Deir al-Balah | |
|---|---|
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | دير البلح |
| • Latin | Deir el-Balah (unofficial[citation needed]) Dayr al-Balah (official) |
 Skyline of Deir al-Balah, 2008 | |
 | |
  Deir al-Balah Location of Deir al-Balah withinPalestine | |
| Coordinates:31°25′08″N34°21′06″E / 31.41889°N 34.35167°E /31.41889; 34.35167 | |
| Palestine grid | 088/092 |
| State |  State of Palestine |
| Governorate | Deir al-Balah |
| Founded | 14th century BC |
| Government | |
| • Type | City (from 1994) |
| • Control |  Hamas |
| • Head of Municipality | Imad al-Jarou[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 14.7 km2 (5.7 sq mi) |
| Population (2017)[3] | |
• Total | 75,132 |
• Estimate (2025) | 350,000[2] |
| • Density | 5,110/km2 (13,200/sq mi) |
| Name meaning | "Monastery of the Date Palm" |
Deir al-Balah (Arabic:دير البلح,lit. 'Monastery of the Date Palm') is a city in the center of theGaza Strip,Palestine, and the administrative capital of theDeir al-Balah Governorate. It is located over 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) south ofGaza City.[4] The city had a population of 75,132 in 2017.[3] The city is known for itsdate palms, after which it is named.
Deir al-Balah dates back to theLate Bronze Age when it served as a fortified outpost for theNew Kingdom of Egypt. Amonastery was built there by the Christian monkHilarion in the mid-4th century AD and is currently believed to be the site of a mosque dedicated toSaint George, known locally asal-Khidr. During theCrusader-Ayyubid wars, Deir al-Balah was the site of a strategic coastal fortress known as "Darum" which was continuously contested, dismantled and rebuilt by both sides until its final demolition in 1196. Afterward, the site grew to become a large village on the postal route of theMamluk Sultanate (13th–15th centuries). It served as anepiscopal see of theGreek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem duringOttoman times until the late 19th century.
Egyptian occupation after 1948 saw the population triple from the influx ofrefugees during the1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was a prosperous agricultural town.Israel captured the region during theSix-Day War. Deir al-Balah became the first city to come under Palestinian self-rule in 1994. Since the outbreak of theSecond Intifada in 2000, it has witnessed frequent incursions by theIsrael Defense Forces with the stated aim of stoppingQassam rocket fire into Israel.[5][6][7]Ahmad Kurd, aHamas member, was elected mayor in late January 2005.[8][9]
By late 2024, a tented camp had been established at Deir al-Balah. "Smile of Hope Camp" is managed by thePalestinian Red Crescent and provides care and facilities for people with disabilities.[10]
"Deir al-Balah", which inArabic translates as the "Monastery of the Date Palm", was named after the grove of date palms that lay west of the city. Its name dates back to the late 19th century, before which the city was locally known as "Deir Mar Jiryis" or "Deir al-Khidr" and "Deir Darum" in Ottoman records.[11] "Mar Jiryis" translates as "Saint George" while in Islamic traditional-Khidr could either refer to Saint George orElijah. The inhabitants of Deir al-Balah associated al-Khidr with Saint George. The town had been named after al-Khidr, the most venerated saintly person throughoutPalestine.[12] The mosque in Deir al-Balah which bears his name is traditionally believed by locals to contain his tomb.[13]
Up until the later Ottoman era, Deir al-Balah was referred to in Arabic as "Darum" or "Darun" which derived from the settlement's Crusader-era Latin name "Darom" or "Doron." That name was explained by the Crusader chroniclerWilliam of Tyre as a corruption ofdomus Graecorum, "house of the Greeks" (dar ar-rum). More recently, the eighteenth century scholarAlbert Schultens[14] supposed its roots are theAncient Hebrew name "Darom" or "Droma", from the Hebrew root for "south", which referred to the area south ofLydda, i.e. the southern parts of thecoastal plain andJudean foothills together with the northernNegev Desert. During early Arab rule, "ad-Darum" or "ad-Dairan" was the name of the southern subdistrict ofBayt Jibrin,[15][16] a corruption of theAramaic name of the region,Daroma.
Deir al-Balah is situated in the central Gaza Strip, along the coastline of the easternMediterranean Sea.[17] Its city center is about 1,700 meters (5,600 ft) east of the coast while the ancient site of Darum was uncovered 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) to the south of central Deir al-Balah.[4] While the city's municipal borders stretch eastward toward the border with Israel, its urban area does not extend beyond the mainSalah al-Din Highway to the east.[18]
Nearby localities includeNuseirat Camp andBureij Camp to the north,Maghazi Camp to the northeast andWadi as-Salqa to the south.Khan Yunis is 9.7 kilometers (6.0 mi) to Deir al-Balah's south andGaza City is located 14.6 kilometers (9.1 mi) to the north.
