Tarqumiya Town.. The Link Between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip | Encyclopedia


A Palestinian town in the Hebron Governorate, 9 kilometers northwest of the city of Hebron. It began as Canaanite land, then was occupied by the Romans who called it “Tricomias.” From its land, the safe passage between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip begins via the Tarqumiya crossing.

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The area of ​​the town of Tarqumiya is about 27 thousand dunams (one dunam is equal to one thousand square meters), and it is 490 meters above sea level. It is formed of a group of mountainous hills, and connects the Palestinian coastal plain with the Hebron Mountains.

Tarqumiya is located on the Green Line, northwest of the city of Hebron, which is 12 kilometers away. Its area is about 21 thousand dunams, and from there the safe passage road between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip begins, via the Tarqumiya crossing.

Tarqumiya is bordered to the north by the town of Beit Ula, to the east by the Hebron Mountains and the towns of Beit Kahil and Taffuh, to the west by the town of Beit Jibrin and the Green Line, and to the south by the towns of Idhna and Suba.

Tarqumiya checkpoint witnessed a shooting on September 1, 2024, in which 3 Israeli policemen were killed (French)

Population

The population of Tarqumiya town in 2023 was about 22 thousand according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. In 1922, their number was about 976 people, then it rose in 2007 to about 14 thousand people, and they constituted 2.6% of the population of the Hebron Governorate.

Among the most prominent families and clans in the town are the Dhabaina clan, the Karabiliya clan, the Fatafta clan, the Jaafari clan, the Tanina clan, and the Qubaja clan.The Shalalfah clan, the Abu Haltam clan, the Dababsa clan, the Agrib clan, the Al Awda and Abu Ra’iyyah clans, the Al Marqatan clan, and the Al Qaqurun clan.

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The town of Tarqumiya was previously known as “Yiftah” (meaning to open) during the Canaanite era. The Romans changed its name to “Tracomias” meaning “the three villages”, as the town included the village of “Nahal Telem” meaning the bees of the ploughman, and its name was later changed to Khirbet Taybeh, or al-Batm, and the village of “Kfar Atta” meaning the old man, and it became known as Khirbet Far’a, and the village of “Kfar Ha’rif” meaning the village of the sword, and it was later called Khirbet al-Sayf.

Another narration said that it is a distortion of “Terracomia,” which means “the land of the four villages,” which are “Kafr Ata,” “Nahal Telem,” “Kafr Ha’rif,” and “Khirbet Beit Nasib.”

The first story is supported by Dr. Younis Amr and researcher Najah Abu Sarah, as the name consists of two parts, the first “tri” meaning 3, and the second “comias” meaning villages.

When the Crusaders occupied it, they called it “Trakemia”, which is closest to its current name.

Tarqumiya crossing, separating the town of Hebron and its suburbs from the Negev region in the Palestinian interior (Tel Aviv Tribune Net)

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Tarqumiya was part of the city of Bint Jibrin during the Roman control of Palestine (332 BC – 36 BC), and after that it was subject to Byzantine control until the Islamic conquest following the Battle of Ajnadayn, which took place near its lands to the west, on July 30, 634 AD, corresponding to Jumada al-Ula 27, 13 AH.

During that battle, the town was a center for supporting the Muslim army, receiving the wounded and injured, and a number of them were buried in its land, such as Prince Qais, which was a factor in the continuation of Islamic rule in it from the Rashidun Caliphate until the Ottoman era.

Tarqumiya was part of the Sanjak of Jerusalem. At that time, the Ottomans focused on settling the population in their lands through land surveying and distribution. However, the town witnessed neglect in the fields of education and health due to the Ottomans’ focus on the military aspect.

Tarqumiya participated in most of the struggle events against the Israeli occupation, including the Buraq Revolution in 1929, the attack on the Jews in Hebron, and the “36 Sha’ban” Revolution to stop Jewish immigration, prevent the sale of Palestinian lands, and stop the British partition project.

The inhabitants of the town of Tarqumiya were involved in the Battle of Surif (also called Dhahr al-Hajjah) in 1947, including Muhammad Mahmoud Khalil al-Ja’afari, Abd al-Rahman Awad al-Fatafta, Abd al-Ali Mahmoud Awad, Muhammad Issa al-Ja’afari, Ahmad Mustafa Artish, and Shahada Abd al-Muhsin Qubajah.

