TheTriangle (Hebrew:המשולש,HaMeshulash;Arabic:المثلث,al-Muthallath), formerly referred to as theLittle Triangle, is a concentration ofIsraeli Arab towns and villages adjacent to theGreen Line, located in the easternSharon plain among theSamarian foothills; this area is located within the easternmost boundaries of both theCentral District andHaifa District. The eleven towns are home to approximately 250,000Arab citizens of Israel, representing between 10 and 15% of Israel's Palestinian Arab population.[2]
The Triangle is further divided into the "Northern Triangle" orWadi Ara[3] (aroundKafr Qara,Ar'ara,Baqa al-Gharbiyye,Zemer andUmm al-Fahm) and the "Southern Triangle" (aroundQalansawe,Tayibe,Kafr Qasim,Tira,Kafr Bara andJaljulia). Umm al-Fahm and Tayibe are the social, cultural and economic centers for Arab residents of the region. The Triangle is a stronghold of theIslamic Movement in Israel andRaed Salah, the current leader of the movement's northern faction, is a former mayor ofUmm al-Fahm.
Prior to the1948 Arab–Israeli War and Israel's establishment and sovereignty over the Kafr Qasim, Jaljulia and Kafr Bara area, it was referred to as the "Little Triangle" to differentiate it from the original larger "Triangle" region betweenJenin,Tulkarm, andNablus.[1] The original triangle was dubbed by the British the "Triangle of Terror" or "Triangle of Fear", during the1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine.[1]
The region was originally designated to fall underJordanian jurisdiction, but while negotiating the1949 Armistice Agreements, Israel insisted on having it within its side of the Green Line, for military and strategic reasons. To achieve this, a territorial swap was negotiated, ceding the Israeli territory in the southern hills ofHebron in exchange for the Triangle villages inWadi Ara.[4][5] The term was later expanded to include the entire area around Wadi Ara (the Northern Triangle of today) and the "Little" appendage quickly fell out of common use.
Populations as of 2023 are as follows:[6]
The concept of stripping the citizens of the area of theircitizenship of Israel has been mooted. Several Israeli politicians have suggested the Triangle should be transferred to a futurePalestinian state in exchange for Israel retaining control oversettlements in theWest Bank. The idea is a major part of the 2004Lieberman Plan put forward byYisrael Beiteinu leaderAvigdor Lieberman but is largely opposed by Israeli Arabs.[7] It is also a key feature of the2020 Trump Israel–Palestine plan, which stated:
The Triangle Communities consist of Kafr Qara, Ar’ara, Baha al-Gharbiyye, Umm al Fahm, Qalansawe, Tayibe, Kafr Qasim, Tira, Kafr Bara and Jaljulia. These communities, which largely self-identify as Palestinian, were originally designated to fall under Jordanian control during the negotiations of the Armistice Line of 1949, but ultimately were retained by Israel for military reasons that have since been mitigated. The Vision contemplates the possibility, subject to agreement of the parties that the borders of Israel will be redrawn such that the Triangle Communities become part of the State of Palestine. In this agreement, the civil rights of the residents of the triangle communities would be subject to the applicable laws and judicial rulings of the relevant authorities.[8]
In a July 2000 survey conducted byKul al-Arab among 1,000 residents of Umm al-Fahm, 83 percent of respondents opposed the idea of transferring their city to Palestinian jurisdiction.[9]
The "Little Triangle" forms the narrow Israeli-held strip of the larger district circumscribed by the three West Bank cities of Nablus, Tulkarm, and Jenin. During the Arab Revolt from 1936 to 1939 this district was the center of rebel activity and became known by the British as the "Triangle of Terror"
... the villages of Wadi Ara (the area called the northern Triangle)...
32°15′15″N34°59′40″E / 32.25417°N 34.99444°E /32.25417; 34.99444
