the City of Khasavyurt—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.Municipally, the City of Khasavyurt is incorporated as Khasavyurt Urban Okrug.
The main local industries are food processing, brick making and garment making.
vep:Hasavürt

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Lille
Coordinates: 50°38′14″N 3°03′48″E / 50.6372°N 3.0633°E / 50.6372; 3.0633
Lille (French pronunciation: [lil] ( listen); Dutch: Rijsel) is a city in northern France (French Flanders). It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium. It is the capital of the Nord-Pas de Calais region and the prefecture of the Nord department.
The city of Lille, which annexed Lomme on 27 February 2000, had a population of 226,014 at the 2006 census. Meanwhile, the Lille Métropole, which also includes Roubaix, Tourcoing and numerous suburban communities, had a population of 1,091,438. The eurodistrict of Lille-Kortrijk, which also includes the areas of the Belgian cities of Kortrijk, Tournai, Mouscron and Ypres, had 1,905,000 residents.^{[citation needed]}
The legend of "Lydéric and Phinaert" puts the foundation of the city of "L'Isle" at 640. Although the first mention of the town appears in archives from the year 1066, some archeological digs seem to show the area as inhabited by as early as 2000 BC^{[citation needed]}, most notably in the modern-day quartiers of Fives, Wazemmes, and Old Lille.

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Lod
Lod (Hebrew: לוֹד‎‎; Arabic: الْلُدّ‎ al-Ludd; Greco-Latin: Lydda, Diospolis) is a city 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2011, it had a population of 74,000.
The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod. When al-Ludd, as it was known by its Arab inhabitants was captured by Israel, the Arab inhabitants fled or were expelled and the city was settled by Jewish immigrants, most of them refugees from Arab countries. Of the former Arab population, only 1,056 inhabitants remained. It is today known as Lod, its biblical name.
Israel's main international airport, Ben Gurion International Airport (previously known as Lydda Airport, RAF Lydda, and Lod Airport) is located on the outskirts of the city.
The Hebrew name Lod appears in the bible as a town of Benjamin, founded by Shamed or Shamer (1 Chronicles 8:12; Ezra 2:33; Nehemiah 7:37; 11:35). In the New Testament it appears as its Greek form, Lydda. The city also finds reference in an Islamic Hadith, as the location of the battlefield where 'Dajjal' (the Anti-Christ) will be slayed before the Day of Judgment.

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Majdal Bani Fadil
Majdal Bani Fadil (Arabic: مجدل بني فاضل‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 23 kilometers (14 mi) southeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 2,382 inhabitants in 2007.
Majdal Bani Fadil is under the local administration of a nine-member village council headed by Walid Othman. Most of the village's residents are from the Othman and Zayn ad-Din clans. The main economic activities are herding and agriculture, specifically olives, grapes, prunes and figs. The main road connecting Majdal Bani Fadil to Ramallah and Nablus and Nablus and Jericho has been closed off to the village since 2000 during the Second Intifada.

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Manara Clock Tower
The Manara Clock Tower is a clock tower located in the middle of the central square (casbah) in the Old City of Nablus next to the Nasr Mosque in the Palestinian territories.
Five stories high, it was erected in 1906 on the orders of the Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II to celebrate thirty years of his reign. The tower is similar to those also built by Sultan Abdul Hamid in Tripoli and Haifa. The Manara Clock Tower has an ode to the sultan in elaborate Arabic calligraphy.
The Manara Clock Tower is currently the symbol of the Municipality of Nablus, established as such after the Palestinian organization Hamas won the local elections in that city.
Coordinates: 32°13′08″N 35°15′41″E / 32.218887°N 35.261409°E / 32.218887; 35.261409

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Manchester
Coordinates: 53°28′N 2°14′W / 53.467°N 2.233°W / 53.467; -2.233
Manchester ⁱ/ˈmæntʃɛstər/ is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England with an estimated population of 498,800 in 2010. Manchester lies within one of the United Kingdom's largest urban areas; the Greater Manchester Urban Area which has a population of 2.2 million. The demonym of Manchester is Mancunian and the local authority is Manchester City Council.
Manchester is situated in the south-central part of North West England, fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south and the Pennines to the north and east. The recorded history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort of Mamucium, which was established in c. 79 AD on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. Historically, most of the city was a part of Lancashire, although areas south of the River Mersey were in Cheshire. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a manorial township, but it began to expand "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century. Manchester's unplanned urbanisation was brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, and resulted in it becoming the world's first industrialised city. An early 19th-century factory building boom transformed Manchester from a township into a major mill town and borough that was granted city status in 1853. In 1894 the Manchester Ship Canal was built, creating the Port of Manchester.

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Mecca
Mecca ( /ˈmɛkə/; Arabic: مكة‎, Makkah, pronounced [ˈmækːɐ]) is a city in the Hejaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located 70 km (43 mi) inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of 277 m (909 ft) above sea level. Its resident population in 2012 was 2 million, although visitors more than triple this number every year during Hajj period held in the twelfth Muslim lunar month of Dhu al-Hijjah.
As the birthplace of Muhammad and a site of the composition of the Quran, Mecca is regarded as the holiest city in the religion of Islam and a pilgrimage to it known as the Hajj is obligatory upon all able Muslims. The Hijaz was long ruled by Muhammad's descendants, the sharifs, either as independent rulers or as vassals to larger empires. It was absorbed into Saudi Arabia in 1925. In its modern period, Mecca has seen tremendous expansion in size and infrastructure. Because of this Mecca has lost many thousand years old buildings and archaeological sites. Today, more than 15 million Muslims visit Mecca annually, including several million during the few days of the Hajj. As a result, Mecca has become one of the most cosmopolitan and diverse cities in the Muslim world, although non-Muslims remain prohibited from entering the city.

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Medina
Medina (/mɛˈdiːnə/; Arabic: اَلْمَدِينَة اَلْمَنَوَّرَة‎, al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah, “the radiant city” (officially), or اَلْمَدِينَة al-Madīnah; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Medina is historically significant for being Muhammad's home after the Hijrah. Before the advent of Islam, the city was known as Yathrib, but was personally renamed by Muhammad.
Medina is home to the three oldest mosques in Islam, namely Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (The Prophet's Mosque), Quba Mosque (the first mosque in Islam's history), and Masjid al-Qiblatain (the mosque where the qibla was switched to Mecca).
Because of the Saudi government's religious policy and concern that historic sites could become the focus for idolatry, much of Medina's Islamic physical heritage has been destroyed since the beginning of Saudi rule.^{[citation needed]}

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Morocco
Morocco (Arabic: المغرب‎ al-Maghrib ; Berber: ⵍⵎⴻⵖⵔⵉⴱ / ⴰⵎⴻⵔⵔⵓⴽElmeɣrib / Amerruk), officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of about 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², including the disputed region of the Western Sahara, seen by and mostly administered by Morocco as the Southern Provinces. Morocco is part of the Maghreb region, in addition to Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Libya, with which it shares cultural, historical and linguistic ties.
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive powers, including the power to dissolve the parliament. Executive power is exercised by the government but more importantly by the king himself. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors. The king can also issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. The latest Parliamentary elections were held in November 25, 2011, and were considered by some neutral observers to be mostly free and fair. Voter turnout in these elections was estimated to be 43% of registered voters, but only about 25% of Moroccan adult citizens actually voted. The rest either chose not to vote or they were not registered as voters. The political capital is Rabat, but the largest city is Casablanca; other main cities include Marrakesh, Tetouan, Tangier, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, and Nador.

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Mosul
Coordinates: 36°20′N 43°08′E / 36.34°N 43.13°E / 36.34; 43.13
Mosul (Arabic: الموصل‎ al-Mawṣil; North Mesopotamian Arabic: el-Mōṣul; Syriac: ܢܝܢܘܐ Nînwe; Kurdish: Mûsil/Nînewe; Turkish: Musul), is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Nineveh Province, some 400 km (250 mi) northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial areas on both banks, with five bridges linking the two sides. The majority of its population is Arab (with Assyrians, Turcoman and Kurdish minorities). It is Iraq's third largest city after Baghdad and Basra.
The fabric Muslin, long manufactured here, is named after this city. Another historically important product of the area is Mosul marble.
In 1987, the city's population was 664,221 people; the 2002 population estimate was 1,740,000, and by 2008 was estimated to be 1,800,000. People from Mosul are called Maslawis.

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Mount Ebal
Mount Ebal (Arabic: جبل عيبال‎ Jabal ‘Aybāl; Hebrew: הר עיבל‎ Har ‘Eival) is one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank (biblical Shechem), and forms the northern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated, the southern side being formed by Mount Gerizim. The mountain is one of the highest peaks in the West Bank and rises to 3084 feet (940 meters) above sea level, some 194 feet (59 meters) higher than Mount Gerizim. Mount Ebal is approximately 6.5 square miles (18 square kilometers) in area, and is composed primarily of limestone. The slopes of the mountain contain several large caverns which were probably originally quarries, and at the base towards the north are several tombs.
In the masoretic text of Deuteronomy and the Septuagint version of the same, an instruction is given to build an altar on Mount Ebal, constructed from natural (rather than cut) stones, to place stones there and whiten them with lime, to make peace offerings on the altar, eat there, and write the words of this law on the stone. According to the Samaritan Pentateuch version of Deuteronomy, the instruction actually concerns Mount Gerizim, which the Samaritans view as a holy site; some scholars believe that the Samaritan version is probably more accurate in this respect, the compilers of the masoretic text and authors of the Septuagint being likely to be biased against the Samaritans.

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Mount Gerizim
Mount Gerizim (^{[pronunciation?]}; Samaritan Hebrew Ar-garízim, Arabic جبل جرزيم Jabal Jarizīm, Tiberian Hebrew הַר גְּרִזִּים Har Gərizzîm, Standard Hebrew הַר גְּרִיזִּים Har Gərizzim) is one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the West Bank city of Nablus (biblical Shechem), and forms the southern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated, the northern side being formed by Mount Ebal. The mountain is one of the highest peaks in the West Bank and rises to 2849 feet (881 m) above sea level, 228 feet (69.5 m) shorter than Mount Ebal. The mountain is particularly steep on the northern side, is sparsely covered at the top with shrubbery, and lower down there is a spring with a high yield of fresh water.
A Samaritan village (Kiryat Luza) and an Israeli settlement (Har Bracha) are situated on the mountain ridge.
The mountain is sacred to the Samaritans who regard it, rather than Jerusalem's Temple Mount, as having been the location chosen by Yahweh for a holy temple. The mountain continues to be the centre of Samaritan religion to this day, and over 90% of the worldwide population of Samaritans live in very close proximity to Gerizim, mostly in Kiryat Luza, the main village. The passover is celebrated by the Samaritans on Mount Gerizim, and it is additionally considered by them as the location of the near-sacrifice of Isaac (the masoretic, Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scroll versions of Genesis state that this happened on Mount Moriah which Jews traditionally identify as the Temple Mount). According to classical rabbinical sources, in order to convert to Judaism, a Samaritan must first and foremost renounce any belief in the sanctity of Mount Gerizim.

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Nablus
Nablus (Arabic: نابلس‎ Nāblus [næːblʊs] ( listen), Hebrew: שכם‎ Šəḵem, Biblical Shechem ISO 259-3 Škem) is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately 63 kilometers (39 mi) north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.
Founded by the Roman Emperor Vespasian in 72 CE as Flavia Neapolis, Nablus has been ruled by many empires over the course of its almost 2,000-year-long history. In the 5th and 6th centuries, conflict between the city's Christian and Samaritan inhabitants climaxed in a series of Samaritan revolts against Byzantine rule, before their violent quelling in 529 CE drastically dwindled that community's numbers in the city. In 636, Neapolis, along with most of Palestine, came under the rule of the Islamic Arab Caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab; its name Arabicized to Nablus. In 1099, the Crusaders took control of the city for less than a century, leaving its mixed Muslim, Christian and Samaritan population relatively undisturbed. After Saladin's Ayyubid forces took control of the interior of Palestine in 1187, Islamic rule was reestablished, and continued under the Mamluk and Ottoman empires to follow.

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Nablus Governorate
The Nablus Governorate (Arabic: محافظة نابلس‎ Muḥāfaẓat Nāblus) is an administrative district of the Palestinian National Authority located in the Central Highlands of the West Bank, 53km north of Jerusalem. It covers the area around the city of Nablus which serves as the muhfaza (seat) of the governorate. It is governed by Mahmoud Aloul.
The only city in the governorate is Nablus.
The following localities have populations over 4,000 and municipal councils of 11-15 members.
The following localities have populations above 1,000 and village councils of 3 to 9 members.
Coordinates: 32°14′26″N 35°17′13.50″E / 32.24056°N 35.287083°E / 32.24056; 35.287083

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Naples
Coordinates: 40°50′42″N 14°15′30″E / 40.845°N 14.25833°E / 40.845; 14.25833
Naples (Italian: Napoli [ˈnaːpoli] ( listen), Neapolitan: Napule; Latin: Neapolis; Ancient Greek: Νεάπολις, meaning "new city") is the capital of Campania and the third-largest city in Italy, after Rome and Milan. As of 2012^[update], around 960,000 people live within the city's administrative limits. The wider Naples urban area, covering 777 km² (300 sq mi), has a population of over 3 million, and is the 10th-most populous urban area in the European Union. Between 4.1 and 4.4 million people live in the overall Naples metropolitan area, one of the largest European cities on the Mediterranean Sea.
Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Greek settlements were established on the island of Megaride in the Gulf of Naples as early as the 9th century BC. A larger mainland colony – initially known as Parthenope (Παρθενόπη) – developed around the 7th century BC, and was refounded as Neápolis (Νεάπολις) in the 5th century BC. Naples became a lynchpin of Magna Graecia and played a key role in the merging of Greek culture into Roman society, eventually becoming a cultural centre of the Roman Republic. Naples remained influential after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, serving as the capital city of the Kingdom of Naples between 1282 and 1816. Thereafter, in union with Sicily, it became the capital of the Two Sicilies until the unification of Italy in 1861. During the Neapolitan War of 1815, Naples strongly promoted Italian unification.

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Nazareth
Nazareth ( /ˈnæzərəθ/; Hebrew: נָצְרַת‎‎, Natzrat or Natzeret; Arabic: اَلنَّاصِرَة‎ an-Nāṣira or an-Naseriyye) is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel"; the population is made up predominantly of Arab citizens of Israel, the majority of whom are Muslim. In the New Testament, the city is described as the childhood home of Jesus, and as such is a center of Christian pilgrimage, with many shrines commemorating biblical events.
Nazareth is not mentioned in pre-Christian texts and appears in many different Greek forms in the New Testament. There is no consensus regarding the origin of the name. One theory holds that "Nazareth" is derived from the Hebrew noun ne·ṣer, נֵ֫צֶר, meaning branch.Ne·ṣer is not the common Hebrew word for "branch," but one understood as a messianic title based on a passage in the Book of Isaiah. Alternatively, the name may derive from the verb na·ṣar, נָצַר, "watch, guard, keep." The negative references to Nazareth in the Gospel of John suggest that ancient Jews did not connect the town's name to prophecy.

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Norway
Norway ⁱ/ˈnɔrweɪ/ (Norwegian: Norge (Bokmål) or Noreg (Nynorsk)), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and the subantarctic Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) and a population of about 5 million. It is the second least densely populated country in Europe. The majority of the country shares a border to the east with Sweden; its northernmost region is bordered by Finland to the south and Russia to the east; in its south Norway borders the Skagerrak Strait across from Denmark. The capital city of Norway is Oslo. Norway's extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is home to its famous fjords.

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Odala
Odala (Arabic: اودلة‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 10 kilometers South of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 1,082 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

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Osarin
Osarin (Arabic: أُوصرين‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 16 kilometers southeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 1,630 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

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Poland
Poland ⁱ/ˈpoʊlənd/ (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska; Kashubian: Pòlskô Repùblika; Silesian: Polsko Republika), is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38 million people, which makes it the 34th most populous country in the world and the sixth most populous member of the European Union, being its most populous post-communist member. Poland is a unitary state made up of 16 voivodeships. Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Economic Area, International Energy Agency, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, International Atomic Energy Agency, G6, Council of the Baltic Sea States, Visegrád Group, Weimar Triangle and Schengen Agreement.

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Poznań
Poznań [ˈpɔznaɲ] ( listen) (Latin: Posnania; German: Posen; Yiddish: פוזנא or פּױזן Poyzn) is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be the first capital of the kingdom of Poland.
Poznań is now Poland's fifth largest city. It is the historical capital of the Wielkopolska ("Greater Poland") region, and is currently the administrative capital of the province called Greater Poland Voivodeship.
Poznań is an important centre of trade, industry, and education, and hosts regular international trade fairs. It was the host city for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2008, a key stage in the creation of a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. Poznań was a candidate city for European Capital of Culture in 2016. Poznań is currently bidding to host the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics. The local football team has been responsible for the spread of the eponymous goal celebration to Manchester City and to a lesser extent throughout the United Kingdom. Poznań is one of the host cities for UEFA Euro 2012.

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Qabalan
Qabalan (Arabic: قبلان‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in the eastern West Bank, located 19 kilometers (12 mi) southeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 7,130 inhabitants in 2007.

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Qabatiya
Qabatiya or Qabatia (Arabic: قباطية‎) is a Palestinian town located in the northern West Bank 6 km south of the city of Jenin. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 49,198 in 2007.
Its total land area consists of 50,547 dunams and it is situated approximately 256m above sea level. Qabatiya is famous for its olive groves, modern agriculture, and limestone industry. It is a part of the Jenin Governorate.

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Qalqilya
Qalqilya (Arabic: قلقيلية‎ Qalqīlyaḧ; Hebrew קַלְקִילִיָה) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. Qalqilyah serves as the administrative centre for the Qalqilya Governorate. In the official 2007 census it had a population of 41,739. Qalqilya is surrounded by the Israeli West Bank barrier with a narrow gap in the east controlled by the Israeli military and a tunnel to Hableh.
The region has been populated since prehistoric times, as attested to by the discovery of prehistoric flint tools.
In 1596, Qalqili appeared in Ottoman tax registers as a village in the Nahiya of Bani Sa'b in the Liwa of Nablus. It had a population of 13 Muslim households and paid taxes on wheat, barley, summercrops, olives, and goats or beehives.
In the early 1880s, Qalqilya was described as "A large somewhat straggling village, with cisterns to the north and a pool on the south-west. The houses are badly built."
Qalqilya became an independent local council in 1909.^{[citation needed]} At the time of the 1931 census, Qalqilya had 796 occupied houses and a population of 3855 Muslims and 12 Christians.

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Qaryut
Qaryout (Arabic: قريوت‎) is a Palestinian village of nearly 2,500 in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank, located 28 kilometers (17 mi) southeast of Nablus. Western travelers identified Qaryut with the ancient Coreae.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Qaryut had a population of 2,469 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

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Qusin
Qusin (Arabic: قوصين‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 8 kilometers West of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 1,734 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

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Qusra
Qusra (Arabic: قُصرى‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank, located 28 kilometers Southeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had 674 households with a population of 4,377 inhabitants in 2007.
Under the terms of the Oslo Accords of 1993 between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, Qusra is located in Area "C" under full Israeli civil and security control.
The Israeli outpost settlement of Esh Kodesh (founded 1999) is located near the village of Qusra.
On the night of September 4-5, 2011, a group of presumably Israeli settlers entered the village at 3 a.m., vandalised the village's Al-Nurayn mosque and tried to set it on fire. They smashed windows, rolled burning tyres inside, and wrote “Muhammad is a pig” in Hebrew on its wall. The attack on the mosque came shortly after Israeli police officers had destroyed three illegal structures in the settlement outpost of Migron north of Jerusalem. According to Agence France Press, the graffiti also included a Star of David, and the name “Migron”. The attack, not the first of its kind, is viewed as part of the policy called “price tag” followed by a radical segment among the settlers, in which they respond to attempts by the Israeli security forces to demolish unauthorized Jewish settlements with attacks on Palestinians.

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Rabat
Rabat (Arabic الرباط; Amazigh ⵕⴱⴰⵟ, transliterated ar-Rabāṭ or ar-Ribāṭ or Rbat, literally "Fortified Place"; French Ville de Rabat; Spanish Ciudad de Rabat), is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000 (2010). It is also the capital of the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer region.
The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the river Bou Regreg. On the facing shore of the river lies Salé, the city's main commuter town. Together with Temara the cities account for a combined metropolitan population of 1.8 million. Silting problems have diminished the Rabat's role as a port; however, Rabat and Salé still maintain important textile, food processing and construction industries. In addition, tourism and the presence of all foreign embassies in Morocco serve to make Rabat one of the most important cities in the country. Controversy surrounds sweatshop labour by major multinational corporations in the area (see Salé).
Rabat is accessible by train through the ONCF system and by plane through the nearby Rabat-Salé Airport.

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Rafah
Rafah (Arabic: رفح‎), also known as Rafiah, is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. Located 30 kilometers (19 mi) south of Gaza, Rafah's population of 71,003 is overwhelmingly made up of Palestinian refugees. Rafah camp and Tall as-Sultan form separate localities. Rafah is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate. Yasser Arafat International Airport, Gaza's only airport, is located just south of the city; the airport operated from 1998 to 2001, when it was bombed and bulldozed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) after the killing of Israeli soldiers by members of Hamas. Rafah is the site of the Rafah Border Crossing, the only crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
Over the ages it has been known as "Robihwa" by the ancient Egyptians, "Rafihu" by the Assyrians, "Ῥαφία, Rhaphia" by the Greeks, "Raphia" by Romans, "Raphiaḥ" [pronounced Rafiach] by the Israelites, "Rafh" by the Arab Caliphate.
Rafah has a history stretching back thousands of years. It was first recorded in an inscription of Egyptian Pharaoh Seti I, from 1303 BCE as Rph, and as the first stop on Pharaoh Shoshenq I's campaign to the Levant in 925 BC. In 720 BCE it was the site of the Assyrian king Sargon II's victory over the Egyptians, and in 217 BC the Battle of Raphia was fought between the victorious Ptolemy IV and Antiochus III. (It is said to be one of the largest battles ever fought in the Levant, with over a hundred thousand soldiers and hundreds of elephants).

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Rafidia
Rafidia or Rafidiya (Arabic: رفيديا‎) is a neighborhood in the western part of the Palestinian city of Nablus. It was a separate village until it was merged into the municipality in 1966. There are currently three Palestinian Christian families and a Muslim one, although Christians number only over 700. In 1961, Rafidia had 923 inhabitants, rising to 1,200 in 1983.
Rafidia was originally owned by the prominent Touqan family of Nablus. They ceded it to an Arab Christian family with Ghassanid origins from al-Karak, in modern-day Jordan in the 17th century. According to tradition, the family, consisting of a father, and his three sons and daughter had fled al-Karak to avoid marrying the daughter, Rafid, to Emir Udwan, a Muslim prince of the city. They initially migrated to Taybeh through the Dead Sea, but then moved north towards Nablus. At the time, there was one Muslim family in the area, al-Hassouneh, and after the Christian family settled, the two families split the land and the water between themselves equally. The village was named "Rafidia" in honor of Rafid.

