Jericho was known in the Canaanite era as the City of the Moon (French).
Jericho is an ancient Palestinian city dating back more than 10,000 years. It is known for its fertility and water wealth, and it is the basket of Palestinian vegetables and fruits. It was included in the UNESCO list on September 17, 2023.
During the period of British and Jordanian rule, the southern part of Jericho belonged to the Jerusalem District, and the northern part belonged to the Nablus District. In 1997, Israel occupied it and established 16 settlements in and around it, and established 10 camps and military bases there.
In the 1990s, it was handed over to the Palestinian National Authority after the Oslo Accords , and it became the center of the Jericho Governorate in the West Bank , and its historical, geographical and tourist location gave it the title of Little Palestine or the mini-entity of history.
In varying periods of time, it suffered multiple Israeli military invasions, and was and continues to be affected by permanent and temporary military checkpoints depending on the field conditions.
It was an important crossing point since ancient times, as it formed the eastern gateway to Palestine, and today it includes the Karama crossing, which facilitates the movement of travelers and trade exchange movement to and from Palestine, but it is not possible to enter and exit it except through two gates, under the guard of the occupation army.
the site
Jericho is located 7 kilometers west of the Jordan River, 10 kilometers north of the Dead Sea, and 30 kilometers east of Jerusalem, and falls to a level of 250 meters below sea level.
It is bordered to the north by the town of Nuweimah and Ain al-Sultan camp, to the west by the town of Ain al-Duyuk al-Fawqa, and to the south by Aqabat Jabr camp and the Nabi Musa community.
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Administratively, Jericho is located south of the governorate of the same name in the east of the West Bank. It is distinguished by its geographical location linking north and south, and it is considered the only border crossing point for entering or exiting the West Bank.
Area and population
The area of the city of Jericho is 45 square kilometers out of the total area of Jericho and the Jordan Valley with its current administrative borders, which amounts to about 593 square kilometers, and represents 9.9% of the total area of the West Bank (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 2021).
According to the estimated population of the governorate by locality 2017-2023, the population of the city of Jericho is estimated at approximately 23,109 people out of the total population of the governorate, estimated at 55,268 people until mid-2023.
Estimates of the General Census of Population, Housing, and Establishments indicate that 6,393 of the city’s residents are Palestinian refugees, representing 43.5% of the total refugees in the governorate, which is considered the smallest governorate in terms of population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The population of the city of Jericho did not exceed 14,674 people out of the total population of the governorate (numbering 32,713 people) according to the first census conducted by the Palestinian National Authority in 1997. Then the number rose to 20,907 people out of the total population of the governorate of 50,002 people, according to the results of the 2017 census, and in 2021 it reached The city’s population is 53,317.
The age group under 15 years in the city of Jericho represents 35.3%, while the age group over 60 years does not exceed 4.9%, while the active group (15-64) represents 59.8% of the city’s total population. (According to the 2017 census).
The city of Jericho is distinguished from other cities by the nature and diversity of its population, as it has approximately 10,000 students in security services schools, in addition to approximately 15,000 so-called weekend residents (who visit Jericho weekly or intermittently, especially in the winter, They own homes and do not live permanently.
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Due to the peculiarity of the border city, 2,977 people pass through it daily, departing, and approximately this number of arrivals pass through it, in addition to approximately 3,000 tourists (internal and external) daily.
the climate
Jericho’s climate is tropical-desert in terms of high temperature, and is similar to the dry Mediterranean climate in terms of rainfall in the winter. It is dry in summer and mild in winter.
The average annual temperature is about 23.5 degrees Celsius, the lowest annual average is 17 degrees, and the highest average is 30.5 degrees. The temperatures are always warmer compared to other cities in Palestine, due to its low temperature and the height of the surrounding mountains.
As for rain, its amounts are small in the winter, and its average ranges between 150 and 200 mm annually, when compared to the amounts of rain in mountainous areas, which are about 700 mm. The region is exposed to northwesterly winds, averaging 10 and 15 degrees in normal conditions.
Data from the Palestinian General Meteorological Administration during the rainy season of 2023 showed that the lowest amount recorded in Jericho was 92.1 milliliters (55.5% of the general average for the governorate), while the average relative humidity for 2021 at Jericho station was 42%, and the highest increase was recorded there. 3.4 degrees higher than the general average temperature.
Geography
Jericho consists of dry plains irrigated by three main springs: Ain al-Sultan, Ain al-Duyuk, and Ain al-Nuweimah. To the southwest, the waters of the Wadi al-Qilt spring flow, as does the al-Fawwar spring, which is located a few miles to the west. To the south, water flows through Wadi al-Nuweimah.
