Ramallah has emerged as a key political, cultural, and economic center in recent years.[9][10] It houses various Palestinian governmental bodies, including theMukataa, the official residence of thepresident of the Palestinian National Authority, thePalestinian Legislative Council, and the headquarters of thePalestinian Security Services. It is also home to several museums and cultural centers, and has a notable nightlife scene. Historically, the city was a predominantly Christian town, however the population ofMuslims has increased to constitute a majority of Ramallah's 38,998 residents by 2017,[11] while Christians make up a significant minority.
Several Ramallah buildingsincorporate masonry dating back to the reign ofHerod the Great (37–4 BCE).[8]Potsherds from theCrusader/Ayyubid and early Ottoman period have also been found there.[13] Ramallah has been identified with theCrusader place calledRamalie.[14][15] Remains of a building with anarched doorway from the Crusader era, calledal-Burj, have been identified,[16] but the original use of the building is undetermined.[17]
Ottoman period
The area of Ramallah was incorporated into theOttoman Empire in 1517 with all ofPalestine. Modern Ramallah was founded in the mid-1500s by the Haddadins (also: Haddadeen), a clan of brothers descended fromGhassanidChristians. The Haddadins (ancestors of the present-day Jadallah family, among others), and their leader Rashid el-Haddadin, arrived from east of theJordan River from the areas ofKarak andShoubak.[18] The Haddadin migration is attributed to fighting and unrest among clans in that area.
Haddadin was attracted to the mountainous site of Ramallah because it was similar to the mountainous areas he came from. In addition, the heavily forested area could supply him with plenty of fuel for his forges.[18] In 1596, Ramallah was listed in thetax registers as being in thenahiya of Quds (Jerusalem), part of theLiwa of Quds. It had a population of 71 Christian households and 9Muslim households. It paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on wheat, barley, olives, vines or fruit trees, and goats or beehives; a total of 9,400akçe. All of the revenue went to awaqf.[19]
In 1838, American biblical scholarEdward Robinson visited the area, noting that the inhabitants were Christian "of the Greek rite". There were 200 taxable men, which gives an estimated total population of 800–900 people. The village "belonged" to theHaram al-Sharif, Jerusalem, to which it paid an annual tax of 350 Mids of grain.[20] In 1883, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine described Ramallah as
A large Christian village, of well-built stone houses, standing on a high ridge, with a view on the west extending to the sea. It stands amongst gardens and olive-yards, and has three springs to the south and one on the west; on the north there are three more, within a mile from the village. On the east there is a well. There are rock-cut tombs to the north-east with well-cut entrances, but completely blocked with rubbish. In the village is a Greek church, and on the east a Latin convent and a Protestant schoolhouse, all modern buildings. The village lands areWakuf, or ecclesiastical property, belonging to the Haram of Jerusalem. About a quarter of the inhabitants are Roman Catholics, the rest Orthodox Greeks.[21]
DuringWorld War I, theBritish Army captured andoccupied Ramallah in December 1917. The city remained occupied until the designation of thePalestine Mandate in 1920, resulting in Ramallah falling underBritish Mandatory control until 1948. In the 1920s, the economy of Ramallah started to improve, resulting in the local Arabupper class (consisting primarily of landowners and merchants) ordering the construction of several multi-storied villas, many of which still stand today.[22] In 1939, theJerusalem Electric Company introduced electricity to Ramallah, and a majority of the city's homes became wired shortly thereafter. On the same year, the British Mandatory authorities inaugurated the state-ownedPalestine Broadcasting Service in Ramallah, withBBC members training local radio staff to deliver daily broadcasts in Arabic,Hebrew, and English. The station was later renamedJerusalem Calling.[citation needed]
The city became a center of insurgent activity when the1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine broke out. The rebels subsequently established a court near Ramallah, in order to provide legal alternatives to the courts of the British Mandate. One British schoolteacher noted that the Ramallah court judge began to produce "news sheets on typewriters and duplicators, aimed at publicizing the alternative rebel regime."[23]
Jordanian and Israeli occupation
Following thecreation of the State of Israel and theensuing conflict, Jordan seized part of the territory, which they named the West Bank, which included Ramallah. Jordan annexed the West Bank, applying its national law to the conquered territory. The West Bank was relatively peaceful during the years ofJordanian occupation between 1948 and 1967, with its residents enjoying freedom of movement between theWest Bank, Jordan,Lebanon, and Syria. However, many Palestinians were arrested and jailed for being members of "illegal political parties", which included thePalestine Communist Party, and other socialist and pro-independence groups. The city's population had doubled by 1953, but the economy and infrastructure could not accommodate the influx of poor villagers. Natives of Ramallah began to emigrate, primarily to the United States. About one fourth of Ramallah's 6,000 natives had left by 1956, with Arabs from the surrounding towns and villages (particularlyHebron) buying the homes and land the émigrés left behind.[citation needed]
During theSix-Day War in 1967,Israel captured Ramallah from Jordan, imposing a military closure and conducting a census a few weeks later. Every person registered in the census was given an Israeli identity card which allowed the bearer to continue to reside there. Those who were abroad during the census lost their residency rights.[24] Because of Israeli control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, for the first time in 19 years, residents of Ramallah could freely visit theGaza Strip, as well as Israel, and engage in commerce there.