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Ramallah
Ramallah (Arabic: رام الله‎ (help·info) Rāmallāh) (literally "Height of God") is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority. With a population of nearly 25,500, Ramallah was historically a Christian town, but today Muslims form the majority of the population, with a strong Christian minority.
Modern Ramallah was founded in the mid-16th century by the Haddadins, a Jordanian tribe of brothers descended from Ghassanid Christian Arabs. The Haddadins, led by Rashid Haddadin, arrived from east of the Jordan River near the Jordanian town of Shoubak. The Haddadin migration is attributed to fighting and unrest among clans in that area. According to modern living descendents of original Haddadin family members, Rashid's brother Sabra Haddadin was hosting Emir Ibn Kaysoom, head of a powerful Muslim clan in the region, when Sabra's wife gave birth to a baby girl. According to custom, the Emir proposed a betrothal to his own young son when they came of age. Sabra believed the proposal was in jest, as Muslim-Christian marriages were not customary, and gave his word. When the Emir later came to the Haddadins and demanded that they fulfill their promise, they refused. This set off bloody conflict between the two families. The Haddadins fled west and settled on the hilltops of Ramallah, where only a few Muslim families lived at the time. Today, a large community of people descended directly from the Haddadins live in the United States. The town is now predominately Muslim.

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Republic of Ireland
Ireland (/ˈaɪərlənd/ or /ˈɑrlənd/; Irish: Éire, pronounced [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen)) is a sovereign state in Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. Its capital is Dublin. The population of the state was 4.59 million in 2011. It is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy, with an elected president serving as head of state. In the 1937 constitution, the name of the state is given as simply "Ireland". The Constitution of Ireland (Article 4) and the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 provides that the "Republic of Ireland" (Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann) is "the description of the state".
Ireland is a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations. A developed country with the seventh highest Human Development Index, Ireland is also highly ranked for press freedom, economic freedom and democracy and political freedom.
The modern Irish state was established in 1922 as the Irish Free State, a dominion within the British Empire, following the Anglo-Irish Treaty which brought an end to the Irish War of Independence. The partition of Ireland had already been provided for in previous British legislation in 1921 in response to opposition to Irish Home Rule or independence by Unionists, who formed a majority in the north-eastern part of the country. Six of the nine counties in the northern province of Ulster were established under that legislation as Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, with which the Irish state shares its only land border. The state is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, St George's Channel to the south east, and the Irish Sea to the east.

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Rujeib
Rujeib (Arabic: روجيب‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 3 kilometers southeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 3,915 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

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Russia
Russia ⁱ/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.

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Sahl Arraba
Coordinates: 32°26′N 35°13′E / 32.43°N 35.22°E / 32.43; 35.22 Sahl Arraba (Hebrew: Emek Dotan), also Dothan Valley, is a fertile tectonic valley in the northern West Bank.
Emek Dotan is mentioned in the Bible as the site where Joseph was sold by his brothers.
The region is about eleven kilometers long and four kilometers wide. There are several Palestinian towns located near in and around the valley, including Arrabah, Bir al-Basha, Burqin, Yabad, Qabatiya and Kufeirit.

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Salfit
Salfit also spelled Salfeet (Arabic: سلفيت‎) is a Palestinian town in the central West Bank. Salfit is located at an altitude of 570 meters (1,870 ft) in the central Samarian highlands adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Ariel. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the City had a population of 8,796 in 2007. Salfit was given municipality status In 1955. It has been administered by the Palestinian Authority since the 1995 Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and has served as the district capital of the Salfit Governorate since then.
The word "Salfit" is a Canaanite word which means "basket of grapes" (Sal meaning "basket and fit meaning "grapes".) The historic city of Salfit has many monuments that link the modern town to a Canaanite, Israelite, Samaritan, Roman and Islamic heritage.
Salfit is a major administrative and commercial center for the dozens of villages surrounding it. However, the route for Palestinians from Salfit's northern dependencies has been sealed off by the Israel Defense Forces because of a bypass road for the settlement of Ariel crossing the main road. There are several governmental offices and institutions in the city. The educational of the Salfit's children is carried out in four modern schools for male and female in addition to Al-Quds Open University. Salfit is also a well-known area in the field of stone cutting and marble. An industrial zone was established on 200 dunums of land at the east end of Salfit.

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Samaria
Samaria ( /sə.ˈmɛr.iː.ə/), or the Shomron (Hebrew: שֹׁמְרוֹן‎, Standard Šoməron Tiberian Šōmərôn; Greek: Σαμάρεια; Arabic: سامريّون‎, Sāmariyyūn or السامرة, as-Samarah – also known as جبال نابلس, Jibal Nablus) is a mountainous region in the northern part of the geographical area to the west of the Jordan River, roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank. The name derives from the ancient city Samaria, the capital of the Kingdom of Israel. During the 1967 Six-Day War, the entire West Bank was captured by Israel. Jordan ceded its claim to the area to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in November 1988. In 1994, control of Areas 'A' and 'B' were transferred to the Palestinian Authority.
The name Samaria is of biblical origin, derived from the individual [or clan] Shemer, from whom Omri purchased the site. (1 Kings 16:24). It was the only name used for this area from ancient times until the Jordanian conquest of 1948, at which point the Jordanians coined the term West Bank.

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Sharon plain
The Sharon Plain (Hebrew: שרון‎) is the northern half of the coastal plain of Israel. Its largest city is Netanya.
The Plain lies between the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the Samarian Hills, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the east. It stretches from Haifa and Mount Carmel in the north to the Yarkon River in the south, at the edge of the present city of Tel Aviv, about 90 kilometres (56 mi). Parts of the Plain are included in the Haifa, Center, and Tel Aviv Districts of Israel. In 2008 The Sharon Plain was home to 1,131,600 people, 965,300 of them (85.3%) are Jews, and 166,300 (14.6%) are Arabs.
The Plain of Sharon is mentioned in the Bible (1 Chron. 5:16, 27:29; Isaiah 33:9, 35:2, 65:10), including the famous reference to the enigmatic "Rose of Sharon" (Song of Solomon 2:1). In ancient times, the plain was particularly fertile and populous. Zionist immigrants arrived in the early 20th century, and populated the region with many settlements. In 2008, it was the most densely populated region of Israel.

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Shechem
Shechem (^{[pronunciation?]}; Sichem, Shkhem or Sh-chea-mm, Hebrew: שְׁכֶם‎ / שְׁכָם, Standard Šəḫem Tiberian Šəḵem; "Shoulder") was a Canaanite city mentioned in the Amarna letters, and is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as an Israelite city of the tribe of Manasseh and the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel. Traditionally associated with Nablus, it is now identified with the site of Tell Balatah in Balata al-Balad in the West Bank.
Its position is indicated in the Bible: it lay north of Bethel and Shiloh, on the high road going from Jerusalem to the northern districts (Judges xxi, 19), at a short distance from Michmethath (Joshua 17:7) and of Dothain (Genesis 37:12-17); it was in the hill-country of Ephraim (Joshua 20:7; 21:21; 1 Kings 12:25; 1 Chronicles 6:67; 7:28), immediately below Mount Gerizim (Judges 9:6-7). These indications are completed by Josephus, who says that the city lay between Mount Ebal and Mt. Garizim, and by the Madaba map, which places Sychem, also called Sikima between the Tour Gobel (Ebal) and the Tour Garizin (Garizim). The site of Shechem in patristic sources is almost invariably identified with or located close to the town of Nablus/Flavia Neapolis.

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Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai (Arabic: سيناء‎ sīnā' ; Hebrew סיני) is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about 60,000 km² (23,000 sq mi) in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two continents. The bulk of the peninsula is divided administratively into two of Egypt's 27 governorates (with three more straddling the Suez Canal area), and has a population of approximately 500,000 people. In addition to its formal name, Egyptians also refer to it affectionately as the "Land of Fayrouz", based on the Ancient Egyptian "Dumafkat", which has the same meaning.
The region has historically been the centre of conflict between various states, based largely on its strategic geopolitical location. In addition to periods of direct rule by Egyptian governments (including the Ayyubids, the Mamluks, the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, and the modern Egyptian republic), it was like the rest of Egypt, also occupied and controlled by the Ottoman Empire, and the United Kingdom (which occupied Egypt from 1882 until 1956). Israel invaded and occupied Sinai during the Suez Crisis (known in Egypt as the Tripartite Aggression) of 1956, and during the Six Day War of 1967. On 6 October 1973, Egypt launched the October War to liberate the peninsula, which was the site of fierce fighting between Egyptian and Israeli forces. In 1982, after the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1979, Israel withdrew from the entirety of Sinai. Today, Sinai has become a tourist destination due to its natural setting, rich coral reefs, and biblical history. Mount Sinai is one of the most religiously significant places in Abrahamic faiths.

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Stavanger
Stavanger (Norwegian pronunciation: [stɑˈʋɑŋər] (listen)) is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway. Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway. Stavanger is the centre of the Stavanger metropolitan area, which has a population of 297,569, and the administrative centre of Rogaland county. The city is commonly referred to as the Petroleum Capital of Norway.
Despite its age, dating back at least to the Viking Age, Stavanger only grew to its position among the most important Norwegian cities in the second half of the 20th century, after oil was discovered in the North Sea. Today, the city is marked by noticeable foreign influences as a result of the presence of several major international oil companies. Stavanger also houses the NATO Joint Warfare Center.
Norway's oldest cathedral, Stavanger domkirke, is situated in the city centre, right next to Breiavatnet lake. The two most popular recreational areas are situated around lakes, namely Mosvatnet and Stokkavatnet.

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Syria
Syria (/ˈsɪriə/ ( listen) SIRR-ee-ə; Arabic: سورية‎ Sūriyya or سوريا Sūryā; Syriac: ܣܘܪܝܐ; Kurdish: Sûrî), officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية السورية‎ al-Jumhūriyyah al-‘Arabīyah as-Sūriyyah Arabic pronunciation (help·info)), is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.
In English, the name Syria was formerly synonymous with the Levant, known in Arabic as Sham, while the modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the third millennium BC. In the Islamic era, its capital city, Damascus, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate, and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt.
The population of Syria is 74% Sunni, 12% Alawi, 10% Christian, and 3% Druze. Combined, 87% of the Syrian population is Muslim, while the other 10% is Christian, which includes mainly Arab Christians but also Assyrians and Armenians. Major ethnic minorities in Syria include Kurds (9%), Assyrians, Armenians, Turkmens and Circassians. The majority of the population is Arab (90%).

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Talfit
Talfit (Arabic: تلفيت‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 21 kilometers southeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 2,991 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

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Talluza
Talluza (Arabic: طلوزه‎) is a Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 15 kilometers Northeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 2,680 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.
Historically the village of Talluza is linked to the village of Wadi al-Far'a as the Wadi al-Far'a land was previously owned by residents of Talluza, who used it as farmland. In the 1960s, residents from Talluza settled in Wadi al-Far'a and established a separate village. In 1996, Wadi al-Far'a was officially declared separate from Talluza and was granted its own village council under the Tubas Governorate.
The main families of the village are Al-Hashaykeh (which includes Al-Fares, Al-Awaysah, Al-Balateyyeh, Al-Badawi, Al-Abu Shehadeh), Al-Darawsheh, Al-Shanableh, As-Salahat, Al-Janajreh and Al-Barahmeh. Talluza contains three mosques and two separate secondary schools for boys and girls. The village receives water from seven springs.

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Tammun
Tammun (Arabic: طمّون‎) is a Palestinian town in the Tubas Governorate, located 23 kilometers northeast of Nablus and five kilometers south of Tubas in the northeastern West Bank. Tammun has a population of approximately 10,500 inhabitants.
Tammun is commonly identified as the Biblical town of Tabbath in Ephraim.
Tammun's modern history dates from the 15th century. The town was founded by a group of Bedouins from the Arabian Peninsula seeking to find a safe location in Palestine with a view of other nearby localities. Over the past four centuries, Arabs from the towns of Kafr Qaddum and Halhul have settled in the town. The town's name derives from the Arabic word tammen, meaning "quiet".
Tammun stands at an elevation of 332 meters above sea level. It is five kilometers south of Tubas, twenty-three kilometers northeast of Nablus, and bordered by Far'a and Wadi al-Far'a to the west and an-Naseriya to the south.
The town's total land area is about 81,000 dunams, accounting for more than 15% of the Tubas Governorate's jurisdiction. About 1,519 dunams are designated as 'built up' area, while 79,481 dunams are used for agricultural purposes, are covered by forests or are classified as closed-off areas controlled by the Israel Defense Forces.

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Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv, officially Tel Aviv-Yafo (Hebrew: תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ‎‎; Arabic: تل أبيب‎), is the second most populous city in Israel. It has a population of 404,400 within city limits, on a land area of 52 km² (20 sq mi). The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in central-west Israel. In 2010, it was the largest and most populous city in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area of 3,325,700 residents, known as Gush Dan. The city is governed by the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality, headed by Ron Huldai. Residents of Tel Aviv are referred to as Tel Avivim.
Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 by the Jewish Community of Jaffa (Hebrew: יָפוֹ‎‎ Yafo; Arabic: يافا‎ Yāfā), on the outskirts of the ancient port city. The growth of Tel Aviv soon outpaced Jaffa, which had a majority Arab population at the time. Tel Aviv and Jaffa were merged into a single municipality in 1950, two years after the establishment of the State of Israel. Tel Aviv's White City, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, comprises the world's largest concentration of Bauhaus buildings.

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Tubas
Tubas or Toubas (Arabic: طوباس‎, Tûbâs) is a small Palestinian city in the northeastern West Bank, located 21 kilometers (13 mi) northeast of Nablus, a few kilometers west of the Jordan River. A city of over 16,000 inhabitants, it serves as the economic and administrative center of the Tubas Governorate. Its urban area consists of 2,271 dunams (227 hectares). It is governed by a municipal council of 15 members and most of its working inhabitants are employed in agriculture or public services. Jamal Abu Mohsin has been the mayor of Tubas since being elected in 2005.
Tubas has been identified as the ancient town of Thebez—a Canaanite town famous for revolting against King Abimelech. However, the modern town was founded in the late 19th century—during the Ottoman rule of Palestine—by Arab clans living in the Jordan Valley region and became major town in the District of Nablus, particularly known for its timber and cheese-making. It came under the British Mandate of Palestine in 1917, annexed by Jordan after their capture of the town in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and then occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Palestinian National Authority has had complete control of Tubas since it was transferred to them in 1995.

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Tubas Governorate
The Tubas Governorate (Arabic: محافظة طوباس‎ Muḥāfaẓat Ṭūbās) is an administrative district of the Palestinian National Authority in the northeastern West Bank. Its district capital or muhfaza is the city of Tubas. In 2007, the population was 50,267.
There are 23 localities located within the governorate's jurisdiction.
Coordinates: 32°19′26″N 35°29′11.5″E / 32.32389°N 35.486528°E / 32.32389; 35.486528

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Tulkarm
Tulkarem or Tulkarm (Arabic: طولكرم‎, Ṭūlkarm; Hebrew: טול כרם‎) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the northern Samarian mountain range in the Tulkarm Governorate. The Israeli cities of Netanya and Haifa are to the west, the Palestinian Nablus and Jenin to the east. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2007 Tulkarm had a population 0f 51,300 while its adjacent refugee camp had a population of 10,641.
"Tulkarem" means "the bountiful mountain." The Arabic name is derived from the Aramaic words "Toor Karma," meaning "mount of vineyards."
Tulkarm was founded by the Mamluks in the 13th century. It was established as a waqf to support al-Jawhariyya Madrasa, an Islamic religious school. The elite families of Tulkarm were the administrators of this trust, which granted them higher social and economic status. The population was increased through intermarriage with families fleeing clan violence and family feuds.
In 1596, Tulkarm appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Qaqun of the Liwa of Nablus. The largest village in the nahiya, Tulkarm had a population of 176 Muslim households (roughly 968 persons) and paid taxes on wheat, barley, summer crops, olives, goats, beehives and a press for olives or grapes.

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Umayyad Mosque
The Umayyad Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus (Arabic: جامع بني أمية الكبير‎, transliteration Ğām' Banī 'Umayya al-Kabīr) or formerly the Basilica of Saint John the Baptist (Greek: Βασιλική του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Βαπτιστή, transliteration Vasilikí tou Agíou Ioánni tou Vaptistí), located in the old city of Damascus, is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world. It is considered the fourth-holiest place in Islam.
After the Arab conquest of Damascus in 634, the mosque was built on the site of a Christian basilica dedicated to John the Baptist (Yahya). The mosque holds a shrine which today may still contain the head of John the Baptist, honored as a prophet by both Christians and Muslims alike, and the place where Isa (Jesus) will return at the End of Days. The tomb of Saladin stands in a small garden adjoining the north wall of the mosque.
Damascus was the capital of the Aramaean state Aram-Damascus during the Iron Age. The Arameans of western Syria followed the cult of Hadad-Ramman, the god of thunderstorms and rain, and erected a temple dedicated to him at the site of the present-day Umayyad Mosque. It is not known exactly how the temple looked, but it is believed to have followed the traditional Semitic-Canaanite architectural form, resembling the Temple of Jerusalem. The site likely consisted of a walled courtyard, a small chamber for worship, and a tower-like structure typically symbolizing the "high place" of storm gods, in this case Hadad. One stone remains from the Aramaean temple, dated to the rule of King Hazael, has survived and is currently on display in the National Museum of Damascus.

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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.

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Urif
Urif (Arabic: عوريف‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 13 kilometers South of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 2,839 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

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West Bank
The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية‎ aḍ-Ḍaffah l-Ġarbiyyah, Hebrew: הגדה המערבית‎, HaGadah HaMa'aravit also known as Hebrew: יהודה והשומרון‎ Yehuda ve-Ha'Shomron (Judea and Samaria)) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The West Bank also contains a significant coastline along the western bank of the Dead Sea. Since 1967, most of the West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation and is referred to as Judea and Samaria Area by Israel. A smaller part of the West Bank is administered by the Israeli civilian authorities as part of Jerusalem District.

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Yanun
Yanun (Arabic: يانون, transliterated: Yânûn‎) is a Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) southeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the village had a population of 102 in 2007. This was a decrease from 2004 when the PCBS recorded that Yanun had 145 inhabitants.. The residents of the village have to travel to Beit Furik for primary health care.
Yanun or Khirbet Yanun—ruins on a nearby hill to the northeast of the village—is considered by Biblical scholars to occupy the site of the ancient town of Janohah which belonged to the Tribe of Ephraim. Local farmers have lived in Yanun since the 18th century. They depended on animal husbandry and olive trees for their income.
In the 19th century, Yanun was settled by Bosnian Muslim soldiers who were sent to reinforce Ottoman rule in Palestine. They later moved to nearby Nablus and leased their farmlands to villagers from Aqraba who gradually left their village to settle in Yanun themselves.Edward Robinson visited Yanun in 1852. He wrote that the village was mostly in ruins and only a few houses were inhabited.

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Yasid
Yasid (Arabic: ياصيد‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 15 kilometers northeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 2,291 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

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Yatma
Yatma (Arabic: يتما‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 15 kilometers South of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 2,981 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

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Zawata
Zawata (Arabic: زواتا‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 6 kilometers Northwest of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 1,900 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

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Aaron
In the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Aaron ( /ˈærən/ or /ˈɛərən/;Hebrew: אַהֲרֹן‎ Ahărōn, Arabic: هارون‎ Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ααρών ), who is often called "'Aaron the Priest"' (אֵהֲרֹן הֵכֹּהֵן) and once Aaron the Levite (אַהֲרֹן הַלֵּוִי) (Exodus 4:14), was the older brother of Moses, (Exodus 6:16-20, 7:7; Qur'an 28:34) and a prophet of God. He represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Israelites. While Moses was receiving his education at the Egyptian royal court, and during his exile among the Midianites, Aaron and his sister Miriam remained with their kinsmen in the eastern border-land of Egypt (Goshen). There, Aaron gained a name for eloquent and persuasive speech, so that when the time came for the demand upon the Pharaoh to release Israel from captivity, Aaron became his brother’s nabi, or spokesman, to his own people (Exodus 7:1) and, after their unwillingness to hear, to the Pharaoh himself (Exodus 7:9). Various dates for his life have been proposed, ranging from approximately 1600 to 1200 BC.

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Adly Yaish
Adly Yaish (Arabic: عدلي يعيش‎, Oɑdlí Iɑoíś) is the mayor of the Nablus Municipality (Dec. 2005–present) in the central highlands of the West Bank under the Palestinian National Authority.
He is a known businessman working in automobiles trade
On 24 May 2007 he was arrested by Israeli forces. He spent 15 months in prison without being charged.

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Ammonas
Ammonas (Greek: Ἀμμώνας) or Amoun (Ἀμοῦν) was a 4th century Christian ascetic and the founder of one of the most celebrated monastic communities in Egypt. Pushed into marriage by his family, he managed to persuade his bride to take a vow of chastity together with him by the authority of St. Paul's Epistle to the Corinthians. They lived together this way for 18 years, when at her wish, they parted, and he retired to Scetis and Mt. Nitria, to the south of Lake Mareotis, where he lived 22 years, visiting his sister-wife twice a year. He died before St. Antony (from whom there is an epistle to him), that is, before the year 365, for the latter asserted that he "saw the soul of Amoun borne by angels to heaven", and as St. Athanasius's history of St. Antony preserves the order of time, he died perhaps about 320. There are generally seventeen or nineteen Rules of Asceticism (κεφάλαια) ascribed to him; the Greek original exists in manuscript; they were published in the Latin version of Gerardus Vossius.Twenty-two Ascetic Institutions of the same Amoun, or one bearing the same name, exist also in manuscript.

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Eleazar
Eleazar (or Elazar; pronounced /ɛliˈeɪzə/), (Hebrew: אֶלְעָזָר, Modern Elʻazar Tiberian Elʻāzār ; "God has helped") was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second Kohen Gadol (High Priest) - succeeding his father Aaron. He was a nephew of Moses.
Eleazar fulfilled a number of functions over the course of the Wilderness wanderings, from creating the plating to the altar out of the firepans of Korah's assembly to performing the ritual of the Red Heifer. After the death of his older brothers Nadab and Abihu, he was appointed to the charge of the sanctuary. His wife, a daughter of Putiel, bore him Phinehas, who would eventually succeed him as Kohen Gadol.
On Mount Hor he was clothed with the sacred vestments, which Moses took from off his father Aaron and put upon him as successor to his father in the high priest's office, which he held for more than twenty years. He took part with Moses in numbering the people, and assisted at the inauguration of Joshua.
He assisted in the distribution of the land after the conquest. When he died, he "was buried at Gibeah, which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim". The Hill of Phinehas related in the Bible is associated with the location of the village of Awarta in the Samarian section of the current day West Bank. Due to the uncertain security situation, the Israel Defence Forces limit visits to the site by Jews to one annual night close to the 5th of Shevat (around January–February) on the Hebrew calendar.^{[citation needed]}.

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Gilad Shalit
Gilad Shalit ( גלעד שליט (help·info), born 28 August 1986) is an Israeli soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who was abducted inside Israel by Hamas militants in a cross-border raid via underground tunnels near the Israeli border with Gaza on 25 June 2006. The Hamas militants held him for over five years, until his release on 18 October 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange deal.
During his captivity, Hamas turned down requests from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to be allowed to visit Shalit claiming that any such visit could betray Shalit's location. However, multiple human rights organizations criticize this stance, claiming that the conditions of Shalit's confinement were contrary to international humanitarian law. The Red Cross insisted, “The Shalit family have the right under international humanitarian law to be in contact with their son”. The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict called for Shalit's release in its September 2009 report. In its 27 May 2011 Deauville Declaration, the G8 demanded the release of Gilad Shalit. Shalit's capture has been deemed a kidnapping and abduction by many sources. He was not granted any visits from the Red Cross and was not allowed to communicate with family members (to which he is entitled as a captured soldier under the Geneva Conventions), and a ransom, even if not of a monetary nature, was demanded for his return. The only contact between Shalit and the outside world after his capture and before his release were three letters, an audio tape, and a DVD that Israel received in return for releasing 20 female Palestinian prisoners.