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Ain Sultan spring is considered the most prolific and highest quality spring in the region, with 600 to 750 cubic meters flowing from it in channels 9,298 meters long. In 1930, Mr. Shepherd, the English irrigation expert, organized the water of this spring, whose supply is considered constant throughout the year, so that 42% of it was used for domestic use and drinking, and 58% was transferred through the modern irrigation network for agricultural use, based on the records of the Palestinian Water Authority.
As for Ain al-Duik’s water, its quantity ranges between 500 and 550 cubic meters per hour, and it flows in a four-meter-long canal. The amount of water in Wadi Nuweimah ranges between 250 and 300 cubic meters per hour.
There is also Ain al-Auja, with a volume of water of 1,500 cubic meters per hour, flowing in a canal 8 meters long. It is considered the largest spring in Palestine in terms of annual water flow, as its average water volume is between 7 and 8 million cubic metres.
Israeli wells dug after 1967 penetrate the reservoir that feeds the Auja Spring, and draw large quantities of its water. This led to the drying up of the spring, the area adjacent to which is a closed military zone. Israel also polluted the water of the Wadi Qelt spring by leaking wastewater into it from the settlements.
The fragrant city of the moon
Jericho was known in the Canaanite era as (the city of the moon) in reference to the god (Yarikh), and it was derived from the triple root of the word “yarih” meaning perfume, so it was the fragrant city of the moon, covered with the scent of jasmine flowers and roses of different colors and names.
In historical sources, the origin of the name (Jericho) is Semitic, and it is mentioned in the Dictionary of Countries that it was named so in reference to the fourth grandson of Noah, peace be upon him, “Jericho son of Malik Arfakhshid son of Shem.”
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It was said that it is (Beit Yarah), which in Syriac means perfume or fragrance, and it was known in Hebrew as (Jerihu) and (Yrah) or (Al-Yarah), which means the month or the moon.
For the Arabs, it means (Jeriha), as Al-Bakri says, “In Jericho, and perhaps Jericho, and if they are related, they say ‘Ariha’ and nothing else,” as it was mentioned in the Torah as (Jeriha), and today among the common people it is pronounced (riha), and from it (ruwiha), the diminutive of (riha).
Historians reported that the city appeared in tax records in 1596 under the name (Rha), and in 1997, archaeologist Lorenzo Negro discovered a talisman in a tomb dating back to the second millennium BC. Among what was inscribed on it was the Canaanite word (Raha), which is the ancient name for (Jericho), which means scent.
It was called in the past (Mishta Palestine), and it was famous for the city of palm trees, as palm trees appeared on coins when the Roman Emperor Vaspasian captured the city in 70 BC. M.
It was also called the city of the Valley of the Chicks, the Giants (Giants), and the capital of the valley. The Palestinian historian Josephus mentioned that the Roman leader Antoninus presented the balsam orchards in Jericho as a gift to Queen Cleopatra in 35 BC. M., and the Roman King Herod rented these orchards from them.
The historic Sultan Hill, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List on September 27, 2023 (French)
Tel al-Sultan: Jericho the First
Ancient Jericho was known as Tel al-Sultan or Ain Elisha, in reference to an oval hill that was the origin of the name of the first city. It is located about a mile to the north – skewed to the west – of present-day Jericho. It is 21 meters higher than the level of the surrounding land, and its area is about 5 square metres. hectares.
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Close to this hill, which made archaeologists classify Jericho as “the oldest city in history,” there is an ancient spring whose abundance of water was the reason for human settlement in Jericho in the Neolithic Age. Buildings and facilities developed at this site to establish the city’s civilization at the beginning of the third millennium BC. M.
It is said that the Babylonians called the spring “Sultan’s Spring” after they uprooted the eyes of a king who was removed from his throne in Jerusalem. Then the Prophet Elisha came and desalinated the spring’s water, so it was called Elisha Spring.
In the Greco-Roman period, the center of ancient Jericho moved to Tulul Abi Al-Alayq, and it turned into a garden city and expanded along Wadi Al-Laqt, about 6 kilometers south of Tel Al-Sultan.
Most archaeologists agree that the ancient inhabitants of Jericho were the first to cultivate grains, as evidenced by their traces of stone mills and pestles. Pottery making began there around 5000 BC. M, then it spread to the rest of Palestine.
the date
The inhabitants of Jericho have been known since the dawn of history as the Canaanites, and they are the original inhabitants of Palestine. They are called the Eastern Dynasty and linguistically known as the Semitic group.
During the reign of the Judges (1170 – 1030 BC), Jericho was the capital of their king. Herod the Great renovated it and built a palace there that he used as a winter resort. He built fortified castles there and the Abu Al-Alayq hills, which are the remains of his city.