Unlike the Jordanians, Israel did not offer citizenship to the residents. Ramallah residents were issued permits to work in Israel, but did not gain the rights associated with Israeli citizenship. The city remained under Israeli military rule for more than four decades. TheIsraeli Civil Administration (CA), established in 1981, was in charge of civilian and day-to-day services such as issuing permission to travel, build, export or import, and host relatives from abroad.[25] The CA reprinted Jordanian textbooks for distribution in schools but did not update them. The CA was in charge of tax collection and land expropriation, which sometimes included Israeli seizure of olive groves that Arab villagers had tended for generations.[26][27]
According to the Israeli Human Rights activists, the development of Jewish settlements in the Ramallah area, such asBeit El andPsagot, prevented the expansion of the city and cut it off from the surrounding Arab villages.[28] As resistance increased, Ramallah residents who were members of thePalestine Liberation Organization were jailed or deported to neighboring countries.[29] The popular uprising known as theFirst Intifada erupted in December 1987, protesting against the continuedIsraeli occupation.
Ramallah residents were among the early joiners of the First Intifada. The Intifada Unified Leadership, an umbrella organization of various Palestinian factions, distributed weekly bulletins on the streets of Ramallah with a schedule of the daily protests, strikes and action against Israeli patrols in the city. At the demonstrations, tires were burned in the street, and the crowds threw stones andMolotov cocktails. TheIDF responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. Schools in Ramallah were forcibly shut down, and opened gradually for a few hours a day.[citation needed] The Israelis conducted house arrests, imposing curfews that restricted travel and exports in what Palestinians regarded as collective punishment. In response to the closure of schools, residents organized home schooling sessions to help students make up missed material; this became one of the few symbols of civil disobedience.[30] Following theOslo Accords, the Israeli army abandoned theMukataa in December 1995 and withdrew to the city outskirts. The newly establishedPalestinian Authority assumed civilian and security responsibility for the city, which was designated "Area A" under the accords.[citation needed]
Palestinian Authority control
The years between 1993 and 2000 (known locally as the "Oslo Years") brought relative prosperity to Ramallah. Ramallah and its immediate environs were classified asArea A in theOslo Accords, under full civil and security control of thePalestinian Authority (PA) administration in September 1995.[31] Many expatriates returned to establish businesses there, and the atmosphere was one of optimism. In 2000, unemployment began to rise and the economy of Ramallah declined.[32][33] TheIsrael Defense Forces remained in control of the territories and its government did not restore the freedom of movement enjoyed by Ramallah residents prior to the first Intifada. Travel toJerusalem required special permits. The number and size ofIsraeli settlements around Ramallah increased dramatically. A network of bypass roads for use of Israeli citizens only was built around Ramallah, and Israel expropriated land for settlements.[34][35] Many official documents previously handled by the Israeli Civil Administration were now handled by the Palestinian Authority but still required Israeli approval. A Palestinian passport issued to Ramallah residents was not valid unless the serial number was registered with the Israeli authorities, who controlled border crossings.[36]
The failure of theCamp David summit in July 2000 led to the outbreak of theSecond Intifada (al-Aqsa Intifada) in September 2000. Young Ramallah residents demonstrated daily against the Israeli army, with marches to the Israeli checkpoints at the outskirts of the city. Over time, the marches were replaced by sporadic use of live ammunition against Israeli soldiers; and various attacks targeting Jewish settlers, particularly on the Israeli-only bypass roads. Army checkpoints were established to restrict movement in and out of Ramallah.[37][38][39] On October 12, 2000, two Israeli army reservists, Vadim Norzhich and Yosef Avrahami werelynched in Ramallah. They had taken a wrong turn, and were set upon by a mob, enraged in particular by theMuhammad al-Durrah incident in Gaza.[citation needed] A frenzied crowd killed the two IDF reservists, mutilated their bodies, and dragged them through the streets.[40] Later that afternoon, the Israeli army carried out an air strike on Ramallah, demolishing the police station. Israel later succeeded in capturing and prosecuting some of those involved in the deaths of the reservists.