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Hadrian
Hadrian (Latin: Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus 24 January 76 – 10 July 138), was a Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in all his tastes. He was the third of the so-called Five Good Emperors.
Hadrian was born Publius Aelius Hadrianus to an ethnically Italian family in Italica near Seville. His predecessor Trajan was a maternal cousin of Hadrian's father. Trajan never officially designated an heir, but according to his wife Pompeia Plotina, Trajan named Hadrian emperor immediately before his death. Trajan's wife and his friend Licinius Sura were well-disposed towards Hadrian, and he may well have owed his succession to them.

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Henry Baker Tristram
The Reverend Henry Baker Tristram FRS (11 May 1822 – 8 March 1906) was an English clergyman, Biblical scholar, traveller and ornithologist.
Tristram was born at Eglingham vicarage, near Alnwick, Northumberland, and studied at Durham School and Lincoln College, Oxford. In 1846 he was ordained a priest, but he suffered from tuberculosis and was forced to live abroad for his health. He was secretary to the governor of Bermuda from 1847 to 1849. He explored the Sahara desert, and in 1858 visited Palestine, returning there in 1863 and 1872, and dividing his time between natural history observations and identifying localities mentioned in the Old and New Testaments. In 1873 he became canon of Durham Cathedral. In 1881 he travelled again to Palestine, the Lebanon, Mesopotamia, and Armenia. He also made a voyage to Japan to visit his daughter, Katherine Alice Salvin Tristram (1858–1948), who was a missionary and teacher in Osaka, where the famous Church Missionary Society (CMS) School for Girls was opened in 1879, and developed under her guidance between 1888 and 1925.

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Ibn Battuta
Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Lawātī al-Ţanjī ibn Baṭūṭah (Arabic: أبو عبد الله محمد بن عبد الله اللواتي الطنجي بن بطوطة‎), or simply Ibn Battuta (ابن بطوطة), also known as Shams ad-Din (February 25, 1304–1368 or 1369), was a Berber Muslim Moroccan explorer, known for his extensive travels, accounts of which were published in the Rihla (lit. "Journey"). Over a period of thirty years, he visited most of the known Islamic world as well as many non-Muslim lands; his journeys including trips to North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Africa, Southern Europe and Eastern Europe in the West, and to the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China in the East, a distance surpassing threefold his near-contemporary Marco Polo. Ibn Battuta is considered one of the greatest travellers of all time. He journeyed more than 75,000 miles (121,000 km), a figure unsurpassed by any individual explorer until the coming of the Steam Age some 450 years later.
All that is known about Ibn Battuta's life comes from the autobiographical information included in the account of his travels. Ibn Battuta was born into a Berber family of Islamic legal scholars in Tangier, Morocco, on 25 February 1304, during the reign of the Marinid dynasty. As a young man he would have studied at a Sunni Maliki madh'hab, (Islamic jurisprudence school), the dominant form of education in North Africa at that time. In June 1325, at the age of twenty-one, Ibn Battuta set off from his hometown on a hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca, a journey that would take sixteen months. He would not see Morocco again for twenty-four years.

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Ithamar
In the Torah, Ithamar (Hebrew: אִיתָמָר, Modern Itamar Tiberian ʼĪṯāmār ; "palm tree isle/coast";an ancient Hebrew expression for "the father of Tamar") is mentioned as the youngest son of Aaron the High Priest. After the death of his two eldest brothers Nadab and Abihu when they had been punished by the Lord for performing an unauthorized sacrificial offering, Ithamar served as a priest along with his elder brother, Eleazar. During the travels of the Israelites in the desert, Ithamar stood at the head of the children of Gershon and Merari, the carriers of the Tabernacle. He was also in charge of the work of the Levites in general. Ithamar and Eleazar are regarded as the direct male ancestors of all Kohanim.
According to Samaritan sources a civil War broke out between the Sons of Itamar Eli and the Sons of Phinehas-which resulted in the division of those who followed Eli and those who followed High Priest Uzzi ben Bukki at Mount Gerizim Bethel {A third group followed neither}. Likewise according to Samaritan sources the high Priests line of the sons of Phineas died out in 1624 C.E. with the death of the 112th High Priest Shlomyah ben Pinhas when the priesthood was transferred to the sons of Itamar; see article Samaritan for list of High Priests from 1613 to 2004-the 131st High priest of the Samaritans is Elazar ben Tsedaka ben Yitzhaq

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Jesus
Jesus ( /ˈdʒiːzəs/; Greek: Ἰησοῦς; 7–2 BC/BCE to 30–36 AD/CE), also referred to as Jesus Christ or simply Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and most Christian denominations venerate him as God the Son incarnated. In Islam, Jesus (in Arabic: عيسى‎ in Islamic usage, commonly transliterated as Isa) is considered one of God's important prophets.
Most modern historians agree that Jesus existed and was a Jewish teacher from Galilee in Roman Judaea, who was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect, Pontius Pilate. Scholars have offered competing descriptions and portraits of Jesus, which at times share a number of overlapping attributes, such as a rabbi, a charismatic healer, the leader of an apocalyptic movement, a self-described Messiah, a sage and philosopher, or a social reformer who preached of the "Kingdom of God" as a means for personal and egalitarian social transformation. Scholars have correlated the New Testament accounts with non-Christian historical records to arrive at an estimated chronology of Jesus' life.

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Jezzar Pasha
Ahmed al-Jazzar (Arabic أحمد الجزار, Turkish " Cezzar Ahmet Paşa" born 1720 (or in 1708) in Stolac in Bosnia, died 1804 in Acre, Damascus Wiliyah) was the Ottoman ruler of Acre and the Galilee from 1775 until his death.
Jazzar Pasha was a Christian slave boy from Bosnia who, escaping after committing a murder, sold himself to the slave-markets of Istanbul. There he was bought by an Egyptian ruler who converted him to Islam and used him as his chief executioner and hit-man. He began his rise as governor of Cairo but made his name defending Beirut against Catherine the Great´s navy. Beirut was honorably surrendered to the Russians after a long siege and the sultan rewarded al-Jazzar with promotion to Governor of Sidon, and sometimes also that of Damascus. He set up his capital in Acre after the fall of Dhaher al-Omar. He earned the nickname "the Butcher" for his cruelty and extortion of his subjects. He is reputed to have walked around with a mobile gallows in case anyone displeased him.
He led a ruthless 'holy war' (jihad) campaign against non-Muslims. Under his torture, Christians were forced to "accept" Islam. He oppressed Christians (who were massacred) and Jews, A.K.A. (Dhimmi)s. Minorities in Palestine fell victims.

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Julianus ben Sabar
Julianus ben Sabar (also known as Julian or Julianus ben Sahir and Latinized as Iulianus Sabarides) was a messianic leader of the Samaritans, who led a failed revolt against Byzantium during the early 6th century.
In 529 Julianus led a revolt against the Byzantine Empire ruled by Justinian I, because of legislation outlawing the Samaritan religion according to Procopius, though Cyril of Scythopolis claimed it was because of tension with Christians.
Julianus declared himself King of Israel, taking Jeroboam as his model, and led a Samaritan army to ravage the cities of Scythopolis, Caesarea Maritima, Neapolis, Bethlehem, and Emmaus. By 530 he had succeeded in capturing virtually all of Samaria. The revolt was marked by large scale slaughter of Christians and destruction of churches.
Justinian enlisted the help of the Ghassanids, and by 531 the rebellion had been put down. Julianus himself was beheaded according to Theophanes the Confessor. Tens of thousands of Samaritans were killed and enslaved and many were sold as slaves throughout the Middle East. Others were sold as far away as Sassanid Persia, where their descendants would be included in the Persian invasion of the Levant some 85 years later.^{[citation needed]}

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Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr, also known as just Saint Justin (AD 100–165), was an early Christian apologist, and is regarded as the foremost interpreter of the theory of the Logos in the 2nd century. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue did survive. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Most of what is known about the life of Justin Martyr comes from his own writings. He was born at Flavia Neapolis (today Nablus) in Palestine into a pagan family, and defined himself as a Gentile. His grandfather, Bacchius, had a Greek name, while his father, Priscus bore a Latin name, which has led to speculations that his ancestors may have settled in Neapolis soon after its establishment or that they may have descended from a Roman 'diplomatic' community that had been sent there. He received a Greek education. He tells us (Dialogue 2-8) that he tried first the school of a Stoic philosopher, who was unable to explain God's being to him. He then attended a Peripatetic philosopher but was put off because the philosopher was too eager for his fee. Then he went to hear a Pythagorean philosopher, who demanded that he first learn music, astronomy and geometry, which he did not wish to do. Subsequently, he adopted Platonism after encountering a Platonist thinker who had recently settled in his city. Some time afterwards, he chanced upon an old man, possibly a Palestinian or Syrian Christian, in the vicinity of the seashore, who engaged him in a dialogue about God, and spoke of the testimony of the prophets as more reliable than the reasoning of philosophers. It was this argument which, Justin avers, kindled in him a love of Christ, and led him to embrace the Christian faith. He was influenced in this by the fearless conduct of the Christians facing execution (Apol. 2:12). His conversion is commonly assumed to have taken place at Ephesus, though it may have occurred anywhere on the road from Palestine to Rome.

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Justinian I
Justinian I ( /dʒʌˈstɪniən/) (Latin: Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus Augustus, Ancient Greek: Φλάβιος Πέτρος Σαββάτιος Ἰουστινιανός) (c. 482 – 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.
One of the most important figures of Late Antiquity and the last Roman Emperor to speak Latin as a first language, Justinian's rule constitutes a distinct epoch in the history of the Eastern Roman Empire. The impact of his administration extended far beyond the boundaries of his time and domain. Justinian's reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii, or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was expressed by the partial recovery of the territories of the defunct Western Roman Empire. His general Belisarius swiftly conquered the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, extending Roman control to the Atlantic Ocean. Subsequently Belisarius, Narses, and other generals conquered the Ostrogothic Kingdom, restoring Dalmatia, Sicily, Italy, and Rome to the Empire after more than half a century of barbarian control.

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Juvenal of Jerusalem
Saint Juvenal (Greek: Άγιος Ιουβενάλιος) was a bishop of Jerusalem from about 422. In 451, on the see of Jerusalem being recognised as a Patriarchate by the Council of Chalcedon, he became the first Patriarch of Jerusalem, an office he occupied until his death in 458.
Juvenal wanted to make Jerusalem into a primary see (a "Patriarchal see") by demotion of the Metropolitan see of Caesarea and the primary see of Antioch. In 431, he sided with Saint Cyril against Nestorius at the First Council of Ephesus. He argued that the bishop of Antioch should have taken his doctrine from the "apostolic see of Jerusalem", and expected Cyril to assist him in raising Jerusalem at the level of an independent patriarchate. Cyril even wrote a letter to Pope Leo I – then archdeacon in Rome – complaining about Juvenal’s opportunism (Leo, Ep. 119 ad Maximum Antiochenum episcopum in PL 54, 1041–46).
Juvenal was one of the leaders of the Second Council of Ephesus. When, later, Dioscorus was tried for violation of canonical law at the Council of Chalcedon, Juvenal voted for his condemnation. Perhaps in exchange for this vote against his old ally, the council gave Juvenal what he had sought: recognition of Jerusalem as a patriarchal see, ruling over all of Palestine. When he returned, however, monks who favored Dioscorus went into open revolt against him, and only the Imperial army allowed him to take his position.

wn.com/Juvenal_of_Jerusalem
Mamluk
A Mamluk (Arabic: مملوك mamluk (singular), مماليك mamālīk (plural)), "owned"; also transliterated mamlouk, Turkish: Memlük, also called Kölemen; , mamluq, mamluke, mameluk, mameluke, mamaluke or marmeluke was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans or Kipchak and later Circassian and Georgian. The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior class, was of great political importance and was extraordinarily long-lived, lasting from the 9th to the 19th century AD. Over time, mamluks became a powerful military caste in various Muslim societies. Particularly in Egypt, but also in the Levant, Iraq, and India, mamluks held political and military power. In some cases, they attained the rank of sultan, while in others they held regional power as amirs or beys. Most notably, mamluk factions seized the sultanate for themselves in Egypt and Syria in a period known as the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517). The Mamluk Sultanate famously beat back the Mongols at the Battle of Ayn Jalut and fought the Crusaders effectively driving them out from the Levant by 1291 and officially in 1302 ending the era of the Crusades.

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Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, (Arabic: الشعب الفلسطيني‎, ash-sha‘b al-Filasṭīnī) also referred to as Palestinians (Arabic: الفلسطينيون‎, al-Filasṭīniyyūn), are descendants of the peoples who have lived in Palestine over the centuries. Today, Palestinians are largely culturally and linguistically Arab. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one half of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Israel. In this combined area, as of 2004, Palestinians constituted 49% of all inhabitants, encompassing the entire population of the Gaza Strip (1.6 million), the majority of the population of the West Bank (approximately 2.3 million versus close to 500,000 Jewish Israeli citizens which includes about 200,000 in East Jerusalem), and 16.5% of the population of Israel proper as Arab citizens of Israel.
Throughout the aforementioned combined area, many are Palestinian refugees or internally displaced Palestinians, including more than a million in the Gaza Strip, three-quarters of a million in the West Bank,, and about a quarter of a million in Israel proper. Of the Palestinian population who live abroad, making up what is known as the Palestinian diaspora, more than half of these are stateless refugees lacking citizenship in any country. About 2.6 million of the diaspora population live in neighboring Jordan where they make up approximately half the population, 1.5 million live between Syria and Lebanon, a quarter of a million in Saudi Arabia, with Chile's half a million representing the largest concentration outside the Arab world.

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Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians. The synonymous usage of Iranian and Persian has persisted over the centuries although some modern Western sources use Iranic/Iranian as a wider term that includes the term Persian as well as related Iranian languages and ethnic groups. However, these terms have been used both synonymously as well as in a complementary fashion since ancient times; as the Ancient Iranian peoples such as the Old Persians, Medes, Bactrians, Parthians and Avesta peoples considered themselves to be part of the greater Iranian ethnic stock.
The term Persian translates to "from or of Persis" which is a region north of the Persian Gulf located in Pars, Iran. It was from this region that Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid empire, united all other Iranian empires (such as the Medes and the Elamites), and expanded the Persian cultural and social influences by incorporating the Babylonian empire, and the Lydian empire. Although not the first Iranian empire, the Achaemenid empire is the first Persian empire well recognized by Greek and Persian historians for its massive cultural, military and social influences going as far as Athens, Egypt, and Libya.

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Pescennius Niger
Pescennius Niger (Latin: Gaius Pescennius Niger Augustus; c. 135 - 140–194) was a Roman usurper from 193 to 194 during the Year of the Five Emperors. He claimed the imperial throne in response to the murder of Pertinax and the elevation of Didius Julianus, but was defeated by a rival claimant, Septimius Severus and killed while attempting to flee from Antioch.
Although Niger was born into an old Italian equestrian family, around the year 135, he was the first member of his family to achieve the rank of Roman senator. Not much is known of his early career; it is possible that he held an administrative position in Egypt, and that he served in a military campaign in Dacia early in Commodus’ reign. During the late 180s, Niger was elected as a Suffect consul, after which Commodus made him imperial legate of Syria in 191.
He was still serving in Syria when news came through firstly of the murder of Pertinax, followed by the auctioning off of the imperial title to Didius Julianus. Niger was a well regarded public figure in Rome and soon a popular demonstration against Didius Julianus broke out, during which the citizens called out for Niger to come to Rome and claim the imperial title for himself. As a consequence, it is alleged that Julianus dispatched a centurion to the east with orders to assassinate Niger at Antioch.

wn.com/Pescennius_Niger
Philip the Arab
Philip the Arab (Latin: Marcus Julius Philippus Augustus; c. 204 – 249), also known as Philip or Philippus Arabs, was Roman Emperor from 244 to 249. He came from Syria, and rose to become a major figure in the Roman Empire. He achieved power after the death of Gordian III, quickly negotiating peace with the Sassanid Empire. During his reign, Rome celebrated its millennium.
Among early Christian writers Philip had the reputation of being sympathetic to the Christian faith. It was even claimed that he converted to Christianity, becoming the first Christian emperor, but this is disputed. He supposedly tried to celebrate Easter with Christians in Antioch, but the bishop Babylas made him stand with the penitents. Philip and his wife received letters from Origen.
Philip was overthrown and killed following a rebellion led by his successor Decius.
Little is known about Philip's early life and political career. He was born in what is today Shahba, about 55 miles (89 km) southeast of Damascus, in the Trachonitis district, then in the Roman province of Arabia. Philip, who received the nickname "the Arab" because his family hailed from the Roman province of Arabia, was the son of a Julius Marinus, a local Roman citizen, possibly of some importance.

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Phinehas
Phinehas (Hebrew: פִּינְחָס, Modern Pinəḥas Tiberian Pinchas) was a High Priest of Israel in the wilderness, the grandson of Aaron, and son of Eleazar the High Priest (Exodus 6:25), who distinguished himself as a youth at Shittim by his zeal against the Heresy of Peor: the immorality with which the Moabites and Midianites had successfully tempted the people (Numbers 25:1-9) to worship Baal-peor where Phineas personally executed an Israelite man and a Midianite woman while they were together in the man's tent, running a spear or lance through the man and the belly of the woman ending a plague said to have been sent by God to punish the Israelites for sexually intermingling with the Midianites. Phineas is commended for having stopped Israel's fall to idolatrous practices brought in by Midianite women, as well as for stopping the desecration of God's sanctuary. He is commemorated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church on September 2.
The Oxford Guide to the Bible and Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew and English Lexicon identify it as a variant of the Egyptian name Pa-nehasi. According to the former, "The Bible also uses Egyptian and Nubian names for the land and its people... For the Egyptians used to these color variations, the term for their southern neighbors was Nehesi, "southerner", which eventually also came to mean "the black" or "the Nubian". This Egyptian root (nhsj, with the preformative p' as a definite article) appears in Exodus 6.25 as the personal name of Aaron's grandson Phinehas (=pa-nehas)"The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament interprets the name to mean "the bronze-colored one". Phinehas, like Moses and Nun lived in Egypt and their names were shared by the dominant culture there.

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Rashidun
The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs (الخلفاء الراشدون al-Khulafā’u r-Rāshidūn) is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four Caliphs who established the Rashidun Caliphate. The concept of "Rightly Guided Caliphs" originated with the Abbasid Dynasty. It is a reference to the Sunni tradition, "Hold firmly to my example (sunnah) and that of the Rightly Guided Caliphs" (Ibn Majah, Abu Dawood).
The first four Caliphs who ruled after the death of Muhammad are often quoted as the Khulafah Rashidun.
The Rashidun were either elected by a council (see The election of Uthman and Islamic democracy) or chosen based on the wishes of their predecessor. In the order of succession, the rashidun were:
Hasan ibn Ali was appointed as Caliph in 661 following the death of Ali and is also regarded as a righteous ruler by Sunni Muslims, although he was recognized by only half of the Islamic state and his rule was challenged and eventually ended by the Governor of Syria, Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan.

wn.com/Rashidun
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb (Arabic: صلاح الدين يوسف بن أيوب‎, Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb, Kurdish: سه‌لاحه‌دین ئه‌یوبی, Selah'edînê Eyubî) (ca. 1138 – March 4, 1193), better known in the Western world as Saladin, was a Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant. At the height of his power, his sultanate included Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Hejaz, Yemen, and parts of North Africa.
Under his personal leadership, his forces defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin, leading the way to his re-capture of Palestine, which had been seized from the Fatimid Egyptians by the Crusaders 88 years earlier. Though the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem would continue to exist for a period, its defeat at Hattin marked a turning point in its conflict with the Muslims and Arabs. As such, Saladin is a prominent figure in Kurdish, Arab, and Muslim culture. Saladin was a strict adherent of Sunni Islam. His noble and chivalrous behavior was noted by Christian chroniclers, especially in the accounts of the Siege of Kerak, and despite being the nemesis of the Crusaders, he won the respect of many of them, including Richard the Lionheart; rather than becoming a hated figure in Europe, he became a celebrated example of the principles of chivalry.

wn.com/Saladin
Samaritans
The Samaritans (Hebrew: שומרונים‎ Shomronim, Arabic: السامريون‎ as-Sāmariyyūn) are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Religiously the Samaritans are adherents of Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism. Based on the Samaritan Torah, Samaritans claim their worship is the true religion of the ancient Israelites prior to the Babylonian Exile, preserved by those who remained in the Land of Israel, as opposed to Judaism, which they assert is a related but altered and amended religion brought back by those returning from exile.
Ancestrally, Samaritans claim descent from a group of Israelite inhabitants from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (the two sons of Joseph) as well as some descendants from the priestly tribe of Levi, who have connections to ancient Samaria from the period of their entry into the land of Canaan, while some suggest that it was from the beginning of the Babylonian Exile up to the Samaritan Kingdom of Baba Rabba. The Samaritans, however, derive their name not from this geographical designation, but rather from the Hebrew term Shamerim שַמֶרִים, "Keepers [of the Law]".

wn.com/Samaritans
Sami Hadawi
Sami Hadawi (Arabic: سامي هداوي‎, March 6, 1904–April 22, 2004) was a Palestinian scholar and author. He is known for documenting the effects of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War on the Arab population in Palestine and published statistics for individual villages prior to Israel's establishment. Hadawi worked as a land specialist until he was exiled from Jerusalem after a fierce battle in his neighborhood between Israeli and Jordanian forces. He continued to specialize in documenting Palestine's lands and published several books about the 1948 War and the Palestinian refugees.
Hadawi was born in Jerusalem to Arab Christian parents. His father was a soldier in the army of the Ottoman Empire and died in combat during World War I. In 1915, after his father's death, Hadawi's family moved to Amman. Three years later he worked as an unofficial interpreter for the British Army and then moved back to Palestine the year after to work as a clerk for the Land Registration Office.
His interest in the structure of Arab villages began with his job there and then his job at the Land Settlement Department from 1920-27. Hadawi eventually became an inspector and land value assessor from 1938-48 and was the major contributor to the Village Statistics 1945: A Classification of Land and Area Ownership in Palestine which was a land and population census of the Arab localities in the British Mandate of Palestine. He lived in his grandfather's home in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City until 1948. In 1948, he, his wife Nora and their two children built a home for themselves in Katamon. That same year they were forced to leave with the advance of Israeli forces.