The city has absorbed the coastalDeir al-Balah Refugee Camp, although it remains outside of Deir al-Balah's municipal administration. While the total land area was recorded as 14,735dunams (14.7 km2 or 1,473.5 hectares) in 1997,[19] the total built-up areas of the city consist of between 7,000 and 8,000 dunams (7–8 km2 or 700-800 hectares.) Deir al-Balah is divided into 29 administrative areas.[17]
Deir al-Balah's history dates back to the mid-14th century BC, during theLate Bronze Age.[4] At that time it served as an outpost in theNew Kingdom of Egypt on its frontier withCanaan.[20]
During the reign of KingRamesses II (1303–1213 BC), Deir al-Balah became the easternmost of six garrisoned fortresses in theEastern Mediterranean.[21] The string of fortresses began with theSinai fort in the west, and continued through the "Way of Horus" military road to Canaan.[22] The square-shaped fortress of Deir al-Balah had four towers at each corner and areservoir.[21] Archaeological findings in Deir al-Balah revealed a largeancient Egyptian cemetery with graves containing jewelry and other personal belongings. The inhabitants of the fortress employed traditional Egyptian techniques and artistic designs in their architectural works.[22] The cosmopolitan aspect of the frontier site is proven by the richCypriot,Mycenaean andMinoan findings.
The archaeological excavations at the Egyptian-period site were executed between 1972 and 1982, during Israel's occupation, and headed byTrude Dothan. After the conclusion of the excavations the area was used for farming purposes and is now covered by vegetable gardens and fruit orchards while the main findings can be seen in Israeli museums like theIsrael Museum inJerusalem and theHecht Museum inHaifa.[23]
Similar cultural development is also attested atTall al-Ajjul at that time, also in the Gaza strip.
Deir al-Balah remained in Egyptian hands until around 1150 BC when thePhilistines conquered the southern coastal area of Canaan.[20] The Philistine settlement is thought to have been situated southwest of the excavation site; its remains are hidden under large sand dunes. Five pits dug into the Late Bronze Age layers and containing Philistine pottery are among the few findings from that period.[24]
DuringByzantine rule, the first hermitage inPalestine was established by the earlyChristian monkHilarion at the site of modern-day Deir al-Balah. Hilarion initially built a small hut there, but during the reign ofConstantius II (337–361) he set up the hermitage. Towards the end of his life, the monastery grew and began to attract numerous visitors. Hilarion resided at the monastery for a total of 22 years until his departure forCyprus where he died in 371 AD. The hermitage was divided into several small cells constructed of mud brick and palm tree branches.[26] According to local tradition and observations from Western travelers in the 19th century, the prayer hall of theMonastery of Hilarion is currently occupied by the Mosque of al-Khidr. French explorerVictor Guérin noted that twomarble columns in the mosque were possibly parts of the Byzantine-era monastery.[27]
In 632, during the early period ofIslamic rule inArabia, theMuslim commanderUsama ibn Zayd launched a raid against Byzantine-held Darum, which referred not to Deir al-Balah specifically, but to the area south ofLydda which included modern-day Deir al-Balah.[28] The site was one of the first places in Palestine to be annexed by theRashidun Caliphate following the conquest ofGaza byAmr ibn al-'As in 634.[29] Throughout early Muslim Arab rule and until the arrival of theCrusaders in the late 11th century, "Darum" normally referred to the southern district ofJund Filastin whose capital fluctuated between the towns ofBayt Jibrin orHebron.[28]
TheFatimid caliphal-Aziz Billah (r. 975-996) granted his favoredvizier,Yaqub ibn Killis, a fief in modern-day Deir al-Balah, as testified by an inscription dating to the 980s located in the city's al-Khidr Mosque. The fief included a large estate with date palms.[30]
Deir al-Balah was built on the ruins of theCrusader fort of Darom (also referred to as "Doron") which was built by KingAmalric I.[4] The exact date of the fort's construction is unknown, although it was likely erected after 1153 following Amalric's capture ofAscalon to the north from theFatimid Caliphate.[29] As described by William of Tyre, the fort was small,tantum spatium intra se continens quantum est jactus lapidis (containing inside as much space as a stone's throw) and square-shaped with four towers, one of which was larger than the others.[31] Amalric used Darom as a launching point for several unsuccessful military campaigns against Fatimid Egypt.[32] In addition to its role as a frontier fort on the border of Egypt, Darom also served as an administrative center charged with collecting taxes from the southern areas of the kingdom and customs from caravans and travelers coming from Egypt. It was deemed a permanent threat by the rulers of Egypt.[32]