The IDF has occasionally operated inside Ramallah, in breach of the 1995 Oslo Accords. The first and largest incursion was the 2002Operation Defensive Shield, with a more recent intervention coming in March 2017 while attempting to arrest a suspected terrorist.[41][42] In 2002, the army imposed curfews, electricity cuts, school closures and disruptions of commercial life.[43] Many Ramallah institutions, including government ministries, were vandalized, and equipment was destroyed or stolen.[44] The IDF took over local Ramallah television stations, and social and economic conditions deteriorated.[45] Many expatriates left, as did many other Palestinians who complained that the living conditions had become intolerable.[46][47][48] Construction of theIsraeli West Bank barrier has added to Ramallah's isolation.Yasser Arafat established his West Bank headquarters, theMukataa, in Ramallah. Although considered an interim solution, Ramallah became thede facto capital of the Palestinian Authority, now[when?] officially[clarification needed] known as the State of Palestine. It hosts almost all governmental headquarters. In December 2001, Arafat held meetings at the Mukataa, but lived with his wife and daughter inGaza City. After suicide bombings inHaifa, Arafat was confined to the Ramallah compound. In 2002, the compound was partly demolished by the Israeli Defense Forces and Arafat's building was cut off from the rest of the compound.On November 11, 2004, Arafat died at thePercy training hospital of the Armies near Paris. He was buried in the courtyard of the Mukataa on November 12, 2004. The site still serves as the Ramallah headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, as well the official West Bank office ofMahmoud Abbas. Throughout 2005, while theDisengagement Plan was underway, some US government officials suggested to the Palestinian leadership to move the provisional capital back to Gaza, where it had been when the Palestinian Authority was first established in 1994. President Abbas, however, refrained from doing so, arguing that at this point, it was important to keep the administrative center in the West Bank in order to remind the international community that the West Bank was still awaiting a territorial solution.[49]
Residential neighborhood in Ramallah, 2005
In December 2005, local elections were held in Ramallah in which candidates from three different factions competed for a four-year term on the fifteen-seat municipal council. The council electedJanet Mikhail asmayor, the first woman to hold the post.[50][51]
Munir Hamdan, a member ofFatah and a Ramallah businessman, discussed the concentration of government offices with a journalist. He said, "The president and prime minister have their offices here.[52] So do the parliament and all the government ministries", representing a "collusion" between the Palestinian Authority and Israel to turn Ramallah into the political as well as the financial capital of the Palestinians. He is particularly worried by the construction of a large new governmental complex by the PA.[52]Hatem Abdel Kader, a Jerusalem resident, Fatah legislator and former Minister for Jerusalem Affairs, complained that "If they are building a new government compound here, that means they have no plans to be based in Jerusalem... Unfortunately, the Palestinian government ofSalam Fayyad has abandoned Jerusalem in favor of Ramallah."[52] In November 2011, KingAbdullah II of Jordan visited Ramallah for the first time since 2000.[53]
Geography and climate
Map of Mediterranean with the Köppen Climate Classifications: Csa and Csb are noted in yellow.Deir Ghassana near Ramallah
This area enjoys aMediterranean climate of a dry summer and mild, rainy winter with occasional snowfall. The recorded average of Ramallah's rainfall is about 615 mm (24 in)[54] and minimum rainfall is 307 mm (12 in) and maximum rainfall is 1,591 mm (63 in).
TheKöppen climate classification places Ramallah in theCsa category. Climates of this class generally occur on the western sides of continents between the latitudes of 30° and 45°. These climates are in the polar front region in winter, and thus have moderate temperatures and changeable, rainy weather. Summers are hot and dry, due to the domination of the subtropical high pressure systems, except in the immediate coastal areas, where summers are milder due to the nearby presence of cold ocean currents that may bring fog but prevent rain.