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Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus (Latin: Lucius Septimius Severus Augustus; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211), also known as Severus, was Roman Emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of Emperor Pertinax in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors. After deposing and killing the incumbent emperor Didius Julianus, Severus fought his rival claimants, the generals Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus. Niger was defeated in 194 at the Battle of Issus in Cilicia. Later that year Severus waged a short punitive campaign beyond the eastern frontier, annexing the Kingdom of Osroene as a new province. Severus defeated Albinus three years later at the Battle of Lugdunum in Gaul.
After solidifying his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged another brief, more successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 197 and expanding the eastern frontier to the Tigris. Furthermore, he enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes; capturing their capital Garama and expanding the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern frontier of the empire. Late in his reign he traveled to Britain, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In 208 he invaded Caledonia modern Scotland, but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill in late 210. Severus died in early 211 at Eboracum, succeeded by his sons Caracalla and Geta. With the succession of his sons, Severus founded the Severan dynasty, the last dynasty of the empire before the Crisis of the Third Century.

wn.com/Septimius_Severus
Trebonianus Gallus
Trebonianus Gallus (Latin: Gaius Vibius Afinius Trebonianus Gallus Augustus; 206 – August 253), also known as Gallus, was Roman Emperor from 251 to 253, in a joint rule with his son Volusianus.
Gallus was born in Italy, in a family with respected ancestry of Etruscan senatorial background. He had two children in his marriage with Afinia Gemina Baebiana: Gaius Vibius Volusianus, later Emperor, and a daughter, Vibia Galla. His early career was a typical cursus honorum, with several appointments, both political and military. He was suffect consul and in 250 was nominated governor of the Roman province of Moesia Superior, an appointment that showed the confidence of Emperor Trajan Decius in him. In Moesia, Gallus was a key figure in repelling the frequent invasion attacks by the Gothic tribes of the Danube and became popular with the army, catered to during his brief Imperial rule by his official image: military haircut, gladiatorial physique, intimidating stance (illustration, left).
In June 251, Decius and his co-emperor and son Herennius Etruscus died in the Battle of Abrittus, at the hands of the Goths they were supposed to punish for raids into the empire. According to rumours supported by Dexippus (a contemporary Greek historian) and the Thirteenth Sibylline Oracle, Decius' failure was largely owing to Gallus who had conspired with the invaders. In any case, when the army heard the news, the soldiers proclaimed Gallus emperor, despite Hostilian, Decius' surviving son, ascending the imperial throne in Rome. This action of the army, and the fact that Gallus seems to have been on good terms with Decius' family, makes Dexippus' allegation improbable. Gallus did not back down from his intention to become emperor, but accepted Hostilian as co-emperor, perhaps to avoid the damage of another civil war.

wn.com/Trebonianus_Gallus
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" (Turkish: singular: Türk, plural: Türkler), are a nation and ethnic group primarily living in Turkey, and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities have been established in the Balkans, the island of Cyprus, the Levant, Meskhetia, and North Africa. The Turkish minorities are the second largest ethnic groups in Bulgaria and Cyprus. In addition, due to modern migration, a Turkish diaspora has been established, particularly in Western Europe (see Turks in Europe), where large communities have been formed in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. There are also Turkish communities living in Australia, the former Soviet Union and the United States.
Although Turkic languages may have been spoken as early as 600 BC, the name "Turk" first appeared in Chinese sources and derives from the term "Tujue" (T’u-chue), meaning "strong" or "powerful", which was used in the 6th century C.E. to refer to the Göktürks.

wn.com/Turkish_people
Umar
Umar (Arabic: عمر ابن الخطاب, Transliteration: `Umar ibn Al-Khattāb, Umar Son of Al-Khittab, c. 586–590 CE– 7 November 644), also known as Omar, Farooq the Great was the most powerful of the four Rashidun Caliphs and one of the most powerful and influential Muslim rulers in history. He was a sahabi (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He succeeded Caliph Abu Bakr (632–634) as the second Caliph of Rashidun Caliphate on 23 August 634. He was an expert jurist and is best known for his justice, that earned him the title Al-Farooq (The one who distinguishes between right and wrong). Under Umar the Islamic empire expanded at an unprecedented rate ruling the whole Sassanid Persian Empire and more than two thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire. His brilliantly coordinated multi-prong attacks against the Sassanid Persian Empire resulted in the conquest of the Persian empire in less than two years. His legislative abilities and firm political and administrative control over a rapidly expanding empire marked his reputation as a great political and military leader. It was Umar, who for the first time in 500 years since their expulsion from the Holy Land, allowed Jews to practice their religion freely and live inside Jerusalem.^{[citation needed]}

wn.com/Umar
Vespasian
Vespasian (Latin: Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus Augustus; 17 November 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman Emperor from AD 69 to AD 79. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Although he attained the standard succession of public offices, holding the consulship in AD 51, Vespasian became more reputed as a successful military commander, participating in the Roman invasion of Britain in 43, and subjugating Judaea during the Jewish rebellion of AD 66.
While Vespasian was preparing to besiege the city of Jerusalem during the latter campaign, emperor Nero committed suicide, plunging the empire into a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. After the emperors Galba and Otho perished in quick succession, Vitellius became Emperor in April AD 69. In response, the armies in Egypt and Judaea declared Vespasian emperor on 1 July. In his bid for imperial power, Vespasian joined forces with Mucianus, the governor of Syria, and Primus, a general in Pannonia. Primus and Mucianus led the Flavian forces against Vitellius, while Vespasian gained control of Egypt. On 20 December, Vitellius was defeated, and the following day Vespasian was declared Emperor by the Roman Senate.

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World War I
World War I (WWI), which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939 (World War II), and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. It involved all the world's great powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom, France and Russia) and the Central Powers (originally centred around the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy; but, as Austria–Hungary had taken the offensive against the agreement, Italy did not enter into the war). These alliances both reorganised (Italy fought for the Allies), and expanded as more nations entered the war. Ultimately more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. More than 9 million combatants were killed, largely because of enormous increases in lethality of weapons, thanks to new technology, without corresponding improvements in protection or mobility. It was the sixth-deadliest conflict in world history, subsequently paving the way for various political changes such as revolutions in the nations involved.

wn.com/World_War_I

Faces of Nablus

published: 31 Jan 2012

author: WorldwideCollection

Travel Palestine - Nablus

Nablus known as 'The Uncrowned Queen of Palestine' is one of the major commercial, industr...

published: 25 Jan 2012

author: TravelPalestine

Witness - Nablus: The Business of Occupation

An old soap factory, a modern olive oil plant and two import-export agents struggle to do ...

published: 26 Sep 2010

author: AlJazeeraEnglish

Nablus - West Bank

Israeli army forces clashes with Palestinian residents....

published: 26 Mar 2008

author: nocommenttv

Nablus

A weekend spent in Nablus....

published: 20 Jul 2011

author: Karina07891

nablus nablus downtown

nablus the city of palestine , nothing like nablus but nablus...

published: 26 Apr 2011

author: hishamthaher

Tour of Nablus Palestine

Students, Faculty and Community members from the West Bank city of Nablus gave a tour of t...

published: 17 Jul 2011

author: alarmhtx

Ein Yanun, Nablus, West Bank | workforhope.org

workforhope.org is the humanitarian meaning of the "cash for work" project that COOPI and ...

published: 29 Jan 2013

author: COOPIchannel

Startup Weekend Nablus#2 2013 - Ibrahim Taha joke

...

published: 29 Jan 2013

author: mouaz sorakji

Old City of Nablus

...

published: 28 Jan 2012

author: ConMel

Nablus Alternative Tour - Culture - Politics - People

The Green Olive Tour of Nablus visits Jacob's Well, The Old City, Balata Refugee Camp, an ...

published: 11 Oct 2012

author: Green Olive

Street Jokes (2.17) - Nablus نكت شوارع - من نابلس

صفحتنا على الفيسبوك www.facebook.com الحلقة السابعة عشرة من الموسم الثاني من البرنامج الكو...

published: 02 Feb 2012

author: StreetJks

Nablus, Palestine. Teknyc Video Blog 5.

These are my kids in Nablus, Palestine who i worked with during our tour in the middle eas...

published: 24 Apr 2012

author: TEKNYC SKILL METHODZ

أصابة جندي أسرائيلي على حاجز حواره

للتواصل www.facebook.com أصابة جندي اسرائيلي على حاجز حواره في المواجهات التي اندلعت مؤخرا...

published: 18 Nov 2012

author: rasef wattan

WE ALL GOOD PEOPLE pt. 1 (ISRAEL/PALESTINE)

somewhere between the mediterranean and the jordan. download the soundtrack from my blog:...

published: 15 Oct 2010

author: Grant Slater

Nablus

Video of Nablus, olive oil and soap making in this city...

published: 17 Apr 2012

author: Westbank Art

Nablus

published: 17 Sep 2010

author: kino accion

nablus

published: 27 Oct 2011

author: palestinian heritage center

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photo: AP / Manish

ALTERNATE CROP OF DEL108 - A Tibetan man screams as he runs engulfed in flames after self-immolating at a protest in New Delhi, India, ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the country Monday, March 26, 2012. The Tibetan activist lit himself on fire at the gathering and was rushed to hospital with unknown injuries, reports said.

As Self-Immolations Approach 100, Some Tibetans Are Asking if It Is Worth It

The New York Times

02 Feb 2013

NEW DELHI — A crowd of Tibetans came here to India’s capital last week, bearing flags and political banners and a bittersweet admixture of hope and despair. A grim countdown was under way. The number of Tibetans who have set themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule in Tibet had reached 99, one short of an anguished milestone. Enlarge This Image. Freetibet.org, via Associated Press ... Related ... Connect With Us on Twitter ... (Mr ... Mr ... ....(size: 10.7Kb)

photo: AP / Elise Amendola

Pedestrians walk through a gate on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012.

Harvard: Dozens disciplined over exam cheating

New Straits/Business Times

02 Feb 2013

BOSTON. Harvard University said Friday it issued academic sanctions against about 60 students who were forced to withdraw from school for a period of time in a cheating scandal that involved the final exam in a class on Congress, drawing criticism from a high-profile alumnus.   The school implicated as many as 125 students in the scandal when officials first addressed the issue last year. . ... . ... . ... ....(size: 5.1Kb)

photo: AP / Manu Brabo

A Free Syrian Army fighter fires his weapon during clashes with government forces in the Karmal Jabl district of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012.

US says Iran steps up Syria support

Al Jazeera

01 Feb 2013

Hillary Clinton, the outgoing US secretary of state, has warned that Iran is stepping up its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while Russia is continuing to send money and arms to the regime. Clinton on Thursday accused Tehran of sending into Syria "more personnel" to support and advise military security forces in their fight against the armed opposition ... "The Iranians have been actively involved from the very beginning ... ....(size: 19.0Kb)

photo: US Navy / MCS2 Matthew D. Leistikow

File - U.S. Army Pfc. Donivan Dean, 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Brigade, 37th Armor Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, finds a spot to maintain a security overwatch as members of the Iraqi Army's 3rd Company, 1st Battalion, 46th Brigade, 12th Iraqi Army Division, conduct a Flash Traffic Control Point by the Schmit Bridge in Zaab, Iraq, Feb. 27, 2010.

Dozens killed in Iraq police compound attack

France24

03 Feb 2013

At least 33 people were killed on Sunday after a suicide bomber and two gunmen attacked a police headquarters in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, official sources said, the third major attack in the region in several weeks. By News Wires (text).  . A suicide bomber driving a car and gunmen disguised in police uniforms killed at least 33 people in the Iraqi city Kirkuk on Sunday when they tried to storm the police headquarters ... (REUTERS). IRAQ....(size: 8.5Kb)

photo: AP / Harouna Traore

A man suspected of being a Jihadist, arrested by Malian forces in Lere, sits at the police station where he is being held in Timbuktu, Mali, Friday Feb. 1, 2013.

UN alarmed at Mali army abuse claim

The Times of India

02 Feb 2013

UNITED NATIONS. The United Nations expressed alarm Friday over reported mob lynchings and other reprisal killings of Tuaregs and Arabs as the Malian army retakes control of the north of the country. Adama Dieng, a special adviser to UN leader Ban Ki-moon on the prevention of genocide, said there have been "serious allegations" of summary executions by the Malian army, which could amount to "atrocity crimes." ... ....(size: 2.4Kb)

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IDF razes Palestinian West Bank encampment despite being told it had no authority to operate there

Ha'aretz

04 Feb 2013

The IDF said the site, which is south of Nablus, is “on the seam between Areas B and C.” Area C is under complete Israeli security and civilian control. ... Col. Oriya Hetzroni had trouble getting the situation under control. ... “A violent and illegal disturbance of the peace took place [Saturday] near Burin, south of Nablus, in which 150 Palestinians participated, who threw stones at security forces,” the army said in a statement ... ....(size: 5.8Kb)

World In Conflict (PHOTOS)

Huffington Post

03 Feb 2013

One month into 2013, conflicts around the world raged on without relief ... Loading Slideshow. World In Conflict ... 1, 2013 ... 25, 2013 ... A Palestinian protester throws back a tear gas canister fired by Israeli soldiers near a cloud of black smoke rising from burning tyres during a demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, on January 4, 2013 ... ....(size: 11.2Kb)

For third time this month, Palestinians attempt to erect West Bank protest camp

Ha'aretz

02 Feb 2013

IDF soldiers and settlers clashed with Palestinians in the West Bank village of Burin, just south of Nablus on Saturady morning, after ......(size: 0.7Kb)

Clashes in West Bank village after Palestinians erect protest camp

Ha'aretz

02 Feb 2013

IDF soldiers and settlers clashed with Palestinians in the West Bank village of Burin, just south of Nablus on Saturday morning, after ......(size: 0.7Kb)

For third time this month, Palestinians attempt to erect protest camp

Ha'aretz

02 Feb 2013

IDF soldiers and settlers clashed with Palestinians in the West Bank village of Burin, just south of Nablus on Saturady morning, after ......(size: 0.7Kb)

Palestinians erect tent village to protest settlement expansion

Newstrack India

02 Feb 2013

Tweet ... The village is located near Nablus city and the activists say 80 percent of its land was used or allocated for the use of Jewish settlement activities ... The activists started the tactic of tent villages since the beginning of 2013 in a bid to draw attention to the confiscation of land ... Post comments.. ) .. ).. Comments.. HOME . . . . . . .. . . .. ....(size: 2.5Kb)

Palestinians evicted from protest camp

Khaleej Times

02 Feb 2013

Palestinians and activists were on Saturday forcefully removed from a new camp near a West Bank village, after a third attempt at the novel form of protest against Jewish settlement. An AFP correspondent said the army used tear gas and violence to remove hundreds of people who had set up four temporary huts and three tents near Burin, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank ... “It is all quiet there now,” she added ... ....(size: 2.9Kb)

Israeli security forces dismantle Palestinian protest camp

Newstrack India

02 Feb 2013

Tweet. Ramallah/Jerusalem, Feb 2 (IANS) Israeli security forces used force Saturday to disperse Palestinian activists attempting to set up a camp in West Bank in protest of Israeli expansion of settlement, witnesses and medics said, reported Xinhua ... The activists pitched eight tents and decorated them with Palestinian flags in the mountainous area in south of Nablus, which the Israeli army has announced as a closed zone months ago ... ) .....(size: 3.8Kb)

Palestinians set up new West Bank protest camp

The Siasat Daily

02 Feb 2013

Burin, February 02 .. Palestinians and activists were today setting up camp near a village in the northern West Bank, in their third attempt at a new form of protest against Jewish settlements. An AFP correspondent said the structures at the site near Burin, south of Nablus, so far comprised of four huts and. three tents. The neighbourhood is called Al-Manatir," activist Abir Kopty told AFP ... They set up two tents at the. scene ... Comments(0)....(size: 3.5Kb)

Israelis evict Palestinian protest camp

Al Jazeera

02 Feb 2013

Israeli authorities have fired tear gas and violently evicted Palestinians and activists who were setting up a protest camp near an Occupied West Bank village. An AFP correspondent said the army used tear gas and violence to remove hundreds of people who had set up four temporary huts and three tents near Burin, south of Nablus, in the northern Occupied West Bank on Saturday ... "It is all quiet there now," she added ... 447 Source .. Agencies....(size: 18.7Kb)

Noah Beck: Mali, Gaza and media bias

The Providence Journal

01 Feb 2013

By NOAH BECK. I support France's military action against al-Qaida-linked forces in Mali. But much of the news media's reaction to it -- when contrasted with coverage of Israel's military actions in Gaza -- reveals flagrant double standards. More on that after my reasons for supporting France's Mali operation ... 23 (and in 2000), Palestinians desecrated Joseph's Tomb, in Nablus -- hateful vandalism overlooked by most news organizations ... ....(size: 5.7Kb)

Insider's Guide to Jerusalem

Wall Street Journal

01 Feb 2013

Enlarge Image. Close. THE ANCIENT CITY of Jerusalem is anything but old news. Tucked within the rocky Judean Hills, the capital city hosts a polyglot mix of diplomats and journalists, along with its roughly 800,000 locals. If nightlife mecca Tel Aviv is the Israeli family tree's free-spirited younger sister, then Jerusalem is the cosmopolitan older brother. Asia Bangkok . Mumbai Seoul . Shanghai ... Paris ... ... 14 Nablus Rd., armenianceramics.com ... ....(size: 14.1Kb)

Israel must withdraw all settlers or face ICC, says UN report

The Guardian

31 Jan 2013

UN Human Rights Council says Israel is in violation of Geneva convention and should face international criminal court. A Palestinian demonstrator during a weekly protest against the Jewish settlement of Qadomem, near Nablus, West Bank. Photograph. Alaa Badarneh/EPA ... Israel, it said, was in violation of article 49 of the fourth Geneva convention, which forbids the transfer of civilian populations to occupied territory ... It added ... ....(size: 5.0Kb)

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This article is about the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank, and its predecessor, the Roman city of Flavia Neapolis. For the biblical city of Shechem, at the same location, see Shechem.

Nablus

Other transcription(s)

• Arabic

نابلس

• Also spelled

Nabulus (official)

• Hebrew

שכם

Old city of Nablus and Mount Gerizim in background

Official logo of Nablus
Municipal Seal of Nablus

Nablus

Location of Nablus within the Palestinian territories

Coordinates: 32°13′13″N 35°16′44″E / 32.22028°N 35.27889°ECoordinates: 32°13′13″N 35°16′44″E / 32.22028°N 35.27889°E

Governorate

Nablus

Founded

72 CE

Government

• Type

City (from 1995)

• Head of Municipality

Adly Yaish

Area

• Jurisdiction

28,564 dunams (28.6 km² or 11.0 sq mi)

Population (2007)^[1]

• Jurisdiction

126,132

Website

www.nablus.org

Nablus (Arabic: نابلس‎ Nāblus [næːblʊs] ( listen), Hebrew: שכם‎ Šəḵem, Biblical Shechem ISO 259-3 Škem) is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately 63 kilometers (39 mi) north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132.^[1] Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.

Founded by the Roman Emperor Vespasian in 72 CE as Flavia Neapolis, Nablus has been ruled by many empires over the course of its almost 2,000-year-long history. In the 5th and 6th centuries, conflict between the city's Christian and Samaritan inhabitants climaxed in a series of Samaritan revolts against Byzantine rule, before their violent quelling in 529 CE drastically dwindled that community's numbers in the city. In 636, Neapolis, along with most of Palestine, came under the rule of the Islamic Arab Caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab; its name Arabicized to Nablus. In 1099, the Crusaders took control of the city for less than a century, leaving its mixed Muslim, Christian and Samaritan population relatively undisturbed. After Saladin's Ayyubid forces took control of the interior of Palestine in 1187, Islamic rule was reestablished, and continued under the Mamluk and Ottoman empires to follow.

Following its incorporation into the Ottoman empire in 1517, Nablus was designated capital of the Jabal Nablus ("Mount Nablus") district. In 1657, after a series of upheavals, a number of Arab clans from the northern and eastern Levant were dispatched to the city to reassert Ottoman authority, and loyalty from amongst these clans staved off challenges to the empire's authority by rival regional leaders, like Dhaher al-Omar in the 18th century, and Muhammad Ali—who briefly ruled Nablus—in the 19th century. When Ottoman rule was firmly reestablished in 1841, Nablus prospered as a center of trade.

After the loss of the city to British forces during World War I, Nablus was incorporated into the British Mandate of Palestine in 1922, and later designated to form part of the Arab state of Palestine under the 1947 UN partition plan. The end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War saw the city instead fall to Jordan, to which it was unilaterally annexed, until its occupation by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War.

Today, the population is predominantly Muslim, with small Christian and Samaritan minorities. Since 1995, the city has been governed by the Palestinian National Authority. In the Old City, there are a number of sites of archaeological significance, spanning the 1st to 15th centuries. The city is known for its kanafeh, a popular sweet throughout the Middle East, and soap industry.

History [link]

Classical antiquity [link]

Further information: Samaritan Revolts and Samaria

Flavia Neapolis ("new city of the emperor Flavius") was founded in 72 CE by the Roman emperor Vespasian over an older Samaritan village, Mabartha ("the passage").^[2] Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, the new city lay 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) west of the Biblical city of Shechem which was destroyed by the Romans that same year during the First Jewish-Roman War.^[3]^[4] Holy places at the site of the city's founding include Joseph's Tomb and Jacob's Well. Due to the city's strategic geographic position and the abundance of water from nearby springs, Neapolis prospered, accumulating extensive territory, including the former Judean toparchy of Acraba.^[3]

Insofar as the hilly topography of the site would allow, the city was built on a Roman grid plan and settled with veterans who fought in the victorious legions and other foreign colonists.^[2] In the 2nd century CE, Emperor Hadrian built a grand theater in Neapolis that could seat up to 7,000 people.^[5] Coins found in Nablus dating to this period depict Roman military emblems and gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon such as Zeus, Artemis, Serapis, and Asklepios.^[2] Neapolis was entirely pagan at this time.^[2] Justin Martyr who was born in the city c. 100 CE, came into contact with Platonism, but not with Christians there.^[2] The city flourished until the civil war between Septimius Severus and Pescennius Niger in 198–9 CE. Having sided with Niger, who was defeated, the city was temporarily stripped of its legal privileges by Severus, who designated these to Sebastia instead.^[2]

In 244 CE, Philip the Arab transformed Flavius Neapolis into a Roman colony named Julia Neapolis. It retained this status until the rule of Trebonianus Gallus in 251 CE. The Encyclopaedia Judaica speculates that Christianity was dominant in the 2nd or 3rd century, with some sources positing a later date of 480 CE.^[6] It is known for certain that a bishop from Nablus participated in the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE.^[7] The presence of Samaritans in the city is attested to in literary and epigraphic evidence dating to the 4th century CE.^[7] As yet, there is no evidence attesting to a Jewish presence in ancient Neapolis.^[7]

Ruins from antiquity in a residential area in Nablus, 2008

Conflict amongst the Christian population of Neapolis emerged in 451. By this time, Neapolis was within the Palaestina Prima province under the rule of the Byzantine Empire. The tension was a result of Monophysite Christian attempts to prevent the return of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Juvenal, to his episcopal see.^[3] However, the conflict did not grow into civil strife.

