| Al-Maniya | |
| Translit Lang1: | Arabic |
| Translit Lang1 Type: | Arabic |
| Translit Lang1 Info: | المانیا |
| Translit Lang1 Type1: | Latin |
| Translit Lang1 Info1: | al-Minya (official) |
| Type: | Municipality type D (Village council) |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Al-Maniya within Palestine |
| Coordinates: | 31.6281°N 35.2164°W |
| Grid Name: | Palestine grid |
| Subdivision Type: | State |
| Subdivision Name: | State of Palestine |
| Subdivision Type1: | Governorate |
| Subdivision Name1: | Bethlehem |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Unit Pref: | dunam |
| Area Total Km2: | 8.9 |
| Area Total Dunam: | 8908 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 1346 |
| Population As Of: | 2017 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Name meaning |
| Blank Info Sec1: | Kh. el Minyeh: the ruin of el Minyeh[2] |
Al-Maniya (Arabic: المانیا, also spelled al-Minya) is a Palestinian village in the Bethlehem Governorate in the central West Bank, 8.6 km southeast of Bethlehem and just south of Tuqu'. It incorporates the nearby hamlet of Wadi Muhammad within its jurisdiction. Most of the village, including much of its built-up area, is in Area C, giving the Israeli military full control over the village. It had a population of 1,346 in the 2017 census by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
The village was founded by immigrants from the southern town of Sa'ir near Hebron. According to local legend, its name derives from a cave in the vicinity that inhabited by a Byzantine-era queen named "Maniya." There is one mosque, the Palestine Mosque, in the village.[3]
French explorer Victor Guérin passed by the place in 1863, and described it as having ruins "of little importance."[4] In 1883, PEF's Survey of Western Palestine, it was described as having "foundations and ruined walls, with one or two caves, which are inhabited."[5]
In 1996, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) established a seven-member village council to administer al-Maniya. The council members are appointed by the PNA. Principal families include al-Jabarin, al-Frookh, al-Kawazba, at-Tarwa and ash-Shalalda.[3]
. Victor Guérin. Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine. 1: Judee, pt. 3. 1869. L'Imprimerie Nationale. Paris. French.
. Edward Henry Palmer. 1881. The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