Source 2: Arab Meteorology Book (precipitation)[56]
A view from Ramallah
Hills surrounding Ramallah
Sunset in Ramallah
Economy
Construction of Rawabi and industrial areaAmmar Tower in Ramallah
Ramallah is chief financial and commercial center for the Palestinian Authority, home to the country's numerous financial institutions.[57] Currently Ramallah is seat of power of thePalestinian Authority, whose most of the offices are located within the city.[57] The city serves as the headquarters for most international NGOs and embassies.[57] Hundreds of millions of dollars in aid flowing into the city have boosted Ramallah's economy greatly since the end of theSecond Intifada.[57] Ramallah's buoyant economy continues to draw Palestinians from other West Bank towns where jobs are fewer.[57] The built-up area has grown fivefold since 2002.[57]
Construction boom is one of the most obvious signs ofWest Bank economic growth, estimated at an annual rate of 8 percent.[58] This has been attributed to relative stability and Western donor support to the Palestinian Authority.[58] ThePIF have begun work on a $400 million commercial center comprising 13 towers which will be some of the tallest in Ramallah.[58] TheErsal Commercial Center has drawn investment from a Saudi Arabian firm, The Land Holding, which has a 10% stake.[58] It is not the only Gulf Arab firm investing in Ramallah and its outskirts.[58] The Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company has a stake inRawabi, a completely new town being constructed in the hills outside Ramallah at a cost of $1 billion.[58]
Ramallah has highest concentration of high-tech companies.[59] ASAL technologies, an information technology company in Ramallah, has 120 employees and is looking forward to "exponential growth".[60] In collaboration with theRepublic of India, a new tech park named, the India Palestine Techno Park is located inBirzeit.[59]Apple Inc operates a research & development center in Rawabi with ASAL Technologies.[61] A large number multinational companies operates facilities in Ramallah, which outsource Palestinians.[59]
By 2010, Ramallah had become the leading center of economic and political activity in the territories under the control of the Palestinian Authority.[52] During a building boom in the early years of the 21st century, apartment buildings and "five-star" hotels were erected, particularly in theAl-Masyoun neighborhood.[52] In 2010, "more than one hundred" Palestinian businesses were reported to have moved to Ramallah fromEast Jerusalem, because "Here they pay less taxes and have more customers."[52] One local boasted to a journalist that "Ramallah is becoming the de facto capital of Palestine."[52] This boast was seconded byThe New York Times which, in 2010, called Ramallah the "de facto capital of the West Bank.[10] According toSani Meo, the publisher ofThis Week in Palestine, "Capital or no capital, Ramallah has done well and Palestine is proud of its achievements."[52] Some Palestinians allege that Ramallah's prosperity is part of an Israeli "conspiracy" to make Ramallah the capital of aPalestinian state, instead ofJerusalem.[52]
AnOttoman village list of about 1870 showed that Ramallah had 249 houses and a population of 635, though the population count included men only. The village was described as being in theBire area, "north ofMikhmas, on a rocky hill."[71][72][62] In 1896, the population of Ramallah was estimated to be about 2,061 persons.[73][62]
However, the demographic makeup of the town changed drastically under Jordanian occupation, when considerable emigration of Christians took place. This left slightly more than half of the city's 12,134 inhabitants Christian by 1967, and the remainder Muslim.[68]
Ramallah expatriates created one of the largest Arab communities in the United States, settling mainly inWashington, New York, Florida, California, Texas, and especially inMichigan. Many worked in the auto industry. In 1959, the American Federation of Ramallah, Palestine (AFRP) was established inDetroit. The AFRP has several branches in the United States, and holds an annual convention every summer attended by a sizable number of former Ramallah residents and their offspring.[76][77]
Ramallah's population drastically decreased in the late 20th century from 24,722 inhabitants in 1987 to 17,851 in 1997.[citation needed] In thePalestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) census in 1997,Palestinian refugees accounted for 60.3% of the population, which was 17,851.[69] There were 8,622 males and 9,229 females. People younger than 20 years of age made up 45.9% of the population, while those aged between 20 and 64 were 45.4%, and residents aged over 64 constituted 4.7%.[78]
Only in 2005 did the population reach more than 24,000. In a PCBS projection in 2006, Ramallah had a population of 25,467 inhabitants.[79] In the 2007 PCBS census, there were 27,460 people living in the city.[70] Sources vary about the current Christian population in the city, ranging around 25%.[80][81]
Health
Hugo Chávez Hospital in RamallahIstishari Arab Hospital
In the aftermath of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt, the Ramallah Hospital Foundation was established and registered as a tax exempt organization in New York in 1944. It bought large pieces of land in the south-eastern fringes of the city dedicated for the future hospital. In 1963, a hospital was opened.[82]
Ramallah grew dramatically throughout the 17th and 18th centuries as an agricultural village, attracting more (predominantly Christian) inhabitants from all around the region.[84] In 1700, Yacoub Elias was the first Ramallah native to be ordained by theGreek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, the Christian denomination that prevailed in the Holy Land at the time. In the early 19th century, the first Jerusalemite Greek Orthodox Christian church was built. Later, in 1852, theGreek Orthodox Church of the Transfiguration, was built to replace it; it is the soleEastern Orthodox Church in Ramallah today.[84]
There is also aMelkite Greek Catholic Church in Ramallah, built in 1895.[84] TheRoman Catholic Church also established its presence in Ramallah the 19th century and constitutes today the second-largest Christian denomination in the city. The Roman Catholic Church established the St. Joseph's Girls' School run by St. Joseph sisters, as well as the co-educational Al-Ahliyyah College high school run by Rosary sisters. In 1913, construction of the CatholicHoly Family Church was started.