Not long after its construction, a small suburb or village with a church was established by local farmers and traders just outside the fort. According to medieval chroniclerWilliam of Tyre, "it was a pleasant spot where conditions of life for people of the lower ranks were better than in cities".[33] The population of the village consisted of indigenousEastern Orthodox Christians allied to and protected by the Crusader administration and garrison based in the fort. The inhabitants were considered lower-class, but integral members of society by the Crusaders of European or mixed descent. Because Darom was absent ofGreek bishops, in 1168Pope Alexander III gave theLatin Patriarch of Jerusalem direct jurisdiction over thedioceses, putting the largelyGreek Orthodox inhabitants under the authority of theCatholic Church.[34]
Following Amalric's withdrawal from his fifth offensive against Egypt in 1170, Muslim generalSaladin, fighting on behalf of the Fatimids, attacked and besieged the fortress as part of his foray into the CrusaderKingdom of Jerusalem. Despite initial gains, Darom was not captured or destroyed.[32] It later became a stronghold of theKnights Templar and theKnights Hospitaller fromJerusalem, led by KingBaldwin III.[35] After the Muslim army defeated the Crusaders in the decisiveBattle of Hattin in 1187, their leader Saladin, by then the independent sultan of theAyyubid dynasty, advanced south and captured both Ascalon and Darom by 1188. His first order was the fort's demolition, but he later decided against destroying it.[32] Instead, the fortress was substantially expanded and strengthened. "Darum", which is what the Muslims called the fortress village, was encased by a wall with 17 strong towers protected by a deepmoat with stone-paved sides.[36] It hosted a garrison commanded by theemir (commander) Alam ad-Din Qaysar and served as a store for supplies and ammunition.[32]
The Crusaders recaptured the fortress on 24 May 1191 after a short siege commanded by KingRichard the Lionheart.[32] Authority over Darum was assigned to CountHenry I of Champagne, but Richard later had the fortress demolished in July 1193 prior to withdrawing his forces from Ascalon.[37] The Ayyubids rebuilt the fortress soon after in order to use it as a bridgehead to reconquer territories lost in Palestine during theThird Crusade. Nonetheless, in 1196, Sultanal-Aziz Uthman decided to have it demolished in case of its capture by the Crusaders. According to 15th-century historianal-Maqrizi, this decision resulted in public resentment since travelers and merchants had significantly benefited from the fort's protection.[32] In 1226,Syrian geographerYaqut al-Hamawi visited Darum and noted it was one of the cities ofLot and contained a ruined castle.[38]
Following its demolition, it is not known how long Darum remained deserted, but it was eventually resettled duringMamluk rule which began in 1250.[12] For much of the Mamluk period, the town came under the administration of the politically important Niyabah of Gaza (Province of Gaza), part of the larger Mamlaka ofDamascus (Kingdom of Damascus.)[39] Along withKaratiyya andBayt Jibrin,[40] Darum was anamal (district) of the Province of Gaza with its ownwali (governor).[39]
It became a halting post along the newly introducedregular mail routes connecting Damascus and Cairo, which were run by horse-mounted messengers with colored sashes.[35] Syrian historian Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari did not mention Darum in his list of the route's stopping points in 1349, instead noting thatal-Salqah was the only post betweenRafah and Gaza, suggesting that Darum was not a major settlement at the time. However, 14th-century Egyptian historianAhmad al-Qalqashandi counters al-Umari's account, writing that Darum was the last halting post before Gaza.[12] Roads, bridges, postal stations and akhan (caravanserai) were built in the town to accommodate the messengers.Pigeon mail service was introduced for which towers were built. Produce available in Darum during this time period included barley, wheat, grapes and grape leaves, olives, raspberries, lemons, figs, sweet melons, pomegranates and dates.[35] Surrounding the town were the encampments of theBatn Jarm, anArab clan that also lived around Gaza.[41]