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The Romans rebuilt the center of Jericho in its current location on the Celtic River, and during the reign of Constantine the Great (306-337 AD), Christianity spread, and monasteries and churches were established in the suburbs of Jericho, and it became the center of a bishopric in 325 AD. During the Byzantine era, Jericho grew and developed, and Justinaeus (527-565 AD) built a large church and monastery there.
Following the Arab-Islamic conquest of Palestine in the seventh century AD, Jericho became part of the Ramla district of Jund al-Filastin, and it maintained its prosperity during this period, as evidenced by the remains of the Umayyad (661 AD – 750 AD) and Abbasid (750 AD – 1099 AD) periods at Khirbet al-Mafjar.
During the era of the Crusaders (1099 AD – 1516 AD), travelers who passed through it described it as a small, poor and humble village, and the Crusaders exploited its lands at that time to grow cane for the sugar industry.
During the Ottoman era (1516 AD – 1918 AD), Jericho was relatively prosperous and administratively and financially affiliated with the Jerusalem district. In 1908 AD, it rose from a village to a center administered by a governor called the director. It was the fifth district that made up the Jerusalem district, and in 1910 it had 26 villages.
Jericho and a portion of the Jordan Valley lands belonged to Sultan Abdul Hamid II, and were called “Al-Jiftlik” lands (a Turkish word meaning farm), before they became at the disposal of the federal government.
In 1918 AD, Jericho was occupied by British General Edmund Allenby , and it became subject to British colonial rule until 1948 AD. At that time, it was the center of a district that bears its name, surrounded by the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, the country of Nablus, and the districts of Ramallah, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem. It remained that way until 1944, when it was abolished and attached to the Jerusalem District , and that was the last administrative amendment during this period.
During the Arab-Israeli War in 1948 AD, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan seized Jericho and returned it as a judicial center in the Jerusalem Governorate. Its area at that time was about 342 square kilometers.
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In mid-1950, it was officially annexed with the West Bank, refugee camps were established around it, the first local council was appointed, and in 1951 the first municipal council was appointed to manage its affairs. In 1961, Jericho had 64,276 people, and this number rose to 75,133 people in 1965.
After the occupation of the West Bank by the Israeli army in June 1967, the occupation reduced Jericho’s administrative status and made it subordinate to Bethlehem, thus becoming a border city.
During this period, the occupation forces imposed measures that hinder the city’s growth, such as confiscating lands and building settlements. Until 1994, the built-up area of Jericho did not exceed 10%.
Hisham’s Palace (known as Khirbet al-Mafjar), an archaeological site that includes the remains of a palace, an ornate bath complex, and an agricultural estate (French)
Israeli settlement
Jericho was the first of five cities in the West Bank that was transferred to the Palestinian Authority in May 1994 under an agreement named after it (Gaza-Jericho First).
The Jericho region has been transformed into a governorate independent of neighboring cities. It includes 12 main Palestinian communities, including the city of Jericho and the camps and villages surrounding it and extending to the north. It is officially called (Jericho and the Jordan Valley Governorate), according to the division of the West Bank governorates by the Palestinian Authority.
According to the 1995 Oslo Agreement division, an area of 68 square kilometers of its land, in which about 85% of the Palestinians live, was classified as Area A, which represents 11.4% of the total area of the governorate. As for Area B, its area does not exceed one square kilometre, and only 5% of Palestinians live there, and it represents 0.16% of the total area of the governorate.
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The agreement subjected an area of 524 square kilometers, estimated at about 88% of the governorate’s lands, to the control of the Israeli occupation in terms of security, administration and natural resources, all of which are located in areas classified (C), and only 10% of the Palestinians live there.
The population density within this plan shows that 826 Palestinians live per square kilometer in Areas (A) and (B), compared to only 16 Israeli settlers per square kilometer in Areas (C).
In the period between 1970 and 1980, the occupation forces established about 14 settlements, and today there are 16 major settlements, in addition to at least 5 settlement outposts that were established between 1995 and 2005.
As of 2021, approximately 8,460 Israeli settlers live in these settlements, more than half of whom are in the Mizpe Jericho and Maale Ephraim settlements.
The historical, touristic and economic importance of the region constituted the strategic goal of Israeli settlement, which was distinguished by its agricultural, tourism and military nature, as it confiscated, over the past years, large areas of agricultural and even endowment lands. Between 2001 and 2018, 37,764 dunams (one thousand square metres) of land were confiscated for various Israeli purposes.