As tensions among the Christians of Neapolis decreased, tensions between the Christian community and the Samaritans grew dramatically. In 484, the city became the site of a deadly encounter between the two groups, provoked by rumors that the Christians intended to transfer the remains of Aaron's sons and grandsons Eleazar, Ithamar and Phinehas. Samaritans reacted by entering the cathedral of Neapolis, killing the Christians inside and severing the fingers of the bishop Terebinthus. Terebinthus then fled to Constantinople, requesting an army garrison to prevent further attacks. As a result of the revolt, the Byzantine emperor Zeno erected a church dedicated to Mary on Mount Gerizim. He also forbade the Samaritans to travel to the mountain to celebrate their religious ceremonies, and confiscated their synagogue there. These actions by the emperor fueled Samaritan anger towards the Christians further.^[3]

Thus, the Samaritans rebelled again under the rule of emperor Anastasius I, reoccupying Mount Gerizim, which was subsequently reconquered by the Byzantine governor of Edessa, Procopius. A third Samartian revolt which took place under the leadership of Julianus ben Sabar in 529 was perhaps the most violent. Neapolis' bishop Ammonas was murdered and the city's priests were hacked into pieces and then burned together with the relics of saints. The forces of Emperor Justinian I were sent in to quell the revolt, which ended with the slaughter of the majority of the Samaritan population in the city.^[3]

Early Islamic era [link]

File:Nablus Great Mosque-cropped.JPG

Minaret and entrance of 10th century Great Mosque of Nablus, 1908

Neapolis, along with most of Palestine, was conquered by the Muslims under Khaled ibn al-Walid—a general of the Rashidun army of Umar ibn al-Khattab—in 636 after the Battle of Yarmouk.^[3]^[4] The city's name was retained in its Arabicized form, Nabulus. The town prevailed as an important trade center during the centuries of Islamic Arab rule under the Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid dynasties. Under Muslim rule, Nablus contained a diverse population of Arabs and Persians, Muslims, Samaritans, Christians and Jews.^[3] In the 10th-century, the Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi, described it as abundant of olive trees, with a large marketplace, a finely paved Great Mosque, houses built of stone, a stream running through the center of the city, and notable mills.^[8] He also noted that it was nicknamed "Little Damascus."^[5]^[8] At the time, the linen produced in Nablus was of well-known throughout the Old World.^[9]

Crusader period [link]

The city was captured by Crusaders in 1099, under the command of Prince Tancred, and renamed Naples.^[3] Though the Crusaders extorted many supplies from the population for their troops who were en route to Jerusalem, they did not sack the city, presumably because of the large Christian population there.^[10] Nablus became part of the royal domain of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Muslim, Eastern Orthodox Christian, and Samaritan populations remained in the city, and were joined by some Crusaders who settled therein to take advantage of the city's abundant resources. In 1120, the Crusaders convened the Council of Nablus out of which was issued the first written laws for the kingdom.^[3] They converted the Samaritan synagogue in Nablus into a church.^[10] The Samaritan community built a new synagogue in the 1130s.^[11]

During the second half of Crusader reign in Nablus, Muslim forces launched incursions to regain control of the city. In 1137, Arab and Turkish troops stationed in Damascus raided Nablus, killing many Christians and burning down the city's churches. However, they were unsuccessful in retaking the city.^[3] Queen Melisende of Jerusalem resided in Nablus from 1150 to 1161, after she was granted control over the city in order to resolve a dispute with her son Baldwin III. Crusaders began building Christian institutions in Nablus, including a church dedicated to the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus, and in 1170 they erected a hospice for pilgrims.^[3]

Ayyubid and Mamluk rule [link]

Interior view of the Nasr Mosque, converted from a Crusader church to a mosque in the 13th-century

Crusader rule came to an end in 1187, when the Ayyubids led by Saladin captured the city. According to a liturgical manuscript in Syriac, Latin Christians fled Nablus, but the original Eastern Orthodox Christian inhabitants remained. Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi (1179–1229), wrote that Ayyubid Nablus was a "celebrated city in Filastin (Palestine)... having wide lands and a fine district." He also mentions the large Samaritan population in the city.^[12]

After its recapture by the Muslims, the Great Mosque of Nablus, which had become a church under Crusader rule, was restored as a mosque by the Ayyubids, who also built a mausoleum in the old city.^[6] In 1242, the Great Mosque was burnt by the Templar Knights during a three-day raid in which they killed 1,000 people and took many women and children who were then sold in the slave markets of Acre.^[13]^[14] The Samaritan synagogue, built in 362 CE by the high priest Akbon and converted into a church by the Crusaders, was converted into al-Khadra Mosque in 1244; and two other Crusader churches became the an-Nasr Mosque and al-Masakim Mosque during that century.^[3]^[10]

The Mamluk dynasty gained control of Nablus in 1260 and during their reign, they built numerous mosques and schools.^[4] Under Mamluk rule, Nablus possessed running water, many Turkish bathes and exported olive oil and soap to Egypt, Syria, the Hejaz, several Mediterranean islands, and the Arabian Desert. The city's olive oil was also used in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Ibn Battuta, the Arab explorer, visited Nablus in 1355, and described it as a city "full of trees and streams and full of olives." He noted that the city grew and exported carob jam to Cairo and Damascus.^[12]

Ottoman era [link]

Jacob's well, 1912

Nablus came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in 1517, along with the whole of Palestine. The Ottomans divided Palestine into six sanjaqs ("districts"): Safad, Jenin, Jerusalem, Gaza, Ajlun and Nablus, all of which were part of Ottoman Syria. These five sanjaqs were subdistricts of the Vilayet of Damascus. Sanjaq Nablus was further subdivided into five nahiya (subdistricts), in addition to the city itself. The Ottomans did not attempt to restructure the political configuration of the region on the local level such that the borders of the nahiya were drawn to coincide with the historic strongholds of certain families. Nablus was only one among a number of local centers of power within Jabal Nablus, and its relations with the surrounding villages, such as Beita and Aqraba, were partially mediated by the rural-based chiefs of the nahiya.^[15] During the 16th-century, the population was predominantly Muslim, with Jewish, Samaritan and Christian minorities.^[3]^[16]^[17]

After decades of upheavals and rebellions mounted by Arab tribes in the Middle East, the Ottomans attempted to reassert centralized control over the Arab vilayets. In 1657, they sent an expeditionary force of local Ottoman-aligned Arab families based in various Syrian cities to pacify Nablus. In return for their services, the families were granted agricultural lands around the villages of Jabal Nablus. The Ottomans, fearing that the new Arab land holders would establish independent bases of power, dispersed the land plots to separate and distant locations within Jabal Nablus to avoid clusters of clans. The 1657 campaign succeeded and the Syrian Arab families began to have a foothold in Nablus' affairs. The largest family were the Nimrs, who originated from villages surrounding Hama and Homs. The other two prominent families were the Jarrars from Balqa and the Touqans from northern Syria. Eventually gaining the role of nahiya chiefs, they began intermarrying with local merchant and leading religious families. Thus, these new families were integrated into Nablus' population. Under an arrangement in 1723, the Touqans and the Nimrs shared and trade leadership of Nablus, and the Jarrars became the chiefs of the nahiya of Jabal Nablus.^[15]

Nablus, by W. C. P. Medlycott, in H. B. Tristram, 1865.^[18]

In the mid-18th-century, Dhaher al-Omar, a Bedouin ruler of the Galilee and Acre become a dominant figure in northern Palestine. In order to build up his army, he strove to gain a monopoly over the cotton and olive oil trade of the Levant, which Jabal Nablus fueled. In 1771, during the Mamluk invasion of Syria, al-Omar aligned himself with the Mamluks and besieged Nablus, but did not succeed in taking the city. In 1773, he tried again without success. Nevertheless, from a political perspective, the sieges led to a decline in the importance of the city in favor of Acre. Al-Omar's successor, Jezzar Pasha, maintained Acre's dominance over Nablus. After his reign ended in 1804, Nablus regained its autonomy, and the Touqans, who represented a principal opposing force, rose to power.^[19]

Egyptian rule and Ottoman revival [link]

Nablus in 1898

After Egypt declared independence from Ottoman rule under the leadership of Muhammad Ali, they went on to conquer Palestine in 1831–32. A repressive policy of conscription and taxation was instituted which led to a revolt launched by the a'ayan (prominent) Arab clans of Nablus, Hebron and the Jerusalem-Jaffa area. On May 19, 1834, the clans, led by Qasim al-Ahmad—the chief of nahiya Jamma'in—initiated a Palestinian Arab revolt when he notified Egyptian officials that Palestinian families would no longer supply the Egyptian army with troops. Governor Ibrahim Pasha responded by sending Egyptian forces into the rebelling cities, thus triggering armed conflict with the clans. Nablus sent hundreds of rebels to attack Jerusalem, aided by the Abu Ghosh clan, and they conquered the city on May 31, but were routed out by Ibrahim's forces the next month. The Egyptians then forced the heads of the Nablus clans to leave for nearby villages,^[20] and executed Qasim al-Ahmad and his two eldest sons.^[19]

The Egyptian occupation of Palestine resulted in the destruction of Acre and thus, the political importance of Nablus increased. The Ottomans wrested back control of Palestine from the Egyptians in 1840–41. As a result, the Abd al-Hadi clan, who originated in Arrabah in the Sahl Arraba region in northern Samaria, rose to prominence. Loyal allies of Jezzar Pasha and the Touqans, they gained the governorship of Jabal Nablus and other sanjaqs.^[19]

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Nablus was the principal trade and manufacturing center in Ottoman Syria. Its economic activity and regional leadership position surpassed that of Jerusalem and the coastal cities of Jaffa and Acre. Olive oil was the primary product of Nablus and fueled other related industries such as soap-making and basket weaving.^[21] The city also was the top producer of cotton in the Levant, topping the production from northern cities such as Damascus.^[22] Jabal Nablus enjoyed a greater degree of autonomy than other sanjaqs under Ottoman control, probably because the city was the capital of a hilly region, in which there were no "foreigners" who held any military or bureaucratic posts. Thus, Nablus remained outside the direct "supervision" of the Ottoman government.^[21]

Twentieth century [link]

File:Nablus 1918.jpg

Nablus in 1918

Manara clock tower in the Old City

The Jordan Valley earthquake of 1927 destroyed many of the Nablus' historic buildings, including the an-Nasr mosque.^[23] Though they were subsequently rebuilt by Haj Amin al-Husayni's Supreme Muslim Council in the mid-1930s, their previous "picturesque" character was lost. During British rule, Nablus emerged as a site of local resistance and the Old City quarter of Qaryun was demolished by the British during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine.^[24]

Jewish immigration did not significantly impact the demographic composition of Nablus, and it was slated for inclusion in the Arab state envisioned by the United Nations General Assembly's 1947 partition plan for Palestine.^[25]

After Israel declared its independence in May 1948, Transjordan occupied Nablus. Thousands of Palestinian Arabs, fleeing towns captured by Israel, settled in refugee camps around Nablus and in Nablus itself. Three such camps still located within the city limits today are Ein Beit al-Ma', Balata and Askar. The Jordanian rule lasted until the 1967 war. The Six-Day War ended in a swift Israeli victory and the occupation of Nablus. Many Israeli settlements were built around Nablus during the 1980s and early 1990s.

Palestinian control [link]

View of Huwwara Checkpoint with Palestinians waiting to travel south, 2006

Jurisdiction over the city was handed over to the Palestinian National Authority on December 12, 1995, as a result of the Oslo Accords Interim Agreement on the West Bank.^[26]

Nablus was a central flashpoint of violence between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinian militant groups. The level of violence dramatically increased from 2000 at the start of the Second Intifada. The city and the refugee camps of Balata and Askar constituted the center of "knowhow" for the production and operation of the rockets in the West Bank.^[27]

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 522 residents of Nablus and surrounding refugee camps, including civilians, were killed and 3,104 injured during IDF military operations against militants during the Second Intifada from 2000 to 2005. Israeli soldiers and settlers have also been killed by Palestinian militants from Nablus.^[6] In April 2002, following the Passover massacre — an attack by Palestinian militants that killed 30 Israeli civilians attending a seder dinner at the Park Hotel in Netanya — Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield, a major military operation in which Nablus was one of the main targets. At least 80 Palestinians were killed in Nablus during the operation and several houses were destroyed or severely damaged. The IDF also imposed a curfew on Nablus lasting between April 4 and April 22. IDF forces reentered Nablus during Operation Determined Path in June 2002, remaining inside the city until the end of September. Over those three months, there had been more than 70 days of full 24-hour curfews.^[28]

According to Gush Shalom, IDF bulldozers caused damage to al-Khadra Mosque, the Great Mosque, al-Satoon Mosque and Greek Orthodox Church in 2002. Some 60 houses were destroyed, and parts of the stone-paving in the old city were damaged. The al-Shifa hammam was hit by three rockets from Apache helicopters. The eastern entrance of the Khan al-Wikala (old market) and three soap factories were destroyed in F-16 bombings. The cost of the damage was estimated at $80 million US.^[29]

Geography [link]

Section of topographical map of Nablus area

Nablus lies in a strategic position at a junction between two ancient commercial roads; one linking the Sharon coastal plain to the Jordan valley, the other linking Nablus to the Galilee in the north, and the biblical Judea to the south through the mountains.^[30] The city stands at an elevation of around 550 meters (1,800 ft) above sea level,^[31] in a narrow valley running roughly east-west between two mountains: Mount Ebal, the northern mountain, is the taller peak at 940 meters (3,080 ft), while Mount Gerizim, the southern mountain, is 881 meters (2,890 ft) high.

Nablus is located 42 kilometers (26 mi) east of Tel Aviv, Israel, 110 kilometers (68 mi) west of Amman, Jordan and 63 kilometers (39 mi) north of Jerusalem.^[31] Nearby cities and towns include Huwara and Aqraba to the south, Beit Furik to the southeast, Tammun to the northeast, Asira ash-Shamaliya to the north and Kafr Qaddum and Tell to the west.^[32]

Old City [link]

Alley in the Old City leading to and from the souk, 2008

In the center of Nablus lies the old city, composed of six major quarters: Yasmina, Gharb, Qaryun, Aqaba, Qaysariyya and Habala. Habala is the largest quarter and its population growth led to the development of two smaller neighborhoods: al-Arda and Tal al-Kreim. The old city is densely populated and prominent families include the Nimrs, Touqans, and Abd al-Hadis. The large fortress-like compound of the Abd al-Hadi Palace built in the 19th century is located in Qaryun. The Nimr Hall and the Touqan Palace are located in the center of the old city. There are several mosques in the Old City: The Great Mosque of Nablus, an-Nasr Mosque, al-Tina Mosque, al-Khadra Mosque, al-Hanbali, al-Anbia, Ajaj, etc.^[5]

There are six hamaams (Turkish baths) in the Old City, the most prominent of them being al-Shifa and al-Hana. Al-Shifa Hamaam was built by the Touqans in 1624. Al-Hana in Yasmina, was the last hamaam built in the city in the 19th century. It was closed in 1928 but restored and reopened in 1994.^[5] Several leather tanneries, souks, pottery and textile workshops line the Old City streets.^[31]^[33] There are a number of historic monuments in the old city including the Khan al-Tujjar and the al-Manara Clock Tower built in 1906.^[31]

Climate [link]

The relatively temperate Mediterranean climate brings hot, dry summers and cool, rainy winters to Nablus. Spring arrives around March–April and the hottest months in Nablus are July and August with the average high being 28.9 °C (84 °F). The coldest month is January with temperatures usually at 3.9 °C (39 °F). Rain generally falls between October and March, with annual precipitation rates being approximately 23.2 inches (589 mm).^[31]

Climate data for Nabulus
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	11.7 (53)	13.3 (56)	16.1 (61)	21.1 (70)	25.0 (77)	27.8 (82)	28.9 (84)	28.9 (84)	27.8 (82)	25.0 (77)	18.9 (66)	13.9 (57)	21.53 (70.8)
Average low °C (°F)	3.9 (39)	4.4 (40)	6.1 (43)	9.4 (49)	12.2 (54)	15.0 (59)	17.2 (63)	17.2 (63)	16.1 (61)	13.9 (57)	9.4 (49)	5.6 (42)	10.87 (51.6)
Precipitation mm (inches)	142.2 (5.6)	114.3 (4.5)	99.1 (3.9)	30.5 (1.2)	2.5 (0.1)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	22.9 (0.9)	68.6 (2.7)	109.2 (4.3)	589 (23.2)
Source: The Weather Channel^[34]

Demographics [link]

Year	Population
1596	4,300^[17]
1849	20,000^[35]
1860	15,000^[36]
1922	15,947^[37]
1931	17,498^[37]
1945	23,250^[38]
1961	45,773^[39]
1987	93,000^[40]
1997	100,034^[41]
2007	126,232^[1]

In 1596, the population consisted of 806 Muslim households, 20 Samaritan households, 18 Christian households, and 15 Jewish households.^[17] Local Ottoman authorities recorded a population of around 20,000 residents in Nablus in 1849.^[35] In 1867 American visitors found the town to have a population of 4,000 'the chief part of whom are Mohammedans', with some Jews and Christians and 'about 150 Samaritans'.^[42] In the 1922 British census of Palestine, there was a total of 15,947 inhabitants, rising to 17,498 at the 1931 census of Palestine.^[37]

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Nablus had a population of 126,232 in 2007.^[1] In the PCBS's 1997 census, the city had a population of 100,034, including 23,397 refugees, accounting for about 24% of the city's residents.^[43] Nablus' Old City had a population of 12,000 in 2006.^[5] The population of Nablus city comprises 40% of its governorate's inhabitants.^[1]

Approximately half of population is under 20 years old. In 1997, the age distribution of the city's inhabitants was 28.4% under the age of 10, 20.8% from 10 to 19, 17.7% from 20–29, 18% from 30 to 44, 11.1% from 45 to 64 and 3.7% above the age of 65. The gender distribution was 50,945 males (50.92%) and 49,089 females (49.07%).^[44]

Religion [link]

Yitzhaq ben Amram ben Shalma ben Tabia, High Priest of the Samaritans, Nablus, c. 1920

In 891 CE, during the early centuries of Islamic rule, Nablus had a religiously diverse population of Samaritans, local Muslims and Christians. Arab geographer Al-Dimashqi, recorded that under the rule of the Mamluk Dynasty (Muslim Dynsaty based in Egypt), local Muslims, Samaritans, Orthodox Christians, Catholics and Jews populated the city.^[12] At the 1931 census, the population was counted as 16,483 Muslims, 533 Christians, 6 Jews, 7 Druses and 160 Samaritans.^[45]

The majority of the inhabitants today are Muslim, but there are small Christian and Samaritan communities as well. Much of the local Palestinian Muslim population of Nablus is believed to be descended from Samaritans who converted to Islam. Certain Nabulsi family names are associated with Samaritan ancestry – Muslimani, Yaish, and Shakshir among others.^[46] According to the historian Fayyad Altif, large numbers of Samaritans converted due to persecution and because the monotheistic nature of Islam made it easy for them to accept it.^[47]

In 1967, there were about 3,500 Christians of various denominations in Nablus, but that figure dwindled to about 650 in 2008.^[48] Of the Christian populace, there are seventy Orthodox Christian families, about thirty Catholic (Roman Catholic & Eastern Melkite Catholic) families and thirty Anglican families. Most Christians used to live in the suburb of Rafidia in the western part of the city.^[5]

There are seventeen Islamic monuments and eleven mosques in the Old City.^[6]^[49] Nine of the mosques were established before the 15th century.^[6] In addition to Muslim houses of worship, Nablus contains an Orthodox church dedicated Saint Justin Martyr,^[5] built in 1898 and the ancient Samaritan synagogue, which is still in use.^[49]

Economy [link]

Historic [link]

Beginning in the early 16th century, trade networks connecting Nablus to Damascus and Cairo were supplemented by the establishment of trading posts in the Hejaz and Gulf regions to the south and east, as well as in the Anatolian Peninsula and the Mediterranean islands of Crete and Cyprus. Nablus also developed trade relations with Aleppo, Mosul, and Baghdad.^[33]

The Ottoman government ensured adequate safety and funding for the annual pilgrimage caravan (qafilat al-hajj) from Damascus to the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. This policy benefited Nablus economically. Pilgrimage caravans became the key factor in the fiscal and political relationship between Nablus and the central government. For a brief period in the early 17th century, the governor of Nablus, Farrukh Pasha Ibn Abdullah, was appointed leader of the pilgrimage caravan (amir al-hajj), and he constructued a large commercial compound in Nablus for that purpose.^[33]

In 1882, there were 32 soap factories and 400 looms exporting their products throughout the Middle East.^[5]^[50] Nablus exported three-fourths of its soap — the city's most important commodity — to Cairo by caravan through Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula, and by sea through the ports of Jaffa and Gaza. From Egypt, and particularly from Cairo and Damietta, Nablus merchants imported mainly rice, sugar, and spices, as well as linen, cotton, and wool textiles. Cotton, soap, olive oil, and textiles were exported by Nablus merchants to Damascus, from whence silks, high-quality textiles, copper, and a number luxury items, such as jewellery were imported.^[33]

With regard to the local economy, agriculture was the major component. Outside of the city limits, there were extensive fields of olive groves, fig and pomegranate orchards and grape vineyards that covered the area's slopes. Crops, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and mulukhiyya were grown in the fields, vegetable gardens, and grain mills scattered across central Samaria.^[33] Nablus was also the largest producer of cotton in the Levant, producing over 225,000 kilograms of the product by 1837.^[22]

Modern era [link]

Downtown Nablus, Martyrs Square

Nablus, 2011

Nablus has a bustling modern commercial center with restaurants, and a shopping mall.^[51] Traditional industries continue to operate in Nablus, such as the production of soap, olive oil, and handicrafts. Other industries include furniture production, tile production, stone quarrying, textile manufacturing and leather tanning. The city is also a regional trading center for live produce. Most of these industries are centered in the old city.^[31]

The Vegetable Oil Industry Co. is a Nablus factory that produces refined vegetable oils, especially olive oil, and vegetable butter from the factory is exported to Jordan.^[31] The al-Huda Textiles factory is also located in Nablus. In 2000, the factory produced 500 pieces of clothing daily; however, production plummeted to 150–200 pieces daily in 2002. Al-Huda mainly imports textiles from China and exports finished products to Israel.^[6] There are eight restaurants in the city and four hotels — the largest being al-Qasr and al-Yasmeen.^[52] Nablus' once thriving soap industry has been largely isolated due to difficult transportation conditions stemming from West Bank closures and IDF incursions. Today, there are only two soap factories still operating in the city.^[53]

Before 2000, 13.4% of Nablus' residents worked in Israel, with the figure dropping to 4.7% in 2004. The city's manufacturing sector made up 15.7% of the economy in 2004, a drop from 21% in 2000. Since 2000, most of Nablus' workforce has been employed in agriculture and local trade.^[6] The city's unemployment rates have increased dramatically in recent years, rising from 14.2% in 1997 to an estimate of 60% in 2004. Unemployment in the old city and in the refugee camps is estimated to be as high as 80%. Due to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Nablus has been closed off by the IDF. The city's encirclement with checkpoints is cited by the United Nations as a reason for high unemployment and a "devastated" economy.^[54] Many businesses have either moved from or have been established outside Nablus, beyond the tight ring of closures around the city.^[55]

Nablus is home to the Palestine Securities Exchange (PSE) — the only securities exchange in the Palestinian territories — and the al-Quds Financial Index. They are housed in the al-Qasr building in the Rafidia suburb of the city. The PSE's first trading session took place on February 19, 1997. In 2007, the capitalization of the PSE topped 3.5 million Jordanian dinars.^[5]

Education [link]

An Najah University, Nablus

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), in 1997, 44,926 were enrolled in schools (41.2% in primary school, 36.2% in secondary school, and 22.6% in high school). About 19.8% of high school students received bachelor diplomas or higher diplomas.^[56] In 2006, there were 234 schools and 93,925 students in the Nablus Governorate; 196 schools are run the by Education Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority, 14 by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and 24 are private schools.^[57]

Nablus is also home to an-Najah National University, the largest Palestinian university in the West Bank. Founded in 1918 by the an-Najah Nabulsi School, it became a college in 1941 and a university in 1977. An-Najah was closed down by Israeli authorities during the First Intifada, but reopened in 1991. Today, the university has three campuses in Nablus with over 16,500 students and 300 professors. The university's faculties include seven in the humanities and nine in the sciences.^[58]

Health care [link]

There are six hospitals in Nablus, the four major ones being al-Ittihad, St. Lukes, al-Watani(the National) and the Rafidia Surgery Hospital. The latter, located in Rafidia, a suburb in western Nablus, is the largest hospital in the city. Al-Watani Hospital specializes in oncology services.^[6] The Anglican St. Lukes hospital and the National Hospital were built in 1900 and 1910 respectively.^[31]^[59] In addition to hospitals, Nablus contains the al-Rahma and at-Tadamon clinics, the al-Razi medical center, the Amal Center for Rehabilitation and 68 pharmacies.^[59] In addition to that, in 2001, Nablus Speciality Hospital was built, in which it is specialized in open heart surgery, angiograms and angioplasties.

