West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, located ten kilometers north of
Jericho
Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho ...
. The town has a total area of 107,905
dunam
A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; tr, dönüm; he, דונם), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area equivalent to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amou ...
s, 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.
History
The town is built along, and shares the name of, the
Wadi al-Auja
Wadi Auja ( ar