Jabalia | |
|---|---|
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | جباليا |
| • Latin | Jabalya (official) |
 Jabalia after the2009 Gaza war | |
  Jabalia Location of Jabalia withinPalestine | |
| Coordinates:31°31′41″N34°28′59″E / 31.52806°N 34.48306°E /31.52806; 34.48306 | |
| Palestine grid | 100/103 |
| State |  State of Palestine |
| Governorate | North Gaza |
| Government | |
| • Type | City |
| Population (2017)[1] | |
• Total | 172,704 |
| Name meaning | "The mountaineers"[2] |
| Website | www |
 | |
Jabalia, also spelledJabalya (Arabic:جباليا), is a city in theState of Palestine located 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) north ofGaza City, in theNorth Gaza Governorate of theGaza Strip. According to thePalestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Jabalia had a population of 172,704 in 2017.[1] TheJabalia refugee camp is adjacent to the city to the north. The nearby town ofNazla is a part of the Jabalia municipality.
A largecemetery dating to the 8th century CE was found near Jabalia. The workmanship indicates that the Christian community inGaza was still very much in existence in the earlyIslamic era of rule inPalestine, and capable of artistic achievements. The remains of the pavement spared by theiconoclasts show depictions of wild game, birds, and country scenes. The late dating of the mosaic pavement proves that the intervention of the iconoclasts, after 750, is later than previously thought and is associated withAbbasid conservatives.[3]
While working on theSalah al-Din Road, laborers accidentally uncovered a monastery from theByzantine period. The site was excavated by the Palestinian Department of Antiquities. Now the stunning Byzantine mosaics of the monastery are covered with sand to shield them from erosion caused by the direct impact of the winter rain.[4] Byzantine ceramics have also been found.[5]
In 2022, the restoration of a fifth-century Byzantine church carried out by the French organisation Premiere Urgence Internationale and the British Council was finished. The church is decorated withmosaics and religious texts written inGreek.[6]
Jabalia was known for its fertile soil andcitrus trees. TheMamluk Governor of GazaSanjar al-Jawli ruled the area in the early 14th century and endowed part of Jabalia's land to theal-Shamah Mosque he built in Gaza.
Until 2014, Jabalia also had the ancientOmari Mosque. The site was believed to have housed a mosque since the seventh century, and itsportico andminaret dated back to the 14th century, but the Omari was destroyed byIsraelibombings in 2014.[7] The portico consists of threearcades supported by four stonecolumns. The arcades have pointed arches and the portico is covered by crossing vaults.[8]
Incorporated into theOttoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, Jabalia appeared in 1596tax registers as being in theNahiya of Gaza of theLiwa ofGazza. It had a population of 331 households, allMuslim, who paid taxes on wheat, barley, vine yards, and fruit trees; a total of 37,640akçe. 2/3 of the revenue went to awaqf.[9]
In 1838,Edward Robinson notedJebalia as a Muslim village, located in the Gaza district.[10]
In 1863,Victor Guérin found in the mosque fragments of old constructions, and at thewell some brokencolumns.[11] He further noted: "This village, towards the west, borders on the dunes of the coast. It is surrounded, on the other three sides, by fertile gardens, separated from each other by hedges of cacti and other thorny shrubs. Cultivated with care, they are planted with fig, pomegranate, almond, apricot, lemon and orange trees. There are also a few apple trees. Residents go to sell their fruit in Gaza's various markets."[12]
An Ottoman village list from about 1870 found that the village had a population of 828, in a total of 254 houses, though the population count included men, only.[13][14] In thePalestine Exploration Fund's 1883Survey of Western Palestine, Jabalia was described as being a largeadobe village, with gardens and a well on the northwest. It had a mosque namedJamia Abu Berjas.[15]
In the1922 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, Jabalia had a population of 1,775 inhabitants, all Muslim,[16] increasing in the1931 census to 2,425, still all Muslims, in 631 houses.[17]
In the1945 statistics, Jabalia had a population of 3,520, all Muslims,[18] with 11,497dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[19] Of this, 138 dunams were for citrus and bananas, 1,009 for plantations and irrigable land, 1,036 for cereals,[20] while 101 dunams were built-up land.[21]
During the early months ofFirst Intifada on 27 March 1989 Fares S'aid Falcha, aged 50, was beaten byIsraeli soldiers. He died 3 weeks later in theMakassed Hospital. A report was compiled by theMilitary Police Investigators and details were passed on to theChief Military Prosecutor.[22]
In late 2006, Jabalia was the scene of mass protests against airstrikes on homes. Israel contacted the residences of severalHamas members who launched missiles at Israeli civilians from the houses, warning them of an airstrike within the next 30 minutes. Neighbors responded by forming ahuman shield and successfully stalled the demolition.[23] In 2021, seven peoplewere killed by a Hamasrocket.
The Jabalia refugee camp, which has been the target of multiple Israeli air strikes during theongoing Israel-Hamas war, was struck again on 31 October.[24] The Israeli air-strike killed at least 50 Palestinians and trapped more than a hundred beneath the rubble, according to theGaza Health Ministry.[25] TheIndonesia Hospital said most casualties were women and children.[26]Gaza Interior Ministry stated the camp had been "completely destroyed," with preliminary estimates of about 400 wounded or dead.[27]IDF spokespersonDaniel Hagari confirmed that Israeli fighter jets attacked the refugee camp,[28] and stated that the attack killed a Hamas commander who led the7 October attacks, dozens of Palestinian militants, and destroyedPalestinian tunnels.[29] Hamas claims none of its commanders were present and that Israel was using these claims as an excuse for the attack.[30] The mayor of Jabalia stated Israel had destroyed 75 percent of Jabalia'swater wells.[31]
TheBattle of Jabalia began on 8 November 2023 as part of the2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and ended its first phase in late January 2024 with an Israeli withdrawal.[32] Following this, Palestinian forces and the IDF intermittently clashed in Jabalia.[33][34][35][36][37] A May 2024 IDF offensive into the city ended on 31 May 2024 with an IDF withdrawal after over two weeks of intense fighting and more than 200 airstrikes. Palestinian officials said that 70% of the refugee camp was destroyed. The Israeli military said that it had destroyed over 10 kilometers of underground tunnels that it says the militants used.[38][39] The Israeli military also said that it had destroyed a number of weapons production sites and rocket launchers.[38][40] During the weeks-long operation, troops recovered the bodies of sevenIsraeli hostages.[38]
Having failed to dismantle Hamas in Jabalia,[41] the IDFreinvaded the city after four months on 5 October 2024.[42]
Jabalia's residents have various origins, including theHauran,Egypt,Bedouin communities, as well as people fromHebron andJaffa.[43]
A number of malepseudohermaphrodite births have been reported in Jabalia. Jehad Abudaia, a Canadian-Palestinian pediatrician andurologist, has suggested thatconsanguinity due tocousin marriages accounts for the prevalence of pseudohermaphrodite births. In the Gaza Strip, pseudohermaphrodite conditions often go undetected for years after birth due to the region's lower standards of medical treatment and diagnostics.[44]
Ümraniye, Turkey
| Cities |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Municipalities | ||
| Villages |
| |
| Refugee camps | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