Culture and arts [link]

Traditional Nablus dress featuring brightly colored coat draped over head and shoulders

Nablus and its culture enjoy a certain renown throughout the Palestinian Territories and the Arab world with significant and unique contributions to Palestinian culture, cuisine and costume. Nabulsi, meaning "from Nablus", is used to describe items such as handicrafts (e.g. Nabulsi soap) and food products (e.g. Nabulsi cheese) that are made in Nablus or in the traditional Nablus style.

Traditional costume [link]

Main article: Palestinian costumes

Nablus costume was of a distinctive style that employed colorful combinations of various fabrics. Due to its position as important trade center with a flourishing souk ("market"), in late 19th century, there was a large choice of fabrics available in the city, from Damascus and Aleppo silk to Manchester cottons and calicos. Similar in construction to the garments worn in the Galilee, both long and short Turkish style jackets were worn over the thob ("robe"). For daily wear, thobs were often made of white cotton or linen, with a preference for winged sleeves. In the summer, costumes often incorporated interwoven striped bands of red, green and yellow on the front and back, with appliqué and braidwork popularly decorating the qabbeh ("square chest piece").^[60]

Cuisine [link]

A siniyyeh of Kanafeh

Nablus is one of the Palestinian cities that sustained elite classes, fostering the development of a culture of "high cuisine", such as that of Damascus or Baghdad. The city is home to a number of food products well-known throughout the Levant, the Arab world and the former provinces of the Ottoman Empire.

Kanafeh is the most famed Nabulsi sweet. Originating in Nablus during the 15th century, by 1575, its recipe was exported throughout the Ottoman Empire — which controlled Palestine at the time. Kanafeh is made of several fine shreds of pastry noodles with honey-sweetened cheese in the center. The top layer of the pastry is usually dyed orange with food coloring and sprinkled with crushed pistachios. Though it is now made throughout the Middle East, to the present day, kanafeh Nabulsi enjoys continued fame, partly due to its use of a white-brine cheese called jibneh Nabulsi. Boiled sugar is used as a syrup for kanafeh.^[61]

Other sweets made in Nablus include baklawa, "Tamriya", mabrumeh and ghuraybeh,^[62] a plain pastry made of butter, flour and sugar in an "S"-shape, or shaped as fingers or bracelets.^[63]

Cultural centers [link]

There are three cultural centers in Nablus. The Child Cultural Center (CCC), founded in 1998 and built in a renovated historic building, operates an art and drawing workshop, a stage for play performances, a music room, a children's library and a multimedia lab.^[64] The Children Happiness Center (CHC) was also established in 1998. Its main activities include promoting Palestinian culture through social events, dabke classes and field trips. In addition to national culture, the CHC has a football and chess team.^[65] The Nablus municipal government established its own cultural center in 2003, called the Nablus Municipality Cultural Center (NMCC) aimed at establishing and developing educational facilities.^[66]

Soap production [link]

Nabulsi soap stacked at Touqan factory, Nablus

Main article: Nabulsi soap

Nabulsi soap or sabon nabulsi is a type of castile soap produced only in Nablus^[67] and made of three primary ingredients: virgin olive oil, water, and a sodium^[68] compound.^[69] Since the 10th century, Nabulsi soap has enjoyed a reputation for being a fine product,^[70] and has been exported across the Arab world and to Europe.^[69] Though the number of soap factories decreased from a peak of thirty in the 19th century to only two today, efforts to preserve this important part of Palestinian and Nabulsi cultural heritage continue.^[69]^[70]

Made in a cube-like shape about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) tall and 2.25 by 2.25 inches (5.7 by 5.7 cm) wide, the color of Nabulsi soap is like that of "the page of an old book."^[70] The cubes are stamped on the top with the seal of the factory that produces it.^[71] The soap's sodium compound came from the barilla plant. Prior to the 1860s, in the summertime, the barilla would be placed in towering stacks, burned, and then the ashes and coals would be gathered into sacks, and transported to Nablus from the area of modern-day Jordan in large caravans. In the city, the ashes and coals were pounded into a fine natural alkaline soda powder called qilw.^[70] Today, qilw is still used in combination with lime.

Local government [link]

New clock tower at Martyrs Square in downtown Nablus

The city of Nablus is the muhfaza (seat) of the Nablus Governorate, and is governed by a municipal council made up of fifteen elected members, including the mayor.^[72]

The two primary political parties in the municipal council are Hamas and Fatah. In the 2005 Palestinian municipal elections, the Reform and Change list representing the Hamas faction won 73.4% of the vote, gaining the majority of the municipal seats (13). Palestine Tomorrow, representing Fatah, gained the remaining two seats with 13.0% of the vote. Other political parties, such as the Palestinian People's Party and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine failed to gain any seats in the council, though they each received over 1,000 votes.^[73]

Elected Candidates of the Nablus municipal elections of 2005^[72]

Rank	List	Candidate name
1	Reform and Change (Hamas)	Adly Yaish
2	Reform and Change (Hamas)	Hafez Shaheen
3	Reform and Change (Hamas)	Nihad Masri
4	Reform and Change (Hamas)	Mahdi Hanbali
5	Palestine Tomorrow (Fatah)	Yahya Arafat
6	Reform and Change (Hamas)	Kholood Masri
7	Reform and Change (Hamas)	Majeda Fadda
8	Reform and Change (Hamas)	Rula Kanaan
9	Reform and Change (Hamas)	Husam Eddine Kataloni
10	Reform and Change (Hamas)	Anan Ghazal
11	Reform and Change (Hamas)	Ghassan Johari
12	Reform and Change (Hamas)	Mazen al-Sharif
13	Reform and Change (Hamas)	Fayyad Aghbar
14	Reform and Change (Hamas)	Abdel Jabbar Adel Musa "Dweikat"
15	Palestine Tomorrow (Fatah)	Sa’id Hindiyyeh

Mayors [link]

Main article: List of mayors of Nablus

Modern mayorship in Nablus began in 1869 with the appointment of Sheikh Mohammad Tuffaha by the Ottoman governor of Syria/Palestine. On July 2, 1980, Bassam Shaka, then mayor of Nablus, lost both of his legs as a result of a car bombing carried out by Israeli militants affiliated with the Gush Emunim Underground movement.^[74]

The current mayor, Adly Yaish, a Hamas member, was arrested by the Israel Defense Forces in May 2007, during Operation Summer Rains, launched in retaliation for the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Hamas.^[75] Municipal council members Abdel Jabbar Adel Musa "Dweikat", Majida Fadda, Khulood El-Masri, and Mahdi Hanbali were also arrested.^[72] He spent 15 months in prison without being charged.^[76]

Elections for local council in Nablus are overdue, as the four year term of the council expired in December 2009. While elections in the West Bank were scheduled for 17 July 2010, they were canceled due to Fatah's lack of agreement on list of candidates. Nablus was one of the most important municipalities where Fatah failed to resolve internal conflict that could have resulted in two competing Fatah lists: one headed by Bassam Shaka and one headed by Amin Maqboul.^[77]

Municipal services [link]

A street in Nablus leading to the Old City. Minaret of al-Nasr Mosque in the background

In 1997, 99.7% of Nablus' 18,003 households were connected to electricity through a public network. Prior to its establishment in 1957, electricity came from private generators. Today, the majority of the inhabitants of 18 nearby towns, in addition to the city's inhabitants, are connected to the Nablus network.^[78]

The majority of households are connected to a public sewage system (93%), with the reminaing 7% connected through cesspits.^[79] The sewage system, established n the early 1950s, also connects the refugee camps of Balata, Askar and Ein Beit al-Ma'.^[80] Pipe water is provided for 100% of the city's households, primarily through a public network (99.3%), but some residents receive water through a private system (0.7%).^[79] The water network was established in 1932 by the British authorities and is fed by water from four nearby wells: Deir Sharaf, Far'a, al-Badan and Audala.^[80]

Fire department [link]

Nablus is one of the few cities in the West Bank to have a fire department, which was founded in 1958. At that time, the "fire brigade" (as it was called) was composed of five members and one extinguishing vehicle. In 2007, the department had seventy members and over twenty vehicles. Until 1986, It was responsible for the all of the northern West Bank, but today it only covers the Nablus and Tubas Governorates. From 1997 to 2006, Nablus' fire department has extinguished 15,346 fires.^[81]

Transportation [link]

In the early 20th century, Nablus was the southernmost station of a spur from the Jezreel Valley railway's Afula station, itself a spur from the Hejaz railway. The extension of the railway to Nablus was built in 1911–12.^[82] During the beginning of the British Mandate, one weekly train was operated from Haifa to Nablus via Afula and Jenin. The railway was destroyed during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and never rebuilt.

The main Beersheba–Nazareth road running through the middle of the West Bank ends in Nablus. The city is connected to Tulkarm, Qalqilya and Jenin through western offshoots from the main road. Until 2011, Israel maintained checkpoints, such as Huwwara Checkpoint, at the outskirts of Nablus to prevent suicide bombings and smuggling of arms into Israel. ^[83] The checkpoints were established by Israel after the signing of the Oslo Accords, which gave Palestinians complete authority over the city and its vicinity. From January 2002, buses, taxis, trucks and private citizens required a permit from the Israeli military authorities to leave and enter Nablus.^[6]

The nearest airport is the Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, Israel, but because of restrictions governing the entry of Palestinians to Israel, residents often travel to Amman, Jordan to use the Queen Alia International Airport. Taxis are the main form of public transportation within Nablus and the city contains 28 taxi offices and garages.^[84]

Sports [link]

The Nablus football stadium has a capacity of 8,000.^[85] The stadium is home to the city's football club al-Ittihad, which is in the main league of the Palestinian Territories.^[86] The club participated in the Middle East Mediterranean Scholar Athlete Games in 2000.^[87]

International relations [link]

Twin towns and sister cities [link]

Nablus is twinned, or has sister city relationships with:^[88]

– Lille, France^[89]
Nazareth, Israel
– Dublin, Ireland
– Como, Italy
– Florence, Italy
– Naples, Italy
– Toscana, Italy

– Poznań, Poland^[90]
– Rabat, Morocco
– Stavanger, Norway
– Khasavyurt, Russia
– Dundee, Scotland^[91]

A panorama of the eastern part of Nablus with Mount Ebal on the left and Mount Gerizim on the right

References [link]

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^ "Nablus Municipality Cultural Center "Future Kids"". Nablus Municipality. http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/cult_centers/hamdy_manko.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-24. ^{[dead link]}
^ "Palestinian Industries". Piefza.com. http://www.piefza.org/a_pal_industries.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-28. ^{[dead link]}
^ Posted by TravelZone (2010-07-12). "NajisSoap". Najissoap.blogspot.com. http://najissoap.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2010-07-19. ^{[dead link]}
^ ^a ^b ^c Michael Phillips (March 11, 2008). "Nablus' olive oil soap: a Palestinian tradition lives on". Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU). http://imeu.net/news/article008132.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Nablus Soap: Cleaning Middle Eastern Ears for Centuries". Suburban Emergency Management Project. 20 September 2006. http://www.semp.us/publications/biot_reader.php?BiotID=402. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
^ Rawan Shakaa (March 2007). "Natural ... Traditional ... Chunky!". This Week in Palestine. http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=2078&ed=138&edid=138. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Nablus Municipal Council". Nablus Municipality. http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/aboutus/municipal_council.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-24. ^{[dead link]}
^ "2005 Palestinian Local Elections, round 4". Higher Commission for Local Elections. http://www.elections.ps/admin/pdf/Municipal_Elections_Results_EN_(4).pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
^ Rubenstein, Danny. "Fighting words/Far from the madding crowd". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=600596. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
^ Waked, Ali (24 May 2007). "Palestinians report IDF forces raid Nablus overnight in arrest operation, taking 33 Hamas leaders into custody, including PA minister of education, mayors of Nablus, Qalqiliya". Ynet News. Yedioth Internet. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3403756,00.html. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
^ "CIC Scene » Globe & Mail’s Patrick Martin on the Booming West Bank". www.cicweb.ca. http://www.cicweb.ca/scene/2009/07/globe-mails-patrick-martin-on-the-booming-west-bank/. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
^ "A Palestinian election is aborted, again". Daily Star. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=5&article_id=117616#axzz0xEaOeWPj. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
^ "Electricity Department Statistics". Nablus Municipality. http://www.nablus.org/en/content.php?id_itemcontent=245. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
^ ^a ^b Occupied Housing Units by Locality and Connection to Electricity Network in Housing Unit
Occupied Housing Units by Locality and Connection to Sewage System in Housing Unit
Occupied Housing Units by Locality and Connection to Water Network in Housing Unit Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. Statistic from a 1997 census.
^ ^a ^b "Water and Waste Water Department". Nablus Municipality. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071025013846/http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/services/water_depart/water_introduction.htm#Statistics_. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
^ "Fire Brigade". Nablus Municipality. http://www.nablus.org/en/content.php?id_itemcontent=256&id_csub=279. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
^ The Hejaz Railroad Nabataea.
^ Palestinians: More barriers to be removed
^ "Taxi offices". Nablus Municipality. Archived from the original on February 17, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080217044118/http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/guide/Taxi.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
^ "Hamas holds mass wedding ceremony". BBC News (BBC MMVIII). 29 July 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4727291.stm. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
^ "Ittihad Nablus". National Football Teams. http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/club.php?id=3144. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
^ "2000 Middle East/Mediterranean Scholar-Athlete Games". Institute for International Sport c/o International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame. 6 June 2000. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20080517120702/http://www.internationalsport.com/sa-hist/2000med.cfm. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
^ "Twinning with Palestine". Britain – Palestine Twinning Network. http://www.twinningwithpalestine.net/groupsinternational.html. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
^ "Lile Facts & Figures". Mairie-Lille.fr. http://www.mairie-lille.fr/sections/site-en/Menu_horizontal_haut/discovering-lille/lille-facts-figures/lille-facts-figures. Retrieved 2007-12-17. ^{[dead link]}
^ "Poznań Official Website – Twin Towns". (in Polish) © 1998–2008 Urząd Miasta Poznania. http://www.poznan.pl/mim/public/publikacje/pages.html?co=list&id=19&ch=20&instance=1017&lang=pl. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
^ "Twinned Cities". Nablus Municipality. Archived from the original on January 3, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080103103930/http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/International_cooporation/twin_cities.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-24.

Bibliography [link]

Doumani, Beshara (1995). Rediscovering Palestine, Merchants and Peasants in Jabal Nablus, 1700–1900. University of California Press. http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=ft896nb5pc&chunk.id=s2.1.3&toc.depth=1&toc.id=s1.1.6&brand=eschol. Retrieved 2008-04-24
Kim Lee, Risha (2003). Let's Go 2003: Israel and the Palestinian territories. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-30580-2. http://books.google.com/?id=T-nF9A44QeIC&pg=PP1&dq=al-Omari+Mosque+of+Gaza+Mamluk
Le Strange, Guy (1890). Palestine under the Moslems
Muqaddasi (c. 985 (Reprinted 1886)). Description of Syria, Including Palestine. Guy Le Strange. London: Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society. http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924028534265#page/n83/mode/2up/search/neapolis.
Negev, Avraham; Gibson, Shimon (2005). Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8264-8571-5, 9780826485717
Hütteroth, Wolf-Dieter; Abdulfattah, Kamal (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft

External links [link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nablus

Panorama of Nablus

Picture showing to the right the mountain "Ebal" with the rock of "Sit Islamieh," and to the left the south mountain "Jirziem" with an IDF military post on the far left

v t e Nablus Governorate

Cities	Nablus

Municipalities	Aqraba Asira al-Shamaliya Awarta Beita Beit Furik Huwara Jamma'in Qabalan Sebastia Tell

Villages	Ammuriya al-Aqrabaniya Asira al-Qibliya Azmut al-Badhan Balata al-Balad Beit Dajan Beit Hasan Beit Iba Beit Imrin Beit Wazan Bizziriya Burin Burqa Deir al-Hatab Deir Sharaf Duma Einabus Ein Shibli Furush Beit Dajan Ijnisinya Jalud Jurish Kafr Qallil al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya Madama Majdal Bani Fadil an-Naqura an-Naseriya Odala Osarin Qaryut Qusin Qusra Rujeib Salim Sarra as-Sawiya Talfit Talluza Urif Yanun Yasid Yatma Zawata Zeita Jamma'in

Refugee camps	Askar Balata Ein Beit al-Ma'

v t e Cities in Palestinian National Authority areas

West Bank	Abu Dis Arraba Bani Na'im Beit Sahour Beit Jala Beit Ummar Beitunia Bethlehem al-Bireh ad-Dhahiriya Dura al-Eizariya Halhul Hebron Idhna Jenin Jericho Nablus Qabatiya Qalqilyah al-Ram Ramallah Sa'ir Salfit as-Samu Tarqumiya Tubas Tulkarm Ya'bad al-Yamun Yatta

*Gaza Strip	Abasan al-Kabera Bani Suheila Beit Hanoun Beit Lahia Deir al-Balah Gaza Jabalia Khan Yunis Rafah az-Zawayda

^Since June 2007, the Gaza Strip has been under de facto* Hamas governance.

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History
Joseph's Tomb

"Tomb of Joseph at Shechem", by David Roberts 1839
Shown within West Bank
Location	Nablus, West Bank
Coordinates	32°12′41″N 35°16′56″E / 32.2115°N 35.2821°E / 32.2115; 35.2821
Type	tomb
Material	local stone
Associated with	Joseph (son of Jacob)
Site notes
Condition	reconstructed
Public access	limited

Joseph's Tomb (Hebrew: קבר יוסף‎, Qever Yosef, Arabic: قبر يوسف‎, Qabr Yūsuf) is a funerary monument located at the eastern entrance to the valley that separates Mounts Gerizim and Ebal, 325 yards northwest of Jacob's Well,^[1] on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Nablus, near Tell Balāṭa, the site of biblical Shechem.^[2]^[3] Biblical tradition identifies the general area of Shechem as the resting-place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, the eponymous ancestor of the northern kingdom of Israel,^[4] and his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh.

Joseph's tomb has been venerated throughout the ages by Jews, Samaritans, Christians and Muslims.^[5]^[6]^[7] Post-biblical records regarding the location of Joseph's Tomb at this site date from the beginning of the 4th-century AD.^[8] The present structure, a small rectangular room with a cenotaph, dates from 1868, and is devoid of any trace of ancient building materials.^[9]^[10] While some scholars, such as Kenneth Kitchen and James K. Hoffmeier still affirm the essential historicity of the biblical account of Joseph, many others, such as Donald B. Redford, argue that the story itself has ‘no basis in fact’.^[11]

Modern scholarship has yet to determine whether or not the present cenotaph is to be identified with the ancient Biblical gravesite.^[12] No Jewish or Christian sources prior to the 5th century mention the tomb, and the structure originally erected over it appears to have been built by the Samaritans, for whom it was probably a sacred site.^[13]

At key points in its long history, Joseph's Tomb has witnessed intense sectarian conflict. Samaritans and Christians disputing access and title to the site in the early Byzantine period often engaged in violent clashes.^[13]^[14]^[15] After Israel captured the West Bank in 1967, Muslims were prohibited from worship at the shrine and it was gradually turned into a Jewish prayer room. Interreligious friction and conflict from competing Jewish and Muslim claims over the tomb became frequent.^[16] Falling under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) following the signing of the Oslo Accords, it remained under IDF guard with Muslims prohibited from praying there.^[17] At the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000, just after being handed over to the PNA, it was looted and razed.^[18]^[19] Following the reoccupation of Nablus during Israel's Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, Jewish groups returned there intermittently.^[20] Recently the structure has been refurbished, with a new cupola installed, and visits by Jewish worshippers have resumed.^[21]

1 Early traditions
2 History of the identification and use of the site
3 See also
4 Footnotes
5 References
6 External links

Early traditions [link]

Biblical source and early religious traditions [link]

The Torah provides four details regarding the traditions surrounding Joseph’s remains. The account in Genesis relates that, before his death, he had his brothers swear they would carry his bones out of Egypt to Canaan.^[22] He is then said to have been embalmed then placed in a coffin in Egypt.^[23] In Exodus,^[24] we are told that Moses fulfilled the pledge by taking Joseph's bones with him when he left Egypt. In Joshua, Joseph’s bones are said to have been brought from Egypt by the Children of Israel^[25] and interred in Shechem.