The youth of Tarqumiya were part of the 1948 war, as they participated in the battle of Kfar Etzion, and Muhammad al-Ja’afari was martyred among them, in addition to the border battles that took place between 1949 and 1950, and also the 1967 war, in which Ahmad Qabaja and Izzat Mahmoud al-Masry were martyred, and it was the year the village was occupied.

Following the unification of the West Bank with Jordan (1948–1967), Tarqumiya became part of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. During this period, it witnessed gradual development in various aspects of life, and due to its strategic location close to the armistice line, it was placed In it Headquarters of a National Guard battalion within the Doukas area.

Before the 1967 war, the Jordanian army forced the villagers to harvest their crops and plant mines instead. It surrounded the village’s lands with barbed wire to prevent the Israeli occupation army from passing through it. After the war ended, these mines caused the death or injury of a number of residents as a result of entering the area.

The people of the region remained major contributors to the resistance against the Israeli occupation, and they also participated in the first intifada in 1987, and in the second intifada in 2000.

The town was managed by a village council between 1973 and 1997, which was transformed into a municipal council in mid-1997, and was appointed Ministry of Local Government Its members.

In 1982, the Israeli occupation established settlements on the town’s lands and established an army camp, thus seizing hundreds of dunams of agricultural land, which negatively affected most of the residents who depended on agriculture as a source of livelihood.

Among these settlements is the Telem settlement, which covers an area of ​​one thousand dunams, and the Adora settlement, which also covers an area of ​​one thousand dunams. The occupation also surrounded the town with a number of checkpoints and settlements, thus confiscating thousands more dunams, in addition to uprooting thousands of olive, grape, almond and other trees.

The Israeli occupation’s practices and harassment of the town’s residents have not stopped since the 1967 war, as it arrests its members every so often, demolishes their agricultural facilities, confiscates their lands, and raids the town for the purpose of searching. Its residents continue to resist the occupation in every possible way.

In June 2022, the Israeli occupation demolished 11 agricultural facilities in the town to expand settlement in the area. The owners used them for agricultural purposes and for summer recreation, noting that they were owned by families from Al-Fatafta, Marqatan, and Zabaina.

On September 1, 2024, three Israeli police officers were killed in an armed attack on a car at the Tarqumiya checkpoint, after which the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) called for an escalation of operations against the occupation.

Economy

According to a report by the Applied Research Institute in Jerusalem (ARIJ) in 2009, the town’s residents relied on work in the Israeli market, and about a third of them worked in the agricultural sector.

Among the industrial and commercial activities in the town are the Tarqumiya Cooperative Society for Olive Pressing, the Dabbaseh Rubber and Plastic Factory, in addition to brick and stone cutting factories, clothing and fresh meat sales, blacksmithing, carpentry, and others.

The area of ​​agricultural land in the town is about 12 thousand dunams, of which 4600 dunams are pastures and forests, but the town cannot exploit the entire area due to Israeli practices, which have confiscated thousands of dunams, and also due to the scarcity of water in the region, and the weakness of the agricultural sector in light of Israeli restrictions.

Tarqumiya is famous for growing olives, grapes, vegetables, and grains, as well as grapes, figs, almonds, apples, apricots, and plums. The region’s residents also depend on livestock.

Landmarks

Tarqumiya is rich in antiquities dating back to the Canaanite era and beyond, such as monuments, grape and oil presses, caves, and tombs carved into the rock. Pottery, glass, and ancient coins were also found.

There are ancient mosques in the area, including the Omari Mosque, the Prince Qais Mosque, the Al-Atqiya Mosque, the Rashidun Caliphs Mosque, and the Al-Shafi’i Mosque.

It also includes archaeological sites, including Khirbet al-Batm, Khirbet al-Taybeh, Khirbet Bir al-Kafrayn, Khirbet Saif, Khirbet Jamroura, Khirbet Bir al-Far, the shrine of Prince Qais, the shrine of Prophet Saleh, Khirbet Umm al-Sharit, Khirbet Beit Nasib, Khirbet Duqas, Khirbet al-Jarrah, and Khirbet Faraoun.

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