As of 2022[update], Ramallah also has aCoptic Orthodox Church,[85] anEvangelical Lutheran Church[86] and anEpiscopalian (Anglican) Church.[87] In the 19th century, theReligious Society of Friends (Quakers) established a presence in Ramallah and built theRamallah Friends Schools, one for girls and later a boys' school, to alleviate the dearth of education for women and girls. Eli and Sybil Jones opened "The Girls Training Home of Ramallah" in 1869. A medical clinic was established in 1883, with Dr. George Hassenauer serving as the first doctor in Ramallah. In 1889, the girls academy became the Friends Girls School (FGS). As the FGS was also a boarding school, it attracted a number of girls from surrounding communities, including Jerusalem,Lydda,Jaffa, andBeirut. The Friends Boys School (FBS) was founded in 1901 and opened in 1918. The Quakers opened a Friends Meeting House for worship in the city center in 1910.[88] According to the school's official website, most high school students choose to take theInternational Baccalaureate exams (IBE) instead of the traditional "Tawjihi" university exams.[83][89]
The activity of foreign churches in Palestine in the late 19th century increased awareness of prosperity in the West. In Ramallah andBethlehem, a few miles south, local residents began to seek economic opportunity overseas. In 1901, merchants from Ramallah emigrated to the United States and established import-export businesses, selling handmade rugs and other exotic wares across the Atlantic. Increased trade dramatically improved living standards for Ramallah's inhabitants. American cars, mechanized farming equipment, radios, and later televisions became attainable luxuries for upper-class families. As residents of Jaffa and Lydda moved to Ramallah, the balance of Muslims and Christians began to change.[citation needed]
In the 21st century, a large community of people with direct descent from the Haddadins who founded Ramallah live in the United States. The town is now predominately Muslim, but still contains a Christian minority. The change in demographics is due mostly to new migration of Muslims to the area, and emigration of Christians from the area.[18]
Ramallah is generally considered the most affluent and cultural, as well as the most liberal, of all Palestinian cities,[90][91] and is home to a number of popular Palestinian activists, poets, artists, andmusicians.
In 2004 the Ramallah Cultural Palace opened in the city. The only cultural center of its kind in the Palestinian-governed areas, it houses a 736-seat auditorium, as well as conference rooms, exhibit halls, and movie-screening rooms. It was a joint venture of the Palestinian Authority, theUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Japanese government.[92] Ramallah hosted its first annual international film festival in 2004.
Until the 1940s, traditional Palestinian costumes reflected a woman's economic and marital status and her town or district of origin, with knowledgeable observers discerning this information from thefabric, colours,cut, andembroidery motifs (or lack thereof) used in the apparel.[93]
Villages in the Levant under Ottoman rule remained isolated due to the difficulty of travel in the 19th century. As a result, clothing and accessories became a statement of region. In Ramallah, the back panels of dresses often incorporated a palm tree motif embroidered in cross-stitch.[94]
Christian family from Ramallah wearing typical Palestinian Ottoman-period clothing, c. 1905
Young woman of Ramallah wearingdowry headdress, c. 1898–1914 (American Colony Collection)
Many foreign nations have located their diplomatic missions to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, including, as of 2010[update], Argentina, Australia, Austria, Korea, South Africa, Norway, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, China, Poland, Portugal, The Netherlands, Russia, Jordan, Brazil, Finland, Denmark, Ireland, Germany, India, Japan, the Czech Republic, Canada and Mexico.[52]
^ab"Religion in Ramallah City". Ramallah Municipality. Archived fromthe original on March 19, 2008. RetrievedFebruary 22, 2008. Information in text is gathered by several links in the "Religion in Ramallah" page.
^"History of Friends School".Palestine Friends Boys School. Visuals Active Media. Archived fromthe original on November 1, 2007. RetrievedFebruary 22, 2008. palfriends.org
^Jane Waldron Grutz (January–February 1991)."Woven Legacy, Woven Language".Saudi Aramco World.Archived from the original on February 19, 2007. RetrievedDecember 6, 2012.
Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics (1945).Village Statistics, April, 1945.Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. RetrievedNovember 10, 2015.
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