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Bani Na'im ( ar, بني نعيم, Banī Naʾīm) is a Palestinian town in the southern West Bank located east of Hebron in the Hebron Governorate of the
State of Palestine Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), Legal status of the State of Palestine, officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state (polity), state located in Western Asia. Officiall ...
. It is situated at a higher elevation than most localities in the area, with an altitude of . The town is best known as the burial place of Lot, a fact already mentioned around 400 CE, when it was known as 'Caphar Barucha'. Following the Muslim conquest, its name was eventually Arabicized as . The tomb of Lot was turned into a mosque during
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic rule and remained so under Crusader rule. Later, the
Arab tribe The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
of Bani Nu'aym settled there, giving the town its current name, Bani Na'im, first used by Muslim scholar Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi in 1690. During the late 1930s, the population took part in the Arab Revolt against the British Mandate. Following the
1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...
, the town came under
Jordanian rule The Jordanian annexation of the West Bank formally occurred on 24 April 1950, after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, during which Transjordan occupied territory that had previously been part of Mandatory PalestineRaphael Israeli, Jerusalem divi ...
. Since the
1967 Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Jun ...
, Bani Na'im has been occupied by Israel; since 1995, it has been governed by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). In 2007 it had a population of 24,500.


History

Biblical scholar Edward Robinson identified the site with Caphar Barucha, meaning 'Village of Benediction' in Hebrew, mentioned by Saint Jerome (fl. around 400 CE) in connection with Abraham and Lot. Jerome wrote that Saint Paula, departing from Hebron, stopped at the height of Caphar Barucha and looked upon the surrounding region, remembering Lot and his sin. According to Jerome, Abraham observed the destruction of
Sodom and Gomorrah Sodom and Gomorrah () were two legendary biblical cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God's anger provoked by man's sin (see Genesis 19:1–28). They are mentioned frequ ...
from that location.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, pp
187-9
/ref> The name Caphar Barucha sometimes appears in literature in the form Caparbaricha. Following the
Muslim conquest of the Levant The Muslim conquest of the Levant ( ar, فَتْحُ الشَّام, translit=Feth eş-Şâm), also known as the Rashidun conquest of Syria, occurred in the first half of the 7th century, shortly after the rise of Islam."Syria." Encyclopædia Br ...
, the name of the village eventually took the Arabic form , or in its vernacular form or . Ali of Herat passed through the village in 1173 CE, noting that it was near Hebron and the burial place of Lot. Along with the town of
Dura Dura may also refer to: Đura such as, for example, Đura Bajalović Geography * Dura language, a critically endangered language of Nepal * Dura, Africa, an ancient city and former bishopric, now a Catholic titular see * Dura-Europos, an ancient c ...
, Kafr Burayk became a part of the waqf (endowment) for the Ibrahimi Mosque (Cave of the Patriarchs) in Hebron on orders from the
Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni ...
ruler of
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
,
al-Mu'azzam Isa () (1176 – 1227) was the Ayyubid emir of Damascus from 1218 to 1227. The son of Sultan al-Adil I and nephew of Saladin, founder of the dynasty, al-Mu'azzam was installed by his father as governor of Damascus in 1198 or 1200. After his father's ...
on 2 May 1215. The 15th-century Muslim geographer
al-Suyuti Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti ( ar, جلال الدين السيوطي, Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī) ( 1445–1505 CE),; (Brill 2nd) or Al-Suyuti, was an Arab Egyptian polymath, Islamic scholar, historian, Sufi, and jurist. From a family of Persian or ...
also acknowledged that Lot was buried in Kafr Burayk and that in a cave west of the village, beneath an old mosque, laid "sixty prophets of whom twenty were
Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
". He noted that Lot's tomb was a site of "visitation and veneration from ancient times, the men of the age succeeding those who have gone before".le Strange, 1890,
468
Kafr Burayk was included in the Ottoman tax registers of 1596, where it was listed in the of Khalil of the of Quds.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 124 It had a population of 42 Muslim households who paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on various agricultural products, including wheat, barley, vineyards or fruit trees, grape syrup or molasses, and goats or beehives; a total of 10,500
akçe The ''akçe'' or ''akça'' (also spelled ''akche'', ''akcheh''; ota, آقچه; ) refers to a silver coin which was the chief monetary unit of the Ottoman Empire. The word itself evolved from the word "silver or silver money", this word is deri ...
. For much of the latter half of Ottoman rule, the village was under the administration of the Mutasarif of Jerusalem. The first known mention of the name 'Bani Na'im' was by the Muslim traveler Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi in 1690. He wrote that the village had been known as 'Kafr al-Barik' and "now it is called Qaryat Bani Nu'aym in a diminutive form". It received this name from the
Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
tribe of Banu Nu'aym, also referred to as Bani Na'im, who settled there after migrating from the vicinity of
Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
in Transjordan. Until the end of the 19th century, the early Arabic name was still known by the residents, as mentioned by Western travelers. Edward Robinson Robinson visited Bani Na'im in 1838, noting that it was a village with a mosque, "lying on very high ground, to which the ascent is gradual on every side, forming a conspicuous object to all the region far and near". When the French traveler Victor Guérin visited in 1860, he found the village almost deserted since the population had left to live in tents as nomads to avoid military conscription.Guérin, 1869, pp
153
157. ''Beni-Na'ïm est un village en ce moment presque entièrement désert, car la plupart des habitants ont quitté leurs masons pour aller vivre, sous la tente, de la vie nomade, et tâcher d'échapper ainsi à la loi du recrutement militaire.''
He found them living in a tent village one kilometer away, ready to flee to the desert if an attempt was made to enlist them. However, in 1874 the
Palestine Exploration Fund The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem, and is the oldest known organization in the world created specifically for the study ...
's '' Survey of Western Palestine'' (SWP) described it as "a good-sized village" bordered by olive groves to the south and west with many structures built out of ancient materials. The residences there were mostly one-story stone cabins. In their second visit in 1881 the SWP described Bani Na'im as well-cultivated with abundant flocks that grazed in desert areas east of the town. The town was a major supplier of sand for the Hebron glass industry.