Sometime prior to theOttoman conquest of Palestine in 1516 or in the beginning years of Ottoman rule, Darum gained the additional name of "Deir" as in "Deir Darum" after its Byzantine-era monastery.[42] The village continued to thrive during the early Ottoman era in Palestine which is attributed to the urban infrastructure originally established by the Crusaders.[43] Its continued importance also stemmed from its close proximity to Gaza and its position on the formerVia Maris trade route.[44] The first Ottoman tax census in 1525 revealed Deir al-Balah was a relatively large village with a religiously mixed population of 87 Christian families and 56 Muslim families.[36] In 1596 it was part ofGaza Sanjak (District of Gaza) and had a Muslim majority with 175 Muslim families and 125 Christian families.[45][46] With an estimated population of 1,500,[11] it was one of eight villages at the time to have between 1,000 and 2,000 inhabitants.[44] Annual tax revenue from the town amounted to 17,300akces.[11]Pierre Jacotin named the villageDeir K Helleh on his map from 1799.[47] In 1838,Deir el-Belah was noted as a Muslim village in the Gaza district.[48]
A substantial part of Deir al-Balah's inhabitants died in 1862 because of stagnant drinking water originating from the town's swamps. The swamps were seasonal, forming each winter as a result of flooding which failed to breach the sandstone ridge.[26] A year later, on 29 May 1863, French explorerVictor Guérin wrote that Deir al-Balah was a small, partly ruined village with a population of 350. Date farming was the principal economic activity that the inhabitants engaged in.[49] In 1878, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine noted Deir al-Balah had grown to become a large village of mud houses "with wells and a small tower". At the time, it served as asee of theGreek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem.[12][50][51][52]
Deir al-Balah was captured by theBritish Army following the surrender ofKhan Yunis on 28 February 1917. By April anaerodrome and an army camp were established there and Deir al-Balah became a launching point for British forces against Ottoman-held Gaza andBeersheba to the north and northeast, respectively.[53] Of the 25 British war cemeteries dating fromWorld War I, one of the six largest was builtin Deir al-Balah in March 1917.[54] It continued to be used until March 1918 and contains a total of 724 graves.[53]
Deir al-Balah became a part of theBritish Mandate of Palestine starting in 1922. A municipal council to administer the town was established by the British authorities in 1946, but it had limited jurisdiction over civil affairs and provided a few basic services.[55]
In the1945 statistics, Deir al-Balah had a population of 2,560; 40 Christians and 2,520 Muslims,[56] with 14,735dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[57] Of this, 327 dunams were for citrus and bananas, 472 plantations and irrigable land, 14,438 used for cereals,[58] while 39 dunams were built-up land.[59]
In the lead-up to the1948 Arab-Israeli War, residents of Deir al-Balah participated in a local attack against the nearbykibbutz ofKfar Darom, despite being discouraged byEgyptian Army officers, but they were repelled and suffered casualties.[60] During the war,Egypt captured the town along with other towns in an area that became known as theGaza Strip. The Egyptians later established asharia court system that held jurisdiction over personal affairs.[61] Egyptian rule introduced relative prosperity to Deir al-Balah. The town witnessed a booming citrus industry made possible by the discovery of a substantial reservoir of ground water in the vicinity.[62] Overall, during theEgyptian occupation of Gaza citizens of the Strip were much poorer than before the partition of Palestine. The population of the strip, including Deir al-Balah swelled during this time period and the Egyptian government restricted movement to and from the Gaza Strip inhibiting its inhabitants from looking elsewhere for gainful employment or housing.[63]
In the name ofpan-Arabism, the Egyptian state officially merged with the Gaza Strip andSyria between 1959 and 1961 as part of the short-livedUnited Arab Republic (UAR). The project fell apart before significant integration occurred and the legal status of the Gaza Strip was mostly an afterthought during the attempt to create a unified Arab state, with the Strip and its citizens not explicitly being mentioned in the proclamation declaring the founding of the UAR or in the UAR's provisional constitution.[64]
During theSix-Day War in June 1967, Deir al-Balah's mayor Sulaiman al-Azayiza briefly led local resistance against the incomingIsraeli Army until formally surrendering the city shortly thereafter. The Israeli authorities took control of the springs, an important irrigation source. This move combined with increasing competition from Israeli citrus farmers, damaged the local citrus industry.[62] In 1982 the mayor was dismissed and the municipal council of Deir al-Balah was disbanded and replaced by an Israeli military-appointed administration.[65] During the course of the Israeli occupation, Deir al-Balah's urban areas extended into lands designated for agriculture, largely as a result of building restrictions which hindered organized expansion.[62]