The bones of Joseph, which the Children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, were buried in Shechem in a parcel of land Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of silver (qeśîṭâ).^[26]

The Bible does not identify a specific site in Shechem where his bones were laid to rest.^[27] The Genesis Rabba, a Jewish text written ca. 400–450 C.E., states that the burial site in Shechem is one of three for which the nations of the world cannot ridicule Israel and say "you have stolen them," it having been purchased by Jacob.^[28] The rabbis also suggest that Joseph instructed his brothers to bury him in Shechem since it was from there he was taken and sold into slavery.^[29]^[30] Other Jewish sources have him buried either in Safed, or, according to an aggadic tradition, have him interred at Hebron according to his own wishes.^[27] The ambiguity is reflected in Islamic tradition which points to Nablus as being the authentic site, though some early Islamic geographers identified the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron as housing his tomb.^[31] The Qur'an itself does not mention details of Joseph's burial. Ali of Herat (1119), Yaqut (1229) and Ibn Battuta (1369) all conserve both the Nablus and Hebron traditions. Later Muslim chroniclers also mention a third site purporting to be the authentic tomb, near Beit Ijza.^[32] The Hebron tradition is also reflected in some medieval Christian sources, such as the account by Srewulf (CE 1102) who says that 'the bones of Joseph were buried more humbly than the rest, as it were at the extremity of the castle.'^[33]

Modern scholarship on the narrative of Joseph’s bones [link]

Though the traditional biblical date for the narrative of Joseph’s life and death places him in Egypt in the middle of the Twelfth Dynasty,^[34] roughly comparable to the Hyksos invasion of Egypt, contemporary scholarship no longer accepts such a remote dating.^[35] The figure of Joseph itself is often taken to be a ‘personification of a tribe’, rather than an historic person.^[36]

According to the Bible, Joseph was embalmed and buried in a coffin in Egypt, after having his people swear to carry his bones away.^[37] Later midrash identify his first entombment in a royal mausoleum, or as cast into the Nile. Moses is said to have gathered the bones and taken them with him during the Exodus from Egypt,^[38] using magic to raise the coffin,^[39] a tradition repeated by Josephus, who specifies that they were buried in Canaan at that time.^[40] Regarding his burial in Canaan, from Joshua is it evident that the portion Joseph received was an allotment near Shechem, not the town itself.^[41]

The majority of contemporary scholars believe the historicity of the events in the Joseph story cannot be demonstrated.^[42]^[43] In the wake of scholars like Hermann Gunkel, Hugo Gressmann and Gerhard von Rad, who identified the story of Joseph as primarily a literary composition,^[44] it is now widely considered to belong to the genre of romance,^[45]^[46] or the novella.^[47]^[48]^[49] As a novella it is read as reworking legends and myths, many of them, especially the motifs of his reburial in Canaan, associated with the Egyptian god Osiris,^[50] though some compare the burial of his bones at Shechem with the disposal of Dionysus’s bones at Delphi.^[51]^[52]^[53] The reworked legends and folklore were probably inserted into the developing textual tradition of the Bible between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE. Most scholars^[54] place its composition in a genre that flourished in the Persian period of the Exile.^[55]^[56]^[57]^[58]^[59]

For Schenke, the tradition of Joseph's burial at Shechem can only be understood as a secondary, Israelitic historical interpretation woven around a more ancient Canaanite shrine in that area.^[60] Wright has indeed argued that, 'the patriarch Joseph was not an Israelite hero who became Egyptianised, but an Egyptian divinity who was Hebraised.' ^[61]

Schenke's hypothesis [link]

Hans-Martin Schenke, starting from an analysis of John 4:4–6, in which Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman at the town Sychar, made an extensive analysis of the ancient sources, together with an examination of the site. The curiosity of the Gospel text for scholars lies in the mention of an otherwise unattested town in the field, and the failure of the text to refer to Joseph's Tomb, despite mentioning the field Jacob allotted to Joseph, and Jacob's well.^[62] In Schenke's view, from the beginning of the Hellenistic period down to the 1st. century C.E., when the author of John's gospel was presumably writing, the grave commemorating Joseph stood by Jacob's Well. This grave was shifted, together with the sacred tree and Jacob's field, sometime between that date and the earliest testimony we have in the Bordeaux itinerary in 333 CE., which locates it elsewhere, by Shechem/Tel Balāṭa.^[63]

History of the identification and use of the site [link]

Pilgrim accounts [link]

Black and white drawing showing a three dimensional cube flanked by two castle-type cylindrical towers each topped with cones

Drawing from the itinerary of Rabbi Uri of Biel, c. 1564. (Annotation: "Joseph the Righteous")

The Itinerarium Burdigalense (333 CE) notes: ‘At the foot of the mountain itself, is a place called Sichem. Here is a tomb in which Joseph is laid, in the parcel of ground which Jacob his father gave to him." ^[64] Eusebius of Caesarea in the 4th-century records in his Onomasticon: "Suchem, city of Jacob now deserted. The place is pointed out in the suburb of Neapolis. There the tomb of Joseph is pointed out nearby."^[65]^[66] Jerome, writing of Saint Paula's sojourn in Palestine writes that 'turning off the way (from Jacob's well), she saw the tombs of the twelve patriarchs'^[67] Jerome himself, together with the Byzantine monk George Syncellus, who had lived many years in Palestine, wrote that all twelve patriarchs, Joseph included, were buried at Sychem.^[68]

Both Theodosius I and Theodosius II ordered a search for Joseph’s bones, much to the utter dismay of the Samaritan community.^[69] An imperial commission was dispatched to retrieve the bones of the Patriarchs around 415 CE, and on failing to obtain them at Hebron, sought to at least secure Joseph’s bones from Shechem. No gravestone marked the exact site, possibly because the Samaritans had removed one to avoid Christian interference. The officials had to excavate the general area where graves abound and, on finding an intact marble sepulchre beneath an empty coffin, concluded that it must contain Joseph’s bones, and sent the sarcophagus to Byzantium, where it was incorporated into Hagia Sophia.^[70]^[71] Jerome reports that apparently the Christians had intended to remove Joseph's bones to their city, but a column of fire rose skyward from the tomb scaring them away. The Samaritans subsequently covered the tomb with earth rendering it inaccessible.^[72]^[73]

Christian pilgrim and archdeacon Theodosius (518–520) in his De situ terrae sanctae mentions that 'close to Jacob's Well are the remains of Joseph the Holy'.^[74] The Madaba Mosaic Map (6th-century) designates a site somewhat problematically with the legend – 'Joseph's' (τὸ τοῦ Ὶωσήφ) – where the usual adjective 'holy' (hagios) accompanying mentions of saints and their shrines is lacking.^[75]

Crusader and medieval sources generally are, according to Hans-Martin Schenke, highly misleading regarding exactly where the tomb was situated. He concluded that in the Middle Ages, as earlier, various groups (Jews, Samaritans, Christians and Moslems) at different periods identified different things in different places all as Joseph’s tomb ^[76] Sometimes Balata, with its spring, seems indicated, as in the following two examples, which identify the tomb not as a structure, but as something by a spring and under a tree. It was evidently a site for Muslim pilgrimage at that time.^[77]

In 1173 the Persian traveller al-Harawi paid homage at the tomb,^[77] and wrote:

There is also near Nâblus the spring of Al Khudr (Elias), and the field of Yûsuf as Sadik (Joseph); further, Joseph is buried at the foot of the tree at this place.’ ^[78]

Around the year 1225, Yaqut al-Hamawi wrote:

There is here a spring called ‘Ain al Khudr. Yûsuf (Joseph) as Sadik –peace be on him!- was buried here, and his tomb is well known, lying under the tree.^[79]

as did Benjamin of Tudela—who wrote that the Samaritans in Nablus were in possession of it.^[80] William of Malmesbury describes it as overlaid with white marble, next to the mausolea of his brothers.^[81] Menachem ben Peretz of Hebron (1215) writes that in Shechem he saw the tomb of Joseph son of Jacob with two marble pillars next to it—one at its head and another at its foot—and a low stone wall surrounding it.^{[citation needed]} Ishtori Haparchi (1322) places the tombstone of Joseph 450 meters north of Balāta, while Alexander de Ariosti (1463) and Francesco Suriano (1485) associate it with the church over Jacob’s well. Samuel bar Simson (1210), Jacob of Paris (1258), the Spanish pilgrim Ishak Chelo (1334) and Johannes Poloner (1422) locate it by Nablus. Gabriel Muffel of Nuremberg discerns a tomb to Joseph in a monument to the west of Nablus, halfway between that city and Sebaste.^[82] Mandeville (1322) and Maundrell (1697), among others, also mention its existence, although it is debatable as to whether any of these reports refer to the currently recognised location.^[83] Samuel ben Samson (1210) appears to place the tomb at Shiloh.^[84]^[85] Mandeville (1322) locates it 'nigh beside' Nablus as does Maundrell (1697), but the indications are vague. Maundrell describes his sepulchre as located in a small mosque just by Nablus, which does not fit the present location.^[83]

Although the Koran does not mention details of Joseph's burial, Islamic tradition points to Nablus as being the authentic site. However, some early Islamic geographers identified the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron as housing his tomb. While Ali of Herat (1119), Yaqut (1229) and Ibn Battuta (1369) all report the Hebron traditions, they also mention the existence of a tomb of Joseph at Nablus. The phenomenon of citing inconsistent locations for such venerated personalities is common in Middle Eastern religion. Later Muslim chroniclers even mention a third site purporting to be the authentic tomb, near Beit Ijza.^[32]

19th century accounts [link]

William Cooke Taylor (1838) describes the biblical parcel of ground Jacob gave to Joseph as situated on plain of Mukhna, and identifies the tomb as an oriental weli structure at the entrance to the valley of Nablus, to the right near the base of Mt Ebal. The sarcophagus, he suggests, lies underneath or somewhere else in the vicinity of this plain, and comments:

'The present monument... is a place of resort, not only for Jews and Christians, but Mohammedans and Samaritans; all of whom concur in the belief that it stands on the vertiable spot where the patriarch was buried.'^[86]

In 1839, the Jewish traveller Loewe based his identification of the tomb as near Jacob's Well by a topographical argument. Scripture, he argued, calls the place neither an emek (valley) nor a shephelah (plain), but a 'portion of field' (chelkat hasadeh), and concluded: 'in the whole of Palestine there is not such another plot to be found, a dead level, without the least hollow or swelling in a circuit of two hours.'^[83] In 1839, it was recorded that Jews frequently visited the tomb and that many inscriptions in Hebrew were visible on the walls.^[87] The site was "kept very neat and in good repair by the bounty of Jews who visited it."^[88]

Hebrew inscription recording the repairs of 1749:
..."With the good sign. The LORD endureth forever. My help cometh from the LORD who made heaven and earth. Joseph is a fruitful bough. Behold a renewed majestic building...Blessed be the LORD who has put it into the heart of Elijah, the son of Meir, our rabbi, to build again the house of Joseph in the month Sivan, in the year 5509" (AM)

John Wilson (1847) writes that the tomb lies about two or three hundred yards to the north of Jacob's Well, across the valley. He describes it as 'a small solid erection in the form of a wagon roof, over what is supposed to be the patriarch’s grave, with a small pillar or altar at each of its extremities, sometimes called the tombs of Ephraim and Manasseh, and the middle of an enclosure without a covering. Many visitors names, in the Hebrew and Samaritan characters, are written on the walls of this enclosure.' One of the inscriptions is said to intimate the tomb's repair by a Jew from Egypt, Elijah son of Meir, around 1749.^[89] Wilson adds that 'The Jews of Nablus take upon themselves the duty of keeping the tomb in order. They applied to us for a subscription to aid in making some repairs and we complied with their request'.^[90] These Hebrew and Samaritan inscriptions were still visible on the white plastered walls as late as 1980, as were small lamps in an internal recess, probably donated by Jews during the 18th and 19th centuries.^[91]

Jewish illustration depicting the tomb, (19th-century)

Black-and-white photograph showing an open-air scene of ruins with a white, peaked centotaph in between 2 short white columns

Photograph, 1868

Rabbi Joseph Schwarz (1850) who had lived in Palestine for 16 years, identified the village of Abulnita, 'about 2 English miles east of Shechem', as the site 'where Joseph lies buried'.^[92] Western travellers to Palestine in the 19th century described their impressions of the site in travelogues. John Ross Browne (1853) writes: 'We also visited the reputed site of Joseph's Tomb. A rude stone building covers the pretended sepulcher; but the best authorities deny that there was any evidence that Joseph was buried here.'^[93] Howard Crosby also visited the site during 1851. He designated it, 'the so-called tomb of Joseph,' describing it as 'a plain white Santon's tomb, or Wely, such as is everywhere seen in Mohammedan countries, excepting that this one is roofless, and consequently lacks the usual white dome. In the interior, a vine grows from a corner, and spreads upon a trellis over the tomb, forming a pleasant bower.'^[94] Louis Félicien Joseph Caignart de Saulcy and Edouard de Warren (1853) describe it as 'a small Mussulman oualy (weli, i.e. chapel) [...] said to be the tomb of Joseph,' noting it was just to the east of what the Arabs called Bir-Yakub, Jacob's Well.^[95] Hackett noted in 1857 that the tomb is placed diagonally to the walls, instead of parallel, and found 'the walls of the interior covered with the names of pilgrims, representing almost every land and language; though the Hebrew character was the most prominent one.'^[96] Thomson noted in 1883 that 'the entire building is fast crumbling to ruin, presenting a most melancholy spectacle.' Being exposed to the weather, 'it has no pall or votive offering of any kind, nor any marks of respect such as are seen at the sepulchres of the most insignificant Muslim saints.'^[97] During the late 19th-century, sources report the Jewish custom of burning small articles such as gold lace, shawls or handkerchiefs, in the two low pillars at either end of the tomb. This was done in 'memory of the patriarch who sleeps beneath'.^[98]^[99]^[100]^[101]

Detailed survey by Conder, 1878–89 [link]

A stone bench is built into the east wall, on which three Jews were seated at the time of our second visit, book in hand, swinging backwards and forwards as they crooned out a nasal chant–a prayer no doubt appropriate to the place.

Claude R. Conder, 1878.^[102]

A black-and-white photograph showing a low stone wall enclosing a courtyard in front of a low building with an entry through a pointed arch with a small dome behind

Early 1900s

Claude R. Conder provides a detailed description of the site in his works Tent Work in Palestine (1878), Survey of Western Palestine (1881) and Palestine (1889).

The enclosure

It is located on the road-side from Balata to ‘Askar, at the end of a row of fine fig trees. The open courtyard surrounding the tomb measures about 18 foot (5.5 m) square. The plastered, whitewashed walls, about 1 foot (0.30 m) thick, are in good repair and stand 10 foot (3.0 m) feet high. Entrance to the courtyard is from the north through the ruin of a little square domed building. There are two Hebrew inscriptions on the south wall. An additional English inscription notes that the structure was entirely rebuilt at the expense of the English consul at Damascus by early 1868.

The tomb itself measures 6 foot (1.8 m) feet long and stands 4 foot (1.2 m) feet high. It consisted of a long narrow plastered block with an arched roof, having a pointed cross section. The tomb is not in line with the walls of the courtyard, which have a bearing of 202º, nor is it in the middle of the enclosure, being nearest to the west wall. Two short plastered pedestals with shallow cup-shaped hollows at their tops stand at the head and foot of the tomb. The hollows are blackened by fire due to the Jewish custom of burning offerings of shawls, silks or gold lace on the pillar altars. Both Jews and Samaritans burn oil lamps and incense in the pillar cavity.

Conder also questions the fact that the tomb points north to south, inconsistent with Muslim tombs north of Mecca. This fact did not however diminish Muslim veneration of the shrine:^[103]^[104]^[105]

"The tomb points approximately north and south, thus being at right angles to the direction of Moslem tombs north of Mecca. How the Mohammedans explain this disregard of orientation in so respected a Prophet as "our Lord Joseph," I have never heard; perhaps the rule is held to be only established since the time of Mohammed. The veneration in which the shrine is held by the Moslem peasantry is, at all events, not diminished by this fact."

Confusion over competing shrine [link]

1864 plan of Nablus showing Joseph’s Tomb (1), Ancient tomb (5), Imad ed Din (7) and Amud (8)

In the course pin-pointing the location of the tomb, the Reverend H.B. Hackett in Sir William Smith's A dictionary of the Bible (1863) mentions the existence of two tombs bearing an association to Joseph in Nablus. In addition to the one close to the well, (location of Conder's survey), he describes another exclusively Muslim tomb in the vicinity, about a quarter of a mile up the valley on the slope of Mt. Gerizim. He is not able to conclude which of the tombs is that of the biblical Joseph, but cites Arthur Penrhyn Stanley (1856) that at the Muslim tomb "a later Joseph is also commemorated at the sanctuary."^[106] Stanley himself writes that the little mosque on Gerizim's north-eastern slopes is known by various names including Allon Moreh (Oak of Allon), Aharon Moreh (Ark of Moreh) and Sheykh al-Amad (Saint of the Pillar) which he suggests commemorate biblcal traditions.^[107] Stanley also quotes Buckingham, who mentions that the Samaritans maintain that the alternative tomb belongs to a certain Rabbi Joseph of Nablus.^[108] John Mills (1864) writes that claims of the tomb belonging to Rabbi Joseph of Nablus are unfounded,^[109] the structure being called by the Samaritans "The Pillar" in commemoration of the pillar set up by Joshua.^[110] Mills rather identifies the supposed rabbi's tomb with a mosque named after a Muslim saint, Sheikh el-Amud ("Saint of the Pillar"), but further claims that the association is 'only a modern invention of the Mohammedans'.^[110] A book published in 1894, also questions the existence of a tomb to Rabbi Joseph of Nablus, calling it 'a Mohammedan legend, imposed upon inquisitive travellers by unscrupulous guides' since 'the present Samaritans known of no Joseph's tomb but the generally accepted one'.^[111]

A sepia-toned photograph showing a man wearing a turban, his left arm cradling a thin staff, and standing behind and with his right hand upon a centotaph draped with fabric on which is an inscription in Arabic script

"This is God's prophet, our master Joseph, peace be upon him", 1917.

By the 1860s, many Jews and Muslims had come to see the limestone structure as housing the tomb of the biblical Joseph, and it was referred to in Arabic as "Qabr en-Nabi Yūsuf" ("Tomb of the Prophet Joseph").^[74] A decorative cloth photographed in 1917, draped over the tomb itself, asserted this perception. Palestinians are also said to regard the site as the burial place of Yūsuf Dawiqat, an Islamic sheikh.^[112]^[113]^[114]^[115] It has been claimed that this tradition is an innovation in response to Israeli control of the site since the 1970s.^[116]^[112]

After 1967 [link]

Before 1967, the tomb was still located in a field in the village of Balata on the outskirts of Nablus. Local residents apparently believed the structure entombed a 19th-century cleric who was reputed to have healed the sick by reciting Koranic verses. Although the building did not function as a mosque, it was used by childless couples who would pray there for children, and young boys would take their first ritual haircut inside.^[117] After the capture of Nablus and the rest of the Palestinian territories in the 1967 war, Jewish settlers began to frequent the site, and by 1975, Muslims were prohibited from visiting the site.^[115]^[74] After a settler was stabbed in Nablus in 1983, other settlers demonstrated by taking over Joseph's tomb for three days in a bid to force the government's hand into using an iron fist.^[118] In the mid-1980s a yeshiva named Od Yosef Chai, (Joseph Still Lives), affiliated with some of the more militant Jewish settlements, and headed by Yitzhak Ginsburg,^[119]^[120]^[121] was built at the site beside an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) military outpost, apparently on the model of settler success in establishing a presence at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron.^[122] An initial attempt in 1994 to transform the site into a Jewish religious centre failed .^[123] Shulamit Aloni, minister for culture and education in the Rabin government, outraged religious activists at the time by asserting, on the basis of archeological evidence, that the site was only 200 years old, and the tomb that of Sheikh Yūsuf (Dawiqat).^[124] Her views were challenged by Benny Katzover who replied that she had been misled by archeologists, and he had experts to back the traditional ascription.^[125] In 1997 Torah scrolls were brought in, the prayer niche facing Mecca was covered, and the site was declared a synagogue and yeshiva.^[126]^[127]^[128] Attaching the religious tradition surrounding the story of Joseph to the site, the settlers received protection from the IDF to transform this place of Muslim worship into one of their own.^[129] A curfew lasting 24 hours was once imposed by the IDF on Nablus's 120,000 inhabitants to allow a group of settlers and 2 Likud Knesset members to pray at the site.^[130] On the traditional anniversary of Joseph's death on the 27th of Tammuz, hundreds of Jews would arrive at the site.^[131]

On December 12, 1995, in accordance with the Oslo Accords, jurisdiction of Nablus was handed over to the Palestinian National Authority, though Israel retained control of several religious sites, one of which was Joseph’s Tomb, thus sanctioning the fraught situation.^[132]^[133] Settler apprehensions that the area might be returned to Palestinians worked to enhance the status of Joseph's tomb as a centre of pilgrimage.^[134] The Interim Agreement stipulated that:'Both sides shall respect and protect the religious rights of Jews, Christians, Muslims and Samaritans concerning the protection and free access to the holy sites as well as freedom of worship and practice.'^[135] The tomb, resembling a fortified military post with a small functioning yeshiva, became a frequent flash point.^[136] On September 24, 1996, after the opening of an exit for the Hasmonean Tunnel under the Ummariya madrasah, which Palestinians interpreted as a signal Benjamin Netanyahu was sending that Israel was to be the sole sovereign of Jerusalem, the PNA called for a general strike and a wave of protests broke out throughout the West Bank. In clashes, 7 Palestinians were killed and 253 wounded in the West Bank while six Israeli soldiers were killed at the tomb,^[137]^[138] and parts of the adjacent yeshiva were ransacked. Jews continued to worship at the site under limited protection of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), often dressed as civilians easily mistaken for settlers.^[139]

Over the year and a half between 1999 and 2000, the IDF, seconded by the Shin Bet and the Israeli Border Police, had asked the government to evacuate the tomb.^[140] In September 2000, in the wake of Ariel Sharon’s controversial visit to the Temple Mount, the Al-Aqsa Intifada broke out, and Nablus turned into a hot spot, in part after its governor’s son was shot dead during a clash with Israeli soldiers.^[141] The Palestinians targeted the site, burning the yeshiva to the ground, incinerating its books and painting the dome green, an act which led to retaliation with Jewish vandalism of three mosques in Tiberias and Jaffa.^[16] After the death of an Israeli border policeman ^[142] the head of the IDF’s southern command, Brigadier-General Yom-Tov Samia, threatened to resign if the government kept control of the tomb, since retaining control of it was ‘patently illegal.’ Prime Minister Ehud Barak eventually complied with the request and the site was handed over to the Palestinian police on October 7, 2000.^[18] Israeli newspapers framed the return of the site as a humiliating defeat for the nation.^[143] The tomb was pillaged and torched by Palestinian protesters hours after its evacuation.^[144] The next morning, the bullet-riddled body of rabbi Hillel Lieberman of Elon Moreh, a cousin of Senator Joseph Lieberman, was found on the outskirts of Nablus, where he had gone to check damage to the tomb.^[145] Joseph’s Tomb embodied a key Zionist theme: the return from exile to one’s homeland, and the Palestinian assault has been interpreted as challenging the credibility of claims to the site.^[146] The PA began to repair it the next day.^[147] Palestinian spokesperson Hanan Ashrawi claimed that Judaism's connection with the tomb was 'fabricated'.^[148] The mayor of Nablus Ghassan Shakaa was reported as saying Jewish worshippers would not be permitted to pray there until an international organization or third party determines whether the site is holy to Moslems or Jews.^[149]

Israeli military officials said the Palestinians intended to build a mosque on the ruins of the site.^[150] The statement came after workers repairing the tomb painted the site's dome green, the colour of Islam. A Palestinian Authority spokesman denied the allegations and said that Arafat had ordered the renovations and for the synagogue to be rebuilt.^[150] Ghassan Shakaa, the mayor, claimed that city officials simply wanted to return the building to the way it looked before it came into Israeli hands in the 1967 Mideast war.^[151] Under intense U.S. and international pressure the dome was repainted white.^[152]

Since 2000 [link]

A colour photograph showing a cluster of black-garbed men in hats, along with a cluster of uniformed soldiers, standing under a whitewashed, arched opening with a doorway behind and a low dome dimly visible in the background

Night visit under IDF guard, November 2009

After the events of October 2000, the IDF prohibited Israeli access to the tomb.^[153] As a result of Operation Defensive Shield, Nablus was reoccupied by the IDF in April 2002, with severe damage to the historic core of the city, where 64 heritage buildings suffered serious damage or were destroyed.^[154] Some Breslov hasidim and others began to take advantage of the new circumstances to visit the site clandestinely under the cover of darkness, evading army and police checkpoints. Eventually Joseph’s tomb was once more open to visits. In May 2002, Israeli soldiers mistakenly opened fire on a convoy of settlers taking advantage of an ongoing incursion in Nablus to visit the tomb. Seven settlers were arrested by the army for illegally entering a combat zone.^[155] As a result of Operation Defensive Shield, the tomb was retaken by the IDF and shortly afterwards, in response to numerous requests, they renewed guarded tours of the tomb. One day every month at midnight as many as 800 visitors were allowed to pray at the gravesite. These visits were designed to prevent unauthorized and unprotected clandestine visits, mainly by Breslav Hassidim.^[156] However, in October, citing security reasons, Israel re-imposed a ban on Jewish pilgrims obtaining special permits and travelling to the tomb.^[157]

In February 2003 it was reported in the Jerusalem Post that the grave had been pounded with hammers and that the tree at its entrance had been broken; car parts and trash littered the tomb which had a "huge hole in its dome." Bratslav leader Aaron Klieger notified and lobbied government ministers about the desecration, but the IDF said it had no plans to secure or guard the site, claiming such action would be too costly.^[158]

In February 2007, thirty five Knesset members (MKs) wrote to the army asking them to open Joseph's Tomb to Jewish visitors for prayer.^[156] In May 2007, Breslov hasidim visited the site for the first time in two years and later on that year, a group of hasidim found that the gravesite had been cleaned up by the Palestinians. In the past few years the site had suffered from neglect and its appearance had deteriorated, with garbage being dumped and tires being burned there.^[159]