Contemporary history

Bani Na'im grew considerably in population during the early 20th century.Sharon, 1999, p
12
13
It joined the 1936–39 Arab revolt as the site of a battle between the irregular Palestinian Arab forces of Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni and the British Army. In December 1937, British forces ordered the demolition of a house whose owners were accused of involvement in an anti-British incident near the town. They fined Bani Na'im's (village headmen) 50
British pound Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...
s and ordered the residents to carry 200 kilograms of explosives to the building for its demolition and watch the explosion as a deterrent measure. Palestinian Arab irregulars led by al-Husayni and his local deputy, Abd al-Halim Jawlani, battled the British Army in Bani Na'im in December 1938. According to British military accounts, a resident of Bani Na'im called for intervention when the rebels entered the town. Israeli scholar Hillel Cohen wrote that Fakhri Nashashibi, a political rival of al-Husayni, informed military authorities on three rebel units forcing Bani Na'im's largely pro-Nashashibi inhabitants to join the revolt. The British promptly confronted a force of 100 irregulars. With
British Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
assistance, al-Husayni's troops dispersed and fled east of Bani Na'im where they were pinned down. British forces killed 60 rebels and captured 15. One British soldier was killed. In the wake of the
1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...
, and after the
1949 Armistice Agreements The 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt,Jordanian rule The Jordanian annexation of the West Bank formally occurred on 24 April 1950, after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, during which Transjordan occupied territory that had previously been part of Mandatory PalestineRaphael Israeli, Jerusalem divi ...
. In June 1967, after the Six-Day War, the town came under Israeli occupation along with the rest of the West Bank. In 1997, in the wake of the 1995 Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, administrative control over Bani Na'im was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). It concurrently became a municipality. Today, Bani Na'im serves as a commercial center for Hebron area villages, although most government services are in Hebron. In 1982, an 18-year-old resident of the town was shot and killed by
Jewish settler Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli set ...
s from nearby Kiryat Arba. In 1987, during the
First Intifada The First Intifada, or First Palestinian Intifada (also known simply as the intifada or intifadah),The word ''intifada'' () is an Arabic word meaning "uprising". Its strict Arabic transliteration is '. was a sustained series of Palestinian ...
, a committee against the Israeli occupation was set up in Bani Na'im. In May 1988, two residents were killed by the
Israeli Army The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branc ...
(IDF) in the center of the town. On August 31, 2010, four Israelis, two men and two women, were killed in a Hamas drive-by shooting on the road between Kiryat Arba and Bani Naim. The attack was condemned by Israel and the PNA.


