Al-Auja, Jericho Explained

al-Auja
Translit Lang1:Arabic
Translit Lang1 Type:Arabic
Translit Lang1 Info:Arabic: العوجا
Translit Lang1 Type1:Latin
Translit Lang1 Info1:al-'Auja (official)
al-Awja (unofficial)
Type:Municipality type C
Pushpin Map:Palestine
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of al-Auja within Palestine
Coordinates:31.9475°N 35.4617°W
Grid Name:Palestine grid
Grid Position:195/150
Subdivision Type:State
Subdivision Name:State of Palestine
Subdivision Type1:Governorate
Subdivision Name1:jr
Established Title:Founded
Government Type:Municipality (from 1994)
Unit Pref:dunam
Area Total Km2:107.9
Area Total Dunam:107905
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:5224
Population As Of:2017
Population Density Km2:auto

Al-Auja (Arabic: العوجا) is a Palestinian town in the Jericho Governorate in the eastern West Bank, located ten kilometers north of Jericho. The town has a total area of 107,905 dunams, however its built-up area comprises only 832 dunams. It is situated 230 meters below sea level.

Agricultural land makes up over 10% of the town's area, mostly planted with bananas, oranges, and vegetables for which al-Auja is well known. Irrigation water is mainly supplied from the al-Auja spring.[2]

History

The town is built along, and shares the name of, the Wadi al-Auja stream, "al-auja" meaning "the meandering one". This should not be confused with the other river called in Arabic by the same name, Nahr al-Auja, and known by its biblical and Hebrew name as the Yarkon River. During World War I this coincidence led to the term of "the line of the two Aujas" referring to a strategic line connecting the two river valleys.[3]

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Al-Auja, together with ad-Duyuk and Nweimeh had a population of 332; 322 Muslims and 10 Christians,[4] where the Christians were 7 Orthodox, and 3 Syrian Catholic.[5] According to the 1931 census, Al-Auja had a population of 253 Muslims, in 100 houses.[6]

In the 1945 statistics, the village's population was 290, while Arab el Nuseirat had 520, Arab el Kaabina had 260, Arab el Ureinat had 210 and Arab el Saayida had 110 members; a total of 1,390; all Muslims,[7] and together they had jurisdiction over 106,946 dunams of land.[8] Of this, 418 dunams were used for citrus and bananas, 2,822 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land, 6,502 for cereals,[9] while a total of 97,204 dunams were classified as non-cultivable areas.[10]

Jordanian era

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, al-Auja came under Jordanian rule. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950.

Post 1967

Since the 1967 Six-Day War, al-Auja has been under Israeli occupation. 30,147 dunams of al-Auja's land was classified as "closed-off area" barred from Palestinian use.

According to ARIJ, Israel have confiscated land from Al-Auja in order to construct four Israeli settlements:

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Auja had a population of over 4,000 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.[12] In 1997, refugees constituted 24.7% of the population.[13] The 15.5% of Al-Auja area which is located in "Area A", was transferred to the Palestinian National Authority in a 1994 deal which also included Jericho and Gaza. The remaining 84.5% of al-Auja is Area C, which remains under total Israeli control.[14]

The town and the adjacent village of Ras al-Auja are subject to frequent attacks by settlers and military forces. This includes denying access to water sources, pumping which causes local springs to dry up,[15] destruction of houses, confiscation of agricultural equipment,[16] damaging livestock,[17] uprooting of olive and date trees,[18] interference with grazing and violent attacks on Palestinian civilians.[19] In 2024, an illegal outpost was established near Al-Auja from which the settlers and hilltop youth launch attacks on the residents, including dumping waste into the local spring.[20]

Archaeology

Archelais

Archelais, a Herodian town founded by and named after Herod Archelaus, is now an archaeological site on the northern outskirts of Auja (Khirbet el-Beiyudat), and is gradually being covered by modern Palestinian construction and devastated by treasure hunters.[21] [22]

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. February 2018 . Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 . Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) . . 64–82 . 2023-10-24.
  2. http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/al__Auja__993/Article_1995.html Welcome to al-'Auja
  3. Book: The Australian Imperial Force in Sinai and Palestine, 1914-1918 . H. S. Gullett . 1923 . Sydney . Angus & Robertson Ltd. . 487 . Allenby did not hesitate. His original objective had been the "line of the two Aujas" from the Nahr Auja, which falls into the Mediterranean above Jaffa, to the Wady Auja, a little stream which, bursting from springs in the desert foot-hills above the Jordan valley, flows eastwards to the Jordan River about ten miles north of the Dead Sea. . 16 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131103102741/http://static.awm.gov.au/images/collection/pdf/RCDIG1069612--1-.PDF . 3 November 2013 . dead .
  4. Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jericho, p. 19
  5. Barron, 1923, Table XIV, p. 45
  6. Mills, 1932, p. 45
  7. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 24
  8. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 56
  9. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 101
  10. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 151
  11. http://vprofile.arij.org/jericho/pdfs/vprofile/Al%20%27Auja_tp_en.pdf Al 'Auja Town Profile
  12. http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/populati/pop09.aspx Projected Mid -Year Population for Jericho District by Locality 2004- 2006
  13. http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/jer_t6.aspx Palestinian Population by Locality and Refugee Status
  14. http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=754 Al 'Auja village
  15. Web site: 30 November 2022 . Israeli settlers continue to level Palestinian land near Jericho . Wafa.
  16. Web site: 24 March 2022 . Al-'Auja, Jordan Valley: Israel demolishes house under construction and confiscates community residents' bulldozer . BTSELEM.
  17. Web site: 3 February 2024 . Ras 'Ein al-'Auja, Jordan Valley: Israeli settlers, with military and police escort, steal sheep and fire in the air. Police officers arrest the sheep's owner following settlers' false claims . BTSELEM.
  18. Web site: Israel uproots and confiscates dozens of olive and palm seedlings, al-'Auja area, Jericho District . BTSELEM.
  19. Web site: September 8, 2023 . Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinian Village of Al-Auja in Jericho . DAYS OF PALESTINE.
  20. Web site: April 15, 2024 . Extremist settlers begin building new outpost near Jericho . Middle East Monitor.
  21. Jacobson . David M. . Editorial: Vandalism and Worse at Herodian Sites . . 146 . 3 . 2014 . 173-176 . London . 10.1179/0031032814Z.000000000103 . 1743-1301 . free .
  22. Web site: Ben Zvi . Sara Jo . Wanton Destruction on a Calamitous Scale . Jerusalem . 8 January 2018 . Segula Magazine . 20 May 2021.