Al-Qubeiba, Jerusalem

Al-Qubeiba () is a Palestinian town in the Jerusalem Governorate of Palestine, located 2 kilometers northwest of Jerusalem in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics in 2017, the village had a population of 3,876. Al-Qubeiba lies at an altitude of 783m to 795m above sea-level. It is located in a conflict area near the border with Israel between Ramallah and Jerusalem. The settlement of Giv'on HaHadashah lies 5 km southeast of al-Qubeiba. It is surrounded by the town of Biddu (east), Beit 'Anan (northwest), Qatanna (southwest), and Kharayib Umm al-Lahim (west). Unlike the surrounding region, al-Qubeiba has large areas covered with pine and olive trees.

History

Crusader to Mamluk period

In the Crusader era a new Frankish village was erected along the still extant Roman road and received the name ''Parva Mahomeria''.Pringle, 1998, pp
167
9 In 1159 it was mentioned in a document defining its borders with Beit 'Anan.

After the expulsion of the Crusaders from the Holy Land, the next Christian established presence in Palestine were the Franciscan custodians of the holy sites. During the 13th century Qubeibeh was gradually adopted by pilgrims as the location of Emmaus, the village mentioned in Luke 24:13-35, eventually replacing Abu Ghosh in this function. From 1335 on the Franciscans adopted it too and began an annual pilgrimage to this site.

Late Ottoman period

In 1838 ''el-Kubeibeh'' was noted as a Muslim village, part of ''Beni Malik'' area, located west of Jerusalem.

In 1863 the French explorer Victor Guérin described it as a village of a hundred people who lived in old houses, each consisting of a single vaulted room.

An Ottoman village list from about 1870 found that ''el-kubebe'' had a population of 79, in 12 houses, though the population count included only men.Socin, 1879, p
157
Also noted that it was in the Beni Malik area

In 1883, the PEF's ''Survey of Western Palestine'' described it as a "village of moderate size, standing on a flat ridge with a few olives to the west. .To the west is a monastery of Latin monks, established in 1862." A ruined Crusader church was noted.

In 1896 the population of ''El-kubebe'' was estimated to be about 144 persons.

British Mandate period

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Al-Qubeiba had a population of 236 inhabitants, consisting of 26 Christians and 210 Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jerusalem, p
15
/ref> where all the Christians were Roman Catholics. This had increased in the 1931 census to 316, 55 Christians and 261 Muslim, in 83 residential houses.Mills, 1932, p
42
/ref>

In the 1945 statistics Al-Qubeiba had a population of 420; 340 Muslims and 80 Christians,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p
25
/ref> with 3,184 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 534 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 1,032 used for cereals, while 22 dunams were built-up land.

Jordanian period

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreementsian rule. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950.

In 1961, the population of Qubeiba was 701, of whom 116 were Christian, the rest Muslim.

Post-1967

Since the Six-Day War in 1967 Al-Qubeiba has been under Israeli occupation. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 688, of whom 21 originated from the Israeli territory.

After the 1995 Oslo accords, 53.3% of village land was classified as Area B, and the remaining 46.2% as Area C. Israel has expropriated more than 500 dunams of village land in order to construct the West Bank barrier.

Tourism

St. Cleophas Church is in Al-Qubeiba.

Geopolitical status

Al-Qubeiba along with Beit Duqqu, Beit 'Anan, Beit Surik, Qatanna, Biddu, Beit Ijza, Kharayib Umm al-Lahim and at-Tira form the "Biddu enclave". The enclave is linked to Ramallah by underpasses and a road that is fenced on both sides. From the "Biddu enclave" Palestinians will travel along a fenced road that passes under a bypass road to Bir Nabala enclave, then on a second underpass under Bypass Road 443 to Ramallah.

Diaa' A-Din 'Abd al-Karim Ibrahim Abu 'Eid was shot dead by gunfire during an anti-barrier demonstration on 18 April 2004.B'Tselem
West Bank Statistics Muhammad Fadel Hashem Rian and Zakaria Mahmoud 'Eid Salem were shot dead during anti-barrier demonstrations on 26 February 2004 at Beit Ijaz (a satellite village of Biddu).

Health

The medical facilities for al-Qubeiba are classified as level 2 according to the Palestinian National Authority Ministry of Health.Health care Facilities West Bank

References

Bibliography

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ff)
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External links

*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17:
IAA
Wikimedia commons
Al Qubeibah Village (Fact Sheet)
Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem, (ARIJ)
Al Qubeiba Village Profile
ARIJ
Al Qubeiba aerial photo
ARIJ
Locality Development Priorities and Needs in Al Qubeiba
ARIJ

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qubeiba, al-
Villages in the West Bank
Jerusalem Governorate
Municipalities of Palestine