Tomb of Lot and Nabi Yaqin

Bani Na'im houses the purported tomb of Lot, a prophet in
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
and a righteous person in Judaism and Christianity, in the center of the town. The tomb is located within a rectangular mosque that contains an inner court and
minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...
. The lintel of the mosque's northern gate is built from stones dating to the Byzantine era when a church had possibly stood. Lot's tomb was first mentioned by Saint Jerome, then by John of Wirtzburg in 1100, and Ali of Herat in 1173. While the Crusaders, who ruled the area from 1148 to 1187, were aware the tomb belonged to Lot, it remained a Muslim sanctuary. In 1322, writer Sir John Mandeville noted "two miles from Hebron, is the grave of Lot, Abraham's brother".
Ibn Battuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...
noted in 1326 that the tomb was covered by a "fine building" made of white stone and without columns.Pringle, 1993, p
107
/ref> Muslim writers al-Suyuti and
Mujir ad-Din Mujīr al-Dīn al-ʿUlaymī (Arabic: ) ‎(1456–1522), often simply Mujir al-Din, was a Jerusalemite ''qadi'' and historian whose principal work chronicled the history of Jerusalem and Hebron in the Middle Ages.Little, 1995, p. 237.van Donze ...
wrote in the 15th and 16th centuries, respectively, that Lot was buried in Bani Na'im. Tawfiq Canaan, a researcher of Palestinian popular heritage, described the golden embroidered writing on the red silk cloth covering the tomb as reading, "This is the tomb of prophet Lut, peace be upon him".
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic-era Kufic inscriptions on the front entrance to the mosque state that the Muslim scholar Abdullah bin Muhammad declared:
… the hills, the plains, the buildings, the paths, the gardens, the trees and the passage that transverses it ani Na'im are an endowment "for the prophet Lot, the son of Haran brother of Ibrahim (Abraham), the friend of the Compassionate (Allah), may the blessings of Allah be upon them.Sharon, 1999, p
17
/ref>
According to Muslim tradition, Lot lived in Bani Na'im before moving to Sodom.Sharon, 1999, p
15
/ref> The shrine encasing the tomb was restored in 1410 by the Mamluk sultan an-Nasir Faraj, son of Sultan
Barquq Al-Malik Az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Barquq ( Circassian: Бэркъукъу аз-Захьир Сэфудин; ar, الملك الظاهر سيف الدين برقوق; ruled 1382–1389 and 1390–1399; born in Circassia) was the first Sultan of the ...
. The restoration work was entrusted by him to Shams al-Din al-Ansari, a member of the prominent Ansari family which specialized in religious endowments. The purported tomb of Lot's daughters are on an opposite hill nearby. To the southeast of Bani Na'im is a separate shrine dedicated to Lot, known as
Maqam MAQAM is a US-based production company specializing in Arabic and Middle Eastern media. The company was established by a small group of Arabic music and culture lovers, later becoming a division of 3B Media Inc. "MAQAM" is an Arabic word meaning ...
an-Nabi Yaqin ('Shrine of the Truthful Prophet') Local legend claims Lot prayed at the site and that imprints of his feet in a rock there are visible. According to Muslim and Christian tradition, Bani Na'im is the place where Abraham, after the departure of the angels, saw the smoke of
Sodom and Gomorrah Sodom and Gomorrah () were two legendary biblical cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God's anger provoked by man's sin (see Genesis 19:1–28). They are mentioned frequ ...
"rising as the smoke of a furnace".Finn, 1877, p
291
/ref>