It was reported that Israel is planning to transform the area in which the city of Jericho is located into an isolated geographical area surrounded by lands under Israeli sovereignty. The proposed isolation area is 70 square kilometers, including more than 40,000 Palestinians living in six different communities. Jericho will be separated from the rest of the West Bank, which will lead to the deterioration of the city’s economy.
Local government
The Autonomous Authority is responsible for managing Palestinian affairs in the city of Jericho, its suburbs, and the surrounding camps, in addition to a small corridor extending to the north of the village of Al-Auja.
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The city is run by a municipal council appointed by the Ministry of Local Government, with a headquarters of 1,527 square metres, employing about 297 employees.
The municipality of Jericho was established in 1930. The first local council was formed and continued its work until 1934, and the second and third local council managed the city until 1951. Then the municipality of Jericho became a municipal council that has been managed so far by 15 teams, and the current municipal council consists of 14 members.
The Municipality of Jericho is classified as Category “A” according to the classification of the Ministry of Local Government, which is authorized to manage the implementation of planning, development and construction systems, and the management of public open spaces.
Hisham’s Archaeological Palace contains one of the largest mosaic panels in the world (Reuters)
The Ministry of Local Government is the main body authorized to monitor policies and coordinate interventions implemented in urban planning in the city of Jericho, like other Palestinian cities.
The Ministry of Local Government supports the specialized ministries and the Municipal Development and Lending Fund, which is considered a local executive body responsible for implementing urban planning projects and infrastructure interventions. There is also the Palestinian Association of Local Bodies, which represents local government units.
In addition to its primary role in foreign and domestic tourism, Jericho has the headquarters of governmental and non-governmental institutions and several service projects.
Economy
The economy of the city of Jericho depends on several sectors, the most important of which is the government and private jobs sector, as it absorbs 38% of the workforce, while the agricultural sector absorbs 34%, the Israeli labor market 9%, the services sector 9%, the trade sector 8%, and finally the industrial sector 2 %.
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Agriculture sector: The city of Jericho is one of the most important Palestinian agricultural cities, as it includes the second largest cultivated areas with 32.65% of the total cultivated area in Jericho and Al-Aghwar Governorate, according to the agricultural census during the 2020/2021 season.
The city of Jericho includes the largest area planted with field crops at 43.4%, the second largest area planted with vegetables at 24.3%, and the largest area planted with fruit trees at 38.2%.
It is considered the most famous area locally and regionally for the production of dates, while banana production has declined in recent years, as thousands of lands are no longer suitable for cultivation, due to the high level of salinity due to the limited amounts of water.
The agricultural sector in Jericho faces challenges mainly related to the occupation’s refusal to use the lands of Area C for agriculture and agricultural investment, and its continued confiscation of land and water.
The city of Jericho includes the second largest cultivated areas in the governorate (Associated Press)
Trade and Industry Sector: Small enterprises form the basis of the fields of trade and industry in the city of Jericho, and the industrial sector constitutes only 2.5% of the total number of industrial establishments in the governorate.
The light industry or craft sector constitutes 10% of the number of economic establishments operating in the governorate. It is small light industries, such as carpentry and blacksmith workshops. It is also famous for the manufacture of pottery, mats, weaving, and soft water.
Tourism sector: The tourism sector constitutes 22% of the size of the economic sectors operating in the city of Jericho, with 138 service and tourism facilities. But it is affected by the political situation prevailing in the region in general, which results in an increase or decrease in the number of tourists.
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The city of Jericho has the advantage of active domestic tourist activity between mid-November and the end of April, in addition to being the only crossing to the West Bank.
Archaeological History Portal
The history of the city of Jericho goes back more than ten thousand years at the site of “Sultan Hill,” where the ruins of the remains of 23 successive ancient civilizations rise throughout its history, the ruins of which stand today in about 114 archaeological sites.
The city witnessed about 120 excavation campaigns, the last of which was the Italian campaign in 2005, and the city has a museum containing 110 historical, cultural and religious monuments.
After Jerusalem, Jericho is considered the site with the most excavations in the region, and the beginning of archaeological research there dates back to the 19th century AD with the excavations of Charles Warren in 1864 for the Palestine Exploration Fund. He had concluded at that time that nothing had been found, and it was said that he missed the Neolithic tower by an amount meter.
The tourism sector in the city of Jericho represents about 22% of the size of the economic sectors (Associated Press)
Between 1907 and 1909, an Austro-German expedition conducted the first large-scale excavations that revealed part of a fortification system dating back to the Early and Middle Bronze Age.
In 1928, archaeologist Dorothy Grodd carried out excavations in Wadi Natuf, and found traces confirming that the Natufian period prevailed in Jericho about seven thousand years BC. M.
