ʿArab al-Jahalin also known as al-Jabal ( ar, عرب الجهالّين; he, ערב אל-ג'האלין) is a
Palestinian 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 ...
neighborhood in the
Jerusalem Governorate, located five kilometers southeast of
Jerusalem in the
West Bank. According to the
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), ʿArab al-Jahalin had a population of approximately 1,205 inhabitants in mid-year 2006. The village is situated on a hillside outside
al-Eizariya and 300 meters away from the Jerusalem Municipal dump. It is located in
Area C of the West Bank. While the
Israeli government has full control over the village, the populace hold Palestinian IDs.
ʿArab al-Jahalin contains a
mosque, a seven-class school and a 12-class school. The village is linked to the
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel.
Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...
electricity system and has running water.
As-Sawahira ash-Sharqiya shares the facilities, particularly schools and health amenities with the villages of ʿArab al-Jahalin,
Jabal Mukaber
Jabel Mukaber ( ar, جبل مكبر, he, ג'בל מוכאבר) is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in southern East Jerusalem. It is bordered by East Talpiot to the west, Abu Tor and Silwan to the north and Sur Baher to the south. Jab ...
and
ash-Sheikh Sa'd. The healthcare facilities for as-Sawahira ash Sharqiya are designated as Ministry of Health level 2. All residents of the ʿArab al-Jahalin are
refugees
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. and have
UNRWA refugee papers.
History
The
ʿArab al-Jahalin tribe were originally based around
Tel Arad in the northern
Negev, but were entirely evicted from the area in the early 1950s by the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
(IDF). Prior to
Israel's victory in the 1967
Six-Day War, they negotiated with Palestinian landowners to set up semi-permanent camps in, and pasture their flocks around, an area between
Ramallah
Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...
,
Wadi Qelt and Jerusalem, maintaining the traditional Bedouin lifestyle.
Jordanian period
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 ...](_blank)
.
Post-1967
Since the 1967 war, 'Arab al-Jahalin has been under
Israeli occupation
Israeli-occupied territories are the lands that were captured and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. While the term is currently applied to the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights, it has also been used to refer ...
.
In 1975 the
IDF confiscated 4,217
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 of land from 'Arab al-Jahalin, land which in 1977 was used for construction 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
Ma'ale Adumim.
['Arab al Jahalin Locality Profile]
ARIJ, p. 17['Bedouins around Ma’ale Adumim,']
B'tselem 18 May 2014,
After the
1995 accords, 3.3% (or 74
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) of the land was classified as
Area B, the remaining 96.7% (or 2,197 dunams) as
Area C.
[
In July 1994, the Israeli Civil Administration executed an eviction order relocating as number of residents to a site adjacent to a Jerusalem municipal garbage dump at Abu Dis,][Ilene R. Prushe]
'Bedouins Caught in Middle Of Arab-Israeli Conflict,'
'' The Christian Science Monitor'' 18 March 1998. With the founding of the village of ʿArab al-Jahalin, the relocated Bedouin complained that the allocated area deprived them of pasturage that might enable them to continue their traditional herding lifestyle, forcing 70% of the al-Jahalin to sell off their livestock. The area is also affected by a strong stench, caused by high quantities of methane gas, a process that will continue for at least two decades even after the proposed closure of the dump.Jericho
Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...
. A documentary film about the current status of the Jahalin was released in April 2012.
See also
* Negev Bedouin
*
References
External links
'Arab al Jahalin Locality Profile
Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem (ARIJ)
Aerial photo
ARIJ
Locality Development Priorities and Needs in 'Arab al Jahalin
ARIJ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arab Al-Jahalin, '
Villages in the West Bank
Bedouins in the State of Palestine
Municipalities of the State of Palestine