Geography and climate

Bani Naim forms a generally rough rectangular layout, and widens in the northwest and southwest. The town covers a mountainous area, with an average altitude of above sea level. It is to southeast of Hebron, though the two localities have practically merged. The Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba is situated northwest of Bani Na'im, between it and Hebron. To its south lies the village of
Hureiz Hureiz ( ar, حريز) is a Palestinian village located seven kilometers south-east of Hebron. The village is in the Hebron Governorate Southern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population o ...
and the town of Yatta, to the north are Sa'ir and
ash-Shuyukh Ash-Shuyukh or al-Shuyukh ( ar, الشيوخ) is a Palestinian town in the Hebron Governorate of the State of Palestine, located 6 km northeast of the city of Hebron. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Ash-Shuyukh had a ...
, while Halhul and the forest of Hebron lie to the west. Bani Na'im's lands extend east to the mountains that overlook the
Dead Sea The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...
. Bani Na'im's total land area is about 157,000
dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; tr, dönüm; he, דונם), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area equivalent to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amount ...
s, but the town's built-up area is roughly 2,500 dunams. The town itself is mostly located in Area A (Palestinian security and civilian administration) and Area B (Palestinian civil administration and Israeli military control.) The nearby town of ar-Rawa'in to the east is located within Bani Na'im's municipal jurisdiction and is under Area A. However, the Israeli settlement of
Ma'ale Hever Ma'ale Hever ( he, מַעֲלֵה חֶבֶר) or Pnei Hever ( he, פְּנֵי חֶבֶר) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the eastern Hebron hills to the east of Hebron at an elevation of 810 metres, it is organised as a co ...
which was established in 1982, has a population of 400 and is also located within the Bani Na'im's municipal borders, comes under full Israeli control. Most of Bani Na'im's lands (59.6%) fall under Area C, or full Israeli security and civilian administration. Average annual rainfall in Bani Na'im is . The average temperature is and the average annual humidity is 61%.


Demographics

An Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed that Bani Na'im had 67 houses and a population of 145 inhabitants, though the population count included only men. In a census conducted in 1922 by the British Mandate authorities, Bani Na'im had a population of 1,279 inhabitants, all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table V,
10
/ref> rising to 1,646 Muslims, in 320 houses, according to the 1931 census.Mills, 1932, p
27
/ref> In the 1945 statistics, it increased to 2,160 according to an official land and population survey.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p
23
/ref> Under Jordanian rule, in 1952, the population surged to 5,778, partly due to large numbers of
Palestinian refugee Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country over the course of the 1947–49 Palestine war ( 1948 Palestinian exodus) and the Six-Day War ( 1967 Palestinian exo ...
s who settled in the town as a result of the
1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
. Later, the number of inhabitants declined due to the emigration of refugees from the town to other parts of the West Bank and Jordan. In 1961, the population of Bani Na'im was 3,392. By 1967, there were 4,271 inhabitants in the town, gradually increasing to 6,703. In 1987, the population rose to roughly 7,600 people. In the 1997 census carried out by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Bani Na'im had 13,535 inhabitants of which 604 were refugees. The gender distribution was 6,779 males and 6,756 females. In the 2007 census, there were 20,084 people living in the town and 217 in nearby Masaferet Bani Na'im which is located within the municipal jurisdiction. The gender makeup of Bani Na'im's population was 50.2% male and 49.8% female. There were 3,490 housing units and the average household size consisted of 6.5 family members. The population grew to 24,498 in the 2017 census. Bani Na'im's inhabitants accounted for 3.67% of the Hebron Governorate's population and the town is officially considered an urban area. The inhabitants are
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s and 16 mosques are present throughout the town. The main families are al-Manasrah (the largest), Zeidan, Trayrah, Humeidat, Ubeid, Harahsheh and Amr.