Between 1930 and 1936, excavations were conducted under the supervision of British archaeologist John Gar Stang, and were considered the most accurate, but he incorrectly dated the fortifications dating back to the Bronze Age, according to historians.
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Between 1952 and 1958, British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon led excavations that were considered the basis for reconstructing the history of Jericho, as they accurately produced the history of a residential layer covering a period of a thousand years that she called “Jericho I,” and published the results of her research in five volumes.
In 1997, the Palestinian Department of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, in cooperation with La Pienza University in Rome, began an archaeological project, the research of which concluded that the archaeological site is one of the oldest settlement centers in the ancient Arab East after the site of Al-Karib, and the oldest urban architecture in Palestine.
The Italian-Palestinian mission carried out 13 seasons over 20 years, with some major discoveries, such as the Tower (A1) in the Middle Bronze Age south of the lower city, and the Palace (G) on the eastern side of the hill overlooking Ain Sultan, which dates back to the Early Bronze Age III. .
Restorations carried out by the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism on a mosaic panel in Hisham Palace, which is the largest in the world (Anatolia)
Religious and archaeological monuments
There are nine mosques in the Jericho complex: the New Jericho Mosque, the Old Jericho Mosque (built in 1331 AH), the Palestine Mosque, the Hisham Palace Mosque (there are only some traces of its mihrab, and it is located in the courtyard of the old Hisham Palace), the Al-Istirah Mosque, and the Muqata’a Mosque. , Al-Duk Mosque, Abdo Mosque, Al-Rahma Mosque.
There are also five churches in it: the Roman Church, the Latin Monastery Church, the Russian Church, the Coptic Monastery (the Old City), and the Coptic Monastery (Beit Zakka).
It also includes many archaeological sites, including:
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- Tell al-Sultan: It is an archaeological hill and is the site of ancient Jericho. It dates back to the Neolithic era. It is 21 meters high and its area is about an acre. It is located near the spring of Ain al-Sultan.
- Khirbet al-Mafjar – Hisham’s Palace: It is located to the east of Ain Duke and to the north of Jericho, 3 km away. It contains the remains of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik’s palace, which he prepared to spend the winter in. The treasures of this Umayyad palace are in the Palestinian Museum in Jerusalem, which took over Israel changed its name to the “Rockefeller Museum”, and it currently constitutes a center of attraction for tourists. Mount of Temptation (Deir Qarantal): It is located to the northwest of the town of Jericho. It was built in the fourth century at the foot of a towering mountain 350 meters high, and it is one of the strangest monasteries. This is because part of it is suspended in the air and part is carved into the rock. It gained its name from the Latin word (Quarantana), which means (forty), in reference to the period that Christ spent fasting and worshiping in this location according to Christian beliefs. On the eastern slope of the mountain there are 30 or 40 caves, so it is also called (Forty Mountain).
- Hajla Palace or Deir Hajla: It is located in the south-east of the city of Jericho. It is known as (the Monastery of St. John Hajla), and the Orthodox monks call it “the Monastery of Saint Gerasimus,” and on the outside of the northern monastery lies (Ain Hajla). It is believed that the Canaanite village of Beit Hajla was located In its location.
- The Shrine of the Prophet Moses : Its name goes back to a grave attributed to the Prophet Moses, peace be upon him. It is located south of Jericho, 20 kilometers east of Jerusalem. It is a model of Islamic architecture dating back to the Middle Ages. Since the time of Saladin Al-Ayyubi, it has been the center of an annual pilgrimage festival. The construction of the current shrine, the mosque, the minaret, and some rooms dates back to the year 1269, and then other annexes were added to it in 1475.
- Al-Sattar Mills: Located on the eastern slope of Mount Qarantul in the Jordan Valley, the site still retains the features of an industrial sugar production facility whose system dates back to the Crusader, Ayyubid, and Mamluk periods.
- Khirbet Qumran: The site was inhabited during the Greco-Roman period, and was discovered by a Palestinian shepherd by chance in 1947, when he found the Dead Sea Scrolls in Cave Number One. Then excavations in 1949 revealed the presence of more than 900 scrolls in more than 30 caves.
- Talat al-Dam: A hill near Khan al-Kharuzah. It was a Roman village and a fort called Maledam. During the Frankish era, they made it a fort. It is located 9 kilometers from Jericho.
- The Russian Museum: It was opened in the city of Jericho in 2011. It includes two halls containing Byzantine and Greek antiquities. It also includes a collection of copper coins belonging to a group of Greek kings. In its corners are the remains of stone columns from the Byzantine era, as well as pottery and stone vessels, distributed according to the chronological order of their existence.
