Al-Auja () is a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

town in the Jericho Governorate of the

State of Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, in the eastern

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, located ten kilometers north of

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

. The town has a total area of 107,905

dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...

s, however its built-up area comprises only 832 dunams. It is situated 230 meters below sea level. Agricultural land makes up over 10% of the town's area, mostly planted with bananas, oranges, and vegetables for which al-Auja is well known. Irrigation water is mainly supplied from the al-Auja spring.

History

The town is built along, and shares the name of, the Wadi al-Auja stream, "al-auja" meaning "the meandering one". This should not be confused with the other river called in Arabic by the same name, Nahr al-Auja, and known by its

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

name as the

Yarkon River The Yarkon River, also Yarqon River or Jarkon River (, ''Nahal HaYarkon''; , ''Nahr al-Auja''), is a river in central Israel. The source of the Yarkon ("Greenish" in Hebrew) is at Tel Afek (Antipatris), north of Petah Tikva. It flows west throu ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

this coincidence led to the term of "the line of the two Aujas" referring to a strategic line connecting the two river valleys.

British Mandate era

In the

1922 census of Palestine The 1922 census of Palestine was the first census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine, on 23 October 1922. The reported population was 757,182, including the military and persons of foreign nationality. The divis ...

conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Al-Auja, together with ad-Duyuk and Nweimeh had a population of 332; 322 Muslims and 10 Christians,Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jericho, p
19
/ref> where the Christians were 7 Orthodox, and 3 Syrian Catholic.Barron, 1923, Table XIV, p
45
/ref> According to the 1931 census, Al-Auja had a population of 253 Muslims, in 100 houses.Mills, 1932, p
45
/ref> In the 1945 statistics, the village's population was 290, while Arab el Nuseirat had 520, Arab el Kaabina had 260, Arab el Ureinat had 210 and Arab el Saayida had 110 members; a total of 1,390; all Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p
24
/ref> and together they had jurisdiction over 106,946

s of land. Of this, 418 dunams were used for citrus and bananas, 2,822 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land, 6,502 for cereals, while a total of 97,204 dunams were classified as non-cultivable areas.

Jordanian era

In the wake of the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

, and after the

1949 Armistice Agreements The 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt,Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

ian rule. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950.

Post 1967

Since the 1967

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

, al-Auja has been under

Israeli occupation Israel has occupied the Golan Heights of Syria and the Palestinian territories since the Six-Day War of 1967. It has previously occupied the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and southern Lebanon as well. Prior to 1967, control of the Palestinian terr ...

. 30,147 dunams of al-Auja's land was classified as "closed-off area" barred from Palestinian use. According to ARIJ,

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

have confiscated land from Al-Auja in order to construct four

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...

s: *993

s for Nativ HaGdud,Al 'Auja Town Profile
p. 19 *499 dunams for Yitav. *497 dunams for Na'aran (Niran), *268 dunams for

Gilgal Gilgal ( ''Gilgāl''), also known as Galgala or Galgalatokai of the 12 Stones ( or , ''Dōdekalithōn''), is the name of one or more places in the Hebrew Bible. Gilgal is mentioned 39 times, in particular in the Book of Joshua, as the place wher ...

. According to the

Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS; ) is the official statistical institution of Palestine. Its main task is to provide credible statistical figures at the national and international levels. It is a state institution that provid ...

, al-Auja had a population of over 4,000 inhabitants in mid-year 2006. In 1997,

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s constituted 24.7% of the population. The 15.5% of Al-Auja area which is located in " Area A", was transferred to the

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a c ...

in a 1994 deal which also included Jericho and Gaza. The remaining 84.5% of al-Auja is Area C, which remains under total Israeli control.Al 'Auja village
Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem. 21 January 2006. The town and the adjacent village of Ras al-Auja are subject to frequent attacks by settlers and military forces. This includes denying access to water sources, pumping which causes local springs to dry up, destruction of houses, confiscation of agricultural equipment, damaging livestock, uprooting of olive and date trees, interference with grazing and violent attacks on Palestinian civilians. In 2024, an illegal outpost was established near Al-Auja from which the settlers and hilltop youth launch attacks on the residents, including dumping waste into the local spring. Settlers arson attack Al-Auja

Archaeology

Archelais

Archelais, a

Herodian Herodian or Herodianus () of Syria, sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled ''History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus'' (τῆς με ...

town founded by and named after

Herod Archelaus Herod Archelaus (, ''Hērōidēs Archelaos''; 23 BC – ) was the ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea, including the cities Caesarea Maritima, Caesarea and Jaffa, for nine years (). He was the son of Herod the Great and Malthace the ...

, is now an archaeological site on the northern outskirts of Auja (Khirbet el-Beiyudat), and is gradually being covered by modern Palestinian construction and devastated by treasure hunters.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Welcome To al-'Auja
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 15
IAAWikimedia commonsAl 'Auja Town (Fact Sheet)
Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem (ARIJ)
Al 'Auja Town Profile
(ARIJ)
Al 'Auja aerial photo
(ARIJ)
Locality Development Priorities and Needs in Al 'Auja
(ARIJ) {{DEFAULTSORT:Auja, Jericho Towns in the West Bank Municipalities of Palestine