When theFirst Intifada broke out in 1987, Deir al-Balah's residents participated in the uprising against Israeli rule. Around 30 residents died during the period of the Intifada,[62] which formally ended in 1993 with theOslo Accords between thePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel. In 1994 Deir al-Balah was the first city to officially come under the control of thePalestinian National Authority as a result of theGaza–Jericho Agreement.[66]
The city has been frequently targeted in Israeli military incursions since theSecond Intifada in 2000, largely due toQassam rocket-strikes by Palestinian militants.[5][6][7] The areas surrounding the city have also been frequent targets of razing. On 4 January 2004, Israeli authorities bulldozed around 50 dunams (5hectares) of land in the Abu al-Ajen area east of Deir al-Balah's center. Later on 7 January, theApplied Research Institute-Jerusalem (ARIJ) reported that "Israeli bulldozers staged into al-Hikr area south of Deir el-Balah city under heavy barrage of gunfire and razed 70 dunams (7 hectares) of land planted with guava and orange groves owned by the Abu Holy and Abu Reziq families."[67]
Duringfactional clashes across the Gaza Strip in June 2007 which ended withHamas gaining control over that territory, at least four paramilitaries from Hamas andFatah were killed in Deir al-Balah.[68][69][70] On 2 January 2009, Deir al-Balah was shelled by the Israeli Army as part of its month-long offensiveOperation Cast Lead.[71]
In the beginning of December, during the second month of theGaza war,IDF tanks cut off the passage fromKhan Yunis to Deir al-Balah.[72] The IDF campaign, which was intended to target members ofHamas in the center region of the Gaza Strip, brought down multiple apartment buildings. While resulting in the death of a Hamas commander, the bombing campaign has overwhelmed theShuhada Al-Aqsa Hospital staff with patients. Doctors described the bombing campaign on December 3 as a bloody day.[73]
In December 2023, the Jaffa Mosque (Arabic:مَسْجِد يَافَا,romanized: Masjid Yāfā) was destroyed by Israeli bombardment in Deir al-Balah (31°24′56″N34°21′04″E / 31.4156°N 34.351°E /31.4156; 34.351).[74][75]
In July 2025, the IDF began aground advance towards Deir al-Balah for the first time during the war.[76]
White marble pillar shafts were built into the walls of some houses in old Deir al-Balah. They resembled the medieval-era pillars in theTemple Mount ("Haram ash-Sharif") in Jerusalem.[77]
The Mosque of al-Khidr (also called "Maqam al-Khader") is 24.3 feet (7.4 m) by 53.4 feet (16.3 m) and was built on the site of a Byzantine monastery. The northern and southern walls were buttressed and the eastern wall has three apses. TheSurvey of Western Palestine related in 1875 that there were Greek inscriptions on one of the steps leading to the door at the southern wall while on the floor was a broken stone slab marked by twoMaltese crosses, apparently resembling a tombstone. Further slabs and Greek inscriptions were found in the eastern part of the mosque and in the courtyard. In the center is a tomb made of modern masonry that tradition claims is the tomb of Saint George ("Mar Jirjis") or al-Khidr, as he is known in Arabic.[77]
Prior to the predominance of orthodox Islam in Palestine, the region contained numerous domed structures dedicated to Muslim patron saints, among which was the Mosque of al-Khidr in Deir al-Balah. In March 2016, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in the Gaza Strip began the restoration of the Mosque of al-Khidr with financial support fromUNESCO and the Nawa Foundation. The project aims to convert the mosque-tomb into a children's cultural library.[78]
| Year | Type | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1596 | Defter | 1,500;[11][45] |
| 1863 | Estimate | 350[49] |
| 1870 | Census | 792[79][80] |
| 1922 | Census | 916[81][82] |
| 1931 | Census | 1,587[83] |
| 1945 | Survey | 2,560[57][56] |
| 1982 | Census | 15,100[84] |
| 1997 | Census | 42,839 (with Camp)[85] |
| 2007 | Census | 54,439[86] |
According to acensus conducted in 1922 by theBritish Mandate authorities, Deir al-Balah had a population of 916 inhabitants (893 Muslims, 22 Jews and one Christian).[81][82]The census of 1931 lists 1,587 inhabitants (1,577 Muslims and 10 Christians).[87] The village statistics of 1938 list the population as 1,823.[88] With a population of 2,560 (2,520 Muslims and 40 Christians) in 1945, Deir al-Balah was a relatively large village.[57] The influx ofPalestinian refugees from nearby areas captured by Israel during the 1948 War drastically increased the population thereafter.[89] In the 1997 census by thePalestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) Deir al-Balah's population was recorded as 42,839, a figure which included the adjacent Deir al-Balah Camp (the smallest refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.) Nearly 75% of the population were below the age of 30.[85]