In early 2008, a group of MKs wrote a letter to the Prime Minister asking that the tomb be renovated: "The tombstone is completely shattered, and the holy site is desecrated in an appalling manner, the likes of which we have not seen in Israel or anywhere else in the world."^[160] In February, it was reported that Israel would officially ask the Palestinian Authority to carry out repairs at the tomb,^[161] but in response, vandals set tires on fire inside the tomb. In December 2008, Jewish workers funded by anonymous donors painted the blackened walls and re-built the shattered stone marker covering the grave.^[162]

As of 2009, monthly visits to the tomb in bullet-proof vehicles under heavy IDF protection are organised by the Yitzhar based organization Shechem Ehad.^[163] In late April 2009, a group of Jewish worshipers found the headstone smashed and swastikas painted on the walls, as well as boot prints on the grave itself.^[164]

In August 2010, it was reported that the IDF and the Palestinian Authority reached an agreement on renovating the site. Israel's chief rabbis, Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar, visited and prayed at the tomb along with 500 other worshippers, the first such visit by a high-ranking Israeli delegation in 10 years.^[21]^[165]

On April 24, 2011, Palestinian Authority police officers opened fire on three cars of Israeli worshipers after they finished praying at Joseph's Tomb. An Israeli citizen was killed and three others were wounded. The fatality was identified as Ben-Joseph Livnat, 25, the nephew of Culture Minister Limor Livnat. Both the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian Authority ordered investigations into the incident. According to an initial investigation, three cars full of Israelis entered the compound of Joseph's Tomb without coordination with the Israeli military or Palestinian security forces and then tried to break through a Palestinian Authority police checkpoint.^[166] The IDF investigation concluded that the Palestinian police officers had acted "maliciously" and with the intent to harm the Jewish worshipers. IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz added that they fired "without justification and with no immediate threat to their lives."^[167]

Footnotes [link]

^ Bruce 1994, p. 102
^ Pummer 1993, p. 139
^ Zangenberg 2006, p. 415
^ Sweeney 2009, p. 34
^ Conder 2004 (a), p. 74:‘venerated by the members of every religious community in Palestine’.
^ Pummer 1993, p. 139.
^ Twain 2008, p. 553:‘Few tombs on earth command the veneration of so many races and men of diverse creeds as that of Joseph. Samaritan and Jew, Moslem and Christian alike, revere it, and honour it with their visits.’
^ Hackett 1863, p. 1239
^ Pringle 1998, p. 94.
^ Schenke 1967, p. 174: ‘der Gebäudekomplex über und um ein Kenotaph herum, der heute als Josephsgrab gilt, ist ganz modern und enthält nicht einmal alte Bauelemente.’
^ Redford 1993, p. 429.
^ Pummer 1987, p. 12.‘Whether today’s cenotaph and its site are identical with the ancient one can presently not be decided.
^ ^a ^b Pummer 1987, pp. 11–12
^ Kohen 2007, p. 24.
^ Sivan 2008, pp. 114–117
^ ^a ^b Hassner 2009, p. 87.
^ Hayden 2002, p. 167.
^ ^a ^b Dor 2004, p. 45.
^ Abu El Haj 2001, p. 281.
^ Dumper 2007, p. 267.
^ ^a ^b Nahshoni 2010.
^ Genesis 50:25.
^ Genesis 50:26.
^ Exodus 13:19
^ Rivka 2009, pp. 112–113, n.30 notes a variant tradition, recorded in the so-called “small Genesis” (Jubilees, 46:7) which states however that the Israelites brought out from Egypt the bones of Jacob’s sons, except those of Joseph.
^ Joshua 24:32. See also Genesis 33:18–20
^ ^a ^b Freund 2009, p. 28.
^ Neusner 1985: "Rav Yudan bar Simeon said, 'This is one of three passages on the basis of which the nations of the world cannot ridicule Israel, saying 'You have stolen property'.' " The others being the cave at Machpelah (Hebron) and the site of the Temple (Jerusalem). Genesis Rabba 79.7.
^ Harry Freedman; Maurice Simon (February 1983). Midrash Rabbah: Exodus. Soncino Press. p. 259. ISBN 978-0-900689-38-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=fVMOAQAAMAAJ. Retrieved 12 September 2011. "Similarly, it was from Shechem that the brothers of Joseph had stolen him and had sold him: and when he was about to die, he adjured them: 'My brothers! ye have stolen me from Shechem while I was alive, I pray you, return my bones to Shechem" (Exodus Rabbah 20,19.)"
^ Jacob ben Solomon Ibn Ḥabib; Avraham Yaakov Finkel; Rabbi Yaakov Ibn Chaviv (August 1999). Ein Yaakov: the ethical and inspirational teachings of the Talmud. Jason Aronson. p. 453. ISBN 978-0-7657-6082-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=-20wAAAAYAAJ. Retrieved 12 September 2011. ""They buried [Joseph] in Shechem" (Joshua 24:32). Why in Shechem of all places? R. Chama b. R. Chanina said: From Shechem they stole him, and to Shechem we will return what is lost. (Sotah 13b BT)."
^ Le Strange 2010, p. 325:’The tomb of Joseph is in the plot of ground lying outside Solomon’s enclosure (the Haram). It stands opposite the tomb of Jacob and is near that of his forefathers Abraham and Isaac. Now Ibrahim ibn Ahmad al Khalanji states that he was requested by one of (the Caliph) Al Muktadir’s women, Al ’Ajûz by name, who was sojourning at the Holy City, to proceed to the place where, according to the tradition, Joseph was buried, and having discovered the sepulchre, to erect over it a building. So Al Khalanji set forth with workmen, and they found the place where, according to tradition, Joseph was buried, namely outside the enclosure (of Solomon), and opposite the tomb of Jacob, and they bought the field from its owner, and began to lay it bare. In the very place indicated by the tradition they came on a huge rock, and this, by order of Al Khalanji, was broken into. They tore off a portion, ‘and,’ says Al Khalanji, ‘I being with the workmen in the trench when they raised up the fragment, lo! Here lay (the body of) Joseph – peace be upon him!-beautiful and glorious to look on, as he is always represented to have been. Now, first there arose from the place an odour of musk. I caused the workmen to set it down into its place against the fragment of rock, to be as it has been before.’ “And afterwards,” Mujir ad Din continues,’they built over this place the Dome which can be seen there to this day, in proof that the tradition is a true one, and that the Patriarch is buried beneath.’ The general site it called Al Qala’ah (The Castle).
^ ^a ^b Goldman 1995
^ Conder & Kitchener 1882, p. 342.
^ Redford 1970, p. 188
^ Sperling 2003, p. 98
^ Schenke 1968, p. 174: “Joseph” ist ein personifizierter Stamm.’
^ Genesis, 50:24–26.
^ Exodus, 13:19.
^ Rivka 2009, pp. 113,127–128.
^ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 2:200–201: ‘At length his brethren died, after they had lived happily in Egypt. Now the posterity and sons of these men after some time carried their bodies, and buried them at Hebron. But as to the bones of Joseph, they carried them into the land of Canaan afterwards, when the Hebrews went out of Egypt’ (tr. William Whiston). τελευτῶσι δ’ αὐτοῦ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ ζήσαντες εὐδαιμόνως ἐπὶ τῆς Αἰγύπτου. καὶ τούτων μὲν τὰ σώματα κομίσαντες μετὰ χρόνον οἱ ἀπόγονοι καὶ οἱ παῖδες ἔθαψαν ἐν Νεβρῶνι*, τὰ δὲ Ἰωσήπου ὀστᾶ ὕστερον, ὅτε μετανέστησαν ἐκ τῆς Αἰγύπτου οἱ Ἑβραῖοι, εἰς τὴν Χαναναίαν ἐκόμισαν• (2.200–201).
- ἐν Νεβρῶνι 'in Nebron' is written in the best manuscripts (R= Paris Codex Regius Parisinus, and O = Codex Oxoniensis (Bodleianus), miscell. graec. 186, collectively known as RO), and is the reading defended by Josephus's editor Benedikt Niese. This is often emended to ἐν Χεβρῶνι (in Χεβρῶν/Hebron), the reading conserved by inferior manuscripts which are influenced by the Septuagint.
^ de Hoop 1999, p. 497.
^ Moore & Kelle 2011, p. 174: ‘The majority of current scholars believe that the historicity of the Egyptian sojourn, exodus, and wilderness wandering that the Bible remembers cannot be demonstrated by historical methods.’
^ de Hoop 1999, p. 420: ‘In conclusion, it is the question for evidence, principally falsifiable, that forms historical probability. This evidence is not found in narratives like the Joseph Story.
^ de Hoop 1999, p. 412: ‘The departure from the historical approach, which sought for the exact period when Joseph rose to power, was mainly caused by the recognition of Gunkel, Greßmann, von Rad and others, that the Joseph story is a literary composition, a novella. Von Rad even stated that the Joseph Story ‘has no historical-political concern whatsoever, also a cult-aetiologic tendency is lacking, and we even miss a salvation-historical and theological orientation...the Joseph story with its clearly didactic tendency belongs to the ancient wisdom school’.’
^ de Hoop 1999, p. 412.
^ Louden 2011, p. 63‘Joseph’s myth has basic affinities with romance’.
^ Sills 1997, pp. 172–174
^ Redford 1993, pp. 422–429,p.423: ‘as has long been realized, the Joseph story is in fact a novella or short story.
^ Redford 1970, p. 66-58: ‘The Joseph story as Märchen-Novelle.’
^ Völter 1909, p. 67
^ Goldman 1995, p. 124
^ Völter 1909, pp. 64–5: Die Erzählung aber, dass die Lade mit dem Leichnam des Joseph, nachdem sie lange in Aegypten geblieben war, beim Auszug von den Israeliten mitgenommen und nach Palästina gebracht worden sei, kann kaum etwas anderes bedeuten, als daß der Cultus eines toten, in einer Lade liegenden Gottes, der eigentlich in Aegypten zu Hause war, von den Israeliten übernommen worden ist, Dieser Gott is Osiris.’
^ Rivka 2009, pp. 113–114: Joseph’s double burial, and his first resting place in the Nile, shares several motifs extant in the Egyptian Osiris myth.
^ Sperling 2003, p. 98 writes:'there are no compelling linguistic or historical reasons to date the story later than the ninth to eighth century of the first millennium B.C.E.’
^ Smith 1984, pp. 243–244 n.1, 268:’a romance, of the ancient genre of romantic-religious novellae that revived in the Hellenistic world...the first great example in Israelite literature is the Joseph romance.’; ‘The old peasant stories of the Patriarchs and Joshua (heroes of holy places at Bethel, Hebron Beersheba and Shechem) had doubtless long been collected in cycles and may, before Persian times, have been connected with some or all of the other elements in the hexateuchal narrative, myths about the beginning of the world, the flood and so on, the Joseph romance, nomads’ tales of Moses, and stories about the conquest of the country. These components are clear; how they were put together is hazy; but most scholars would agree that the Jerusalem priests of the Persian period were the final editors who gave the material substantially its present form...and rewrote many stories to serve their own purposes, usually as legal precedents.’
^ Redford 1970, p. 242:’several episodes in the narrative, and the plot motifs themselves, find some parallel in Saite, Persian, or Ptolemaic Egypt. It is the sheer weight of evidence, and not the argument from silence, that leads to the conclusion that the seventh century B.C. is the terminus a quo for the Egyptian background to the Joseph Story. If we assign the third quarter of the fifth century B.C.E. as the terminus ante quem, we are left with a span of two and one half centuries, comprising in terms of Egyptian history the Saite and early Persian periods.’
^ Redford 1993, p. 429:’the Biblical Joseph story was a novella created sometime during the seventh or sixth century B.C. (the end of the Judean monarchy or the Exile).
^ Wright 1973, pp. 113–114
^ Finkelstein & Silberman 2001, pp. 37,67: ‘The camel carrying “gum, balm, and myrrh,” in the Joseph story reveals an obvious familiarity with the main products of the lucrative Arabian trade that flourished under the supervision of the Assyrian empire in the eighth-seventh centuries BCE.’:’A seventh century BCE background is also evident in some of the peculiar Egyptian names mentioned in the Joseph story.’
^ Schenke 1968, p. 174 : ‘die Tradition von seinem Grab bei Sichen kann also nur als sekundäre Israelitische, nämlich geschichtliche Deutung eines älteren kanaanäischen Heiligtums bzw. heiligen Platzes verstanden werden.’
^ Wright 1973, p. 79
^ Schenke 1967, pp. 159–184
^ Schenke 1967, p. 175.
^ Schenke 1967, p. 175 n.49: ‘Inde ad pede montis ipsius (Gerizim) locus est, cui nomen est Sechim. Ibi positum est monumentum, ubi positus est Joseph in villa, quam dedit ei Jacob pater eius.’
^ Wolf 2006
^ Schenke 1967, p. 175 n.50:Συχὲμ . .νῦν ἔρημος. δείκνυται δὲ ὁ τόπος ἐν προαστείοις Νέαϛ πόλεως, ἔνθα καὶ ὁ τάφος δείκνυται τοῦ Ἰωσήφ, καὶ παράκειται.’
^ Guérin 1874, p. 374, citing Jerome, Opera omnia, (Migne) vol.1 p.889:'Atque inde divertens (a puteo Jacob) vidit duodecim patriarcharum sepulcra.'
^ Schenke 1967, p. 168 n.16:'duodecim autem patriarchae non sunt sepulti in Arboc, sed in Sychem'(Epistle 57,10).
^ Sivan 2008, p. 115 n.24
^ Crown 1989, p. 70
^ Schenke 1967, p. 177
^ Kohen 2007, p. 24
^ Sivan 2008, p. 114:In the days of the high priest Eleazar the Christians came and laid waste to the field of Joseph’s tomb. They said that they wanted to take the remains of Joseph the patriarch away. They would excavate by day but during the night the ground would revert to its previous state. So they seized some Samaritans and made them go and dig. Sad and weeping, the (seized men) did not have their heart in their work. When Friday came, towards evening, they arrived at the entrance to the cave and kept on appealing to God for help, saying: ‘This is the night time and we are no longer able to do any work until the Sabbath is over.’ A sign appeared in the sky, thunder with gusty winds and fire erupted from the mouth of the cave to heavens. There was fire on Mount Gerizim. A pillar of cloud returned to the mountain. This was what was written about in the Holy Torah. These (miracles) were a witness to the mighty desires of the gentiles to own Joseph. Then the Christians came and put up a building over the grave which the Samaritans then demolished. They then took seven people from among them and executed them. So they then seized the high priest Eleazar and leaders of the Hukama and hanged them.’
^ ^a ^b ^c Golden 2004
^ Schenke 1967.
^ Schenke 1967, p. 179
^ ^a ^b Pringle 1998, p. 94
^ Le Strange 2010, p. 416:Schenke 1967, p. 179.
^ Le Strange 2010, p. 512Schenke 1967, p. 179: The information is contained also in the Ibn Abd al-Haqq’s abridgement of Yaqut al-Hamawi’s book entitled Marasid al-lttila' fi Asma al- Amkina Wa al-Biqa, compiled several decades later.
^ Benjamin of Tudela 1840, p. 67
^ Pringle 1998, p. 94.
^ Schenke 1967, pp. 179–180
^ ^a ^b ^c Hackett 1863, p. 1240
^ Adler 2004, p. 105
^ Schenke 1967, p. 179n.69c corrects the original Shiloh to 'Sichem/Shechem', emending the text, by presuming a lacuna, to read 'and from Shiloh to Shechem'.
^ Hackettt 1863, p. 1240.
^ Bonar & M'Cheyne 1839, p. 20
^ Bishop Alexander 1844, p. 280
^ Wilson 1847, pp. 60–61
^ Wilson 1847, pp. 62
^ Gafni, van der Heyden & 1982
^ Schwarz 1850, p. 150
^ Browne 1853, p. 354
^ Crosby 2010, pp. 291–292
^ de Saulcy & de Warren 1854, p. 99
^ Hackett 1857, p. 128.
^ Thomson 1883, p. 147.
^ Sir Charles William Wilson (1880). The land of Galilee & the north: including Samaria, Haifa, and the Esdraelon Valley. Ariel Pub. House. p. 3. http://books.google.com/books?id=Ro1tAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 15 September 2011. "In the shallow basins thus formed I have seen traces of fire, as if votive offerings had recently ben burnt there. It is said that small objects, such as kerchiefs of embroidered muslin or silk shawls and other trifles, are occasionally sacrificed at this tomb by Jews."
^ Geike 1887, p. 212. "The tomb stands in a little yard close to the mosque, at the end of a fine row of olive and fig-trees, and enclosed by a low stone wall. Two low pillars stand at the head and foot of the tomb, their tops hollowed out and blackened by fire; the Jews making a practice of burning small articles, such as gold lace, shawls, or handkerchiefs, in these saucer-like cups, in memory of the patriarch who sleeps beneath."
^ Conder 2004 (a), pp. 291–292,74–75. "The most curious point to notice is, however, the existence of two short pillars, one at the head, the other at the foot of the tomb, having shallow cup-shaped hollows at their tops. These hollows are blackened by fire, for the Jews have the custom of burning sacrifices on them, small articles such as handkerchiefs, gold lace, or shawls being consumed. Whether this practice is also observed by the Samaritans is doubtful."
^ Forlong 2003, p. 518. "The Jews still burn shawls, and other stuffs, at the grave of Joseph in Shechem."
^ Conder 2004 (a)
^ Conder 2004 (a), pp. 291–292,74–75
^ Conder & Kitchener 1882, pp. 194–195.
^ Conder 2004 (b), pp. 63–64.
^ Hackett, pp. 1239–1240
^ Arthur Penrhyn Stanley (1863). Sermons preached before the Prince of Wales during his tour in the East in the spring of 1862: with notices of some of the localities visited. p. 182. http://books.google.com/books?id=IVg9AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA182. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
^ Stanley, p. 241
^ Mills, p. 66
^ ^a ^b Mills, p. 33
^ John McClintock; James Strong (1894). Cyclopaedia of Biblical, theological, and ecclesiastical literature. Harper. p. 636. http://books.google.com/books?id=EaY8AAAAYAAJ. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
^ ^a ^b Freund 2009, p. 28
^ Sontag 2000
^ Dor 2004, p. 48
^ ^a ^b Hayden 2002, p. 167
^ Sennott 2003, p. 365
^ Mark Matthews (2007). Lost years: Bush, Sharon, and failure in the Middle East. Nation Books. p. 277. ISBN 978-1-56858-332-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=0LdyAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 15 September 2011. "Tucked away off a side street in Balata, a village on the outskirts of Nablus, stood a tiny, domed, stone-walled building destined to join the annals of religious bloodshed. Balata residents claimed the structure venerated a nineteenth-century Muslim cleric, Sheik Youssef, who was said to have healed the sick by reading them verses from the Koran. Though not a full-fledged mosque, it drew worshippers: childless couples would go there to pray for children. Families would take their sons there for the ritual of their first haircuts. To Israelis, the site was known as Joseph's Tomb."
^ Gazit 2003. The incident occurred after Moshe Arens was appointed Defence Minister in 1983.
^ Sennott 2003, p. 364
^ Inbari 2009, p. 132.
^ Aran 1994, p. 336 n.27
^ Rubenberg 2003
^ Goldman 1994
^ Sharkansky 1997
^ Feige 2007, p. 285
^ Dor 2004.
^ Hayden 2002.
^ Golden 2004, p. 187
^ Dor 2002, p. 48
^ Sharkansky 1997: 'When the army declared a curfew against Arab residents of Nablus so that religious settlers and two Likud members of the Knesset could pray at Joseph's tomb, her comment,"This is human rights? That they put 120,000 people under house arrest (that is, the curfew) for 24 hours so that (Likud members) Tzahi Haneghi and Dov Shilansky could dance with a Torah scroll on Sheikh Yusuf's tomb near Nablus and say 'It's all mine,' without anyone interfering? This is human rights?'
^ Fendel 2007
^ La Guardia 2007, p. 306.
^ Dor 2004.
^ Guinn 2007, p. 70
^ Dumper 2002, p. 147.
^ Kershner 2008.
^ Dumper 2009, p. 85
^ Enderlin 2003, pp. 53–57
^ Hermann 2009, p. 137.
^ Dor 2004, pp. 46–47.
^ Sennott 2003, p. 364
^ Sher 2006, p. 158.
^ Dor 2004, p. 47.
^ Sher 2006, p. 165.
^ Matthews 2007, p. 285.
^ Golden 2004, p. 189:'In their assault on the tomb, the Palestinian attackers expressed their challenge to the credibility of Israeli claims to the site.'
^ Lipton 2002, p. 52:'On October 7, following the IDF evacuation from the Jewish religious site of Joseph’s tomb, 1,000 Palestinian protesters entered the religious site, desecrated religious literature, burned the site, and damaged the roof and an outer wall in an unsuccessful attempt to demolish the tomb. The PA began to repair the tomb the following day.'
^ Gross 2000.
^ Dudkevitch 2000
^ ^a ^b Harel 2000.
^ Tarabay 2000.
^ Hirschberg 2000.
^ Gitlitz & Davidson 2006, pp. 231–235.
^ Dumper 2007, p. 267.
^ anonymous 2002
^ ^a ^b Wagner 2007
^ BBC 2002
^ Gutman & Lazaroff 2003
^ Weiss 2007.
^ Sela 2008
^ Staff Report 2008
^ Zuroff 2008
^ Wagner 2009.
^ Weiss 2009.
^ Mandel 2010.
^ Levinson & Pfeffer 2011.
^ Pfeffer 2011.

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Wright, George R. H (October 1972). "Joseph’s Grave under the Tree by the Omphalos of Shechem". Vetus Testamentum. 82. Brill. pp. 476–486.
Wright, George R. H (1987). "An Egyptian God at Shechem". As on the first day: essays in religious constants. Brill. pp. 71–85. ISBN 978-90-04-08172-7. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=3uwUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA70. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
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Zuroff, Avraham (December 25, 2008). "Joseph’s Tomb Gets a Paint Job After 9 Years of Arab Desecration". Arutz Sheva. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/129032. Retrieved 10 September 2011.

External links [link]

New York Times slideshow of the tomb. October 2008
Film depicting the vandalism & destruction of the tomb
Website with photos of the destruction
Photo of the tomb during the destruction
"Arab vandals desecrate Joseph's Tomb" (asp / html). WorldNetDaily. 2003-02-25. pp. 1. Archived from the original on 2003. http://web.archive.org/web/20030618214344/http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=31203.

v t e Religious sites in the Palestinian Authority

Ancient synagogue (Gaza) Burqin Church Church of the Nativity Mosque of Omar (Bethlehem) Cave of the Patriarchs^† Joseph's Tomb Jacob's Well Al-Khadra Mosque Great Mosque of Nablus An-Nasr Mosque Tomb of Lazarus (al-Eizariya) Tomb of Joshua Great Mosque of Gaza Monastery of the Temptation Shalom Al Yisrael Synagogue Mount Gerizim Mount Ebal ^† Although the Cave of the Patriarchs rests in Area A of the West Bank, access to the site is controlled by Israel.

v t e Holy sites in Judaism

Temple remnants	Foundation Stone Temple Mount Western Wall

Tombs of biblical figures	Cave of the Patriarchs David's Tomb Joseph's Tomb Rachel's Tomb Tomb of the Matriarchs

Four Holy Cities	Jerusalem Hebron Safed Tiberias

Land	Land of Israel

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