Government

Bani Na'im was established as a
village council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
in 1971. After most of the built-up areas of Bani Na'im were transferred to Area A giving the Palestinian National Authority full control of the town, a municipal council was established on May 20, 1997. The first council was formed from the old members of the previous village council. The council was made up of seven members, while there were 18 municipal employees. The amount of municipal seats was expanded to 13 during the Palestinian municipal elections in 2005. A local group, the Bani Na'im Martyrs list, won the most seats: five. The Al-Aqsa list won three seats, Independent lists also won three and the Hamas-backed Reform and Change list won the remaining two seats. Gender-wise, females won two seats and males eleven. Issa Hassan al-Khdour, member of the Bani Na'im Martyrs, had the most votes (3,281), and thus became the head of the municipality. In addition, the number of municipal employees increased to 30. The municipal borders of Bani Na'im extend beyond the town and include the following villages: Birin, ar-Rawa'in and Masaferet Bani Na'im. The latter is a grouping of the following hamlets: Mantiqat al-Ein, Mantiqat as-Sahel, Mantiqat Qaber K'heil, Mantiqat Hilmi, Mantiqat al-Hamra, Mantiqat al-Qurun, Mantiqat al-Mathbah, Mantiqat as-Sweidat, Mantiqat Umm ar-Raqam and Khor Atara. Despite having a municipality, most official services are provided by the city of Hebron. However, Bani Na'im has a police station, a post office, and a local security office.


Education and health

Bani Na'im has 14 schools: 7 boys' schools, 5 girls' schools and 2 co-educational schools. The first school was established in 1929. Consisting of one classroom, the enrollment at the time did not exceed 20 female and male students and the highest grade level was the fourth grade. According to the 2007 census, 92.2% of the population was literate; most of the illiterate population was female. A total of 3,613 students were in elementary school, 3,601 in preparatory school, and 1,862 in high school. 958 people had college diplomas; 49 had academic degrees higher than a BA. Most of Bani Na'im's health facilities are privately owned. The town has a maternity hospital, five health clinics, three dental clinics and a physiotherapy center. The
Palestinian Ministry of Health The Health Minister of the State of Palestine (Abbreviation: MOH) is Dr. Mai al-Kaila.


Economy and infrastructure

Bani Na'im serves as a commercial center in the Hebron area. Approximately 50% of the labor force is engaged in the industrial and civil service sector. About 20% are employed in the Israeli labor market while 19% work in agriculture. Economic enterprises include four stone-cutting factories, a brick factory, a textile factory, an olive press, eleven metal workshops, four carpentry workshops, seven butcher shops, 13 clothing stores, and 110 other shops. Decline in market demand combined with movement restrictions imposed by the Israeli military have led to a deterioration of the local economy, particularly in the trade and the stone-cutting industries. In 2007, unemployment reached 30%. Consequently, many unemployed persons began looking into agriculture to earn income. The most cultivated crops are grains, especially barley, followed by lentils and
chick peas The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram" or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are high ...
. A sizable segment of the population raise livestock and 10% breed their own domestic animals. In total, there are 144 cows, 7,000 goats, 14,000 sheep, and 500 beehives. Much of the town's agricultural products are sold in Hebron. There are 4,244 buildings in Bani Na'im, of which 3,452 are houses and 213 are working establishments. Pipe water reaches more than 95% of the residents. The water pipe line, in length, is linked to the main water supply of the
Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
of Efrat, south of Bethlehem. Around of main and sub lines were recently repaired. The cost of this project was roughly one million NIS. In 1994, Bani Na'im was linked to the electricity grid and the municipality installed street lights. Before then, generators operated for five hours daily at most and for house use only.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * (p
554
* * *


External links


Bani Na’im
Welcome to Palestine *Survey of Western Palestine, Map 21:
IAAWikimedia commonsBani Naim Profile
Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem (ARIJ)
Bani Naim aerial photo
ARIJ
The priorities and needs for development in Bani Na'im town based on the community and local authorities' assessment
ARIJ {{Authority control Tomb of Lot Lot, Tomb of Lot Cities in the West Bank Municipalities of the State of Palestine