In 2004 the PCBS estimated the population to be 46,159. In the 2007 census by the PCBS, the population of Deir al-Balah city alone was 54,439, making it the largest municipality in the Deir al-Balah Governorate. The camp's population was 6,438. However,Nuseirat combined with its refugee camp has a larger population than Deir al-Balah combined with its camp. There were a total of 8,395 households and the average family size consisted of between six and seven members. The gender distribution in the city was 50.3% male and 49.7% female.[86]
Deir al-Balah's entire population isMuslim. A sizableGreek Orthodox Christian population existed until the mid-19th century.[12] In the1931 British census of Palestine, there were only 10 Christians in Deir al-Balah out of a population of 1,587.[83] Today, refugees make up the majority of the population, accounting for over 66% of the city's inhabitants in 1997. However, this figure also included the Deir al-Balah Camp.[90]
The Deir al-Balah Governorate's principal economic activity is services, accounting for 67.4% of the labor force. Commerce, hospitality and retail account for 12.9%, agriculture and fishing 10.1%, transportation and communication 5.4% and manufacturing 3.4%. In 2009 the unemployment rate in the governorate was 35.2% while the labor force participation rate was 38.7%.[91] In 2007 there were 1,108 business establishments in the city.[86]
Deir al-Balah is well known for growingdate palms, an estimated 20,000 of which covered the landscape south and west of the city in the 1990s.[92] However, some 3,550 trees were uprooted or bulldozed by the Israeli Army in the early years of the Second Intifada beginning in 2000. There were an estimated 16,500 palms in Deir al-Balah in 2003. In addition to being a local delicacy, date cultivation constitutes one of the principal sources of income for many of Deir al-Balah's residents.[93] The particular type of date that is cultivated in the area is known as "Hayani."[94] It has a distinctly red color.[93] Other leading agricultural products cultivated in Deir al-Balah include citrus,almonds,pomegranates and grapes.[95]
The city has a small fishing industry and is the site of one of fourwharfs in the Gaza Strip. In 2007 there were about 76 active fishing vessels employed by 550 fishermen. From 2000 to 2006, during the Second Intifada, income from fishing was halved. In order to alleviate losses resulting from a 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) fishing limit off the coast imposed by theIsraeli Navy following Hamas's victory in the 2006 parliamentary elections, the Palestinian Authority Department of Fisheries has sought to construct eight artificial reefs in both Deir al-Balah and Gaza City.[96]
According to the 1997 PCBS census, 87.7% of residents in Deir al-Balah over the age of 10 were literate. The number of people who finished elementary education was 5,740, while 5,964 finished primary education and 5,289 completed secondary school. In higher education, 1,763 people attained associate degrees, 1,336 attained bachelor's degrees and 97 attained higher degrees.[97]
Educational services in Deir al-Balah are under the jurisdiction of the Khan Yunis Directorate of Higher Education.[98] There were a total of 85 schools in the Deir al-Balah Governorate in 2007-08 according to the PNA'sMinistry of Education and Higher Education. The Palestinian government operated 39 school while four were privately owned. The remainder were run by UNRWA and were mostly located in refugee camps in Deir al-Balah's vicinity. The total number of students in the governorate was 67,693, of which 50.3% were male 49.7% female.[91]
ThePalestine Technical College, a vocational and technical college founded in 1992, is located in Deir al-Balah.[99][100] A library was added to the campus in 1998.[101]
Deir al-Balah's firstvillage council was established in 1946 and an elected local government continued to administer the city until 1982 when the Israeli military authorities dissolved the council and appointed a mayor. In 1994 Deir al-Balah gained the status of acity by the Palestinian Authority (PNA). The Palestinian president,Yasser Arafat, appointed Samir Mohammed Azayiza as mayor until 2000 when he replaced him with Sami Abu Salim, a wealthy businessman from the city.[102] The services and functions of the municipality include city planning, infrastructure maintenance and repair, providing utilities, school administration and garbage collection.[9][102]
A 15-membermunicipal council currently administers Deir al-Balah. Although thought to be a stronghold ofFatah, Hamas members defeated Fatah's candidates in the2005 Palestinian municipal elections by a large margin, taking 13 seats. Despite their political affiliations, all candidates ran asIndependents. Two female candidates also gained seats. Localsheikh, school operator and Hamas memberAhmad Harb Kurd garnered the most votes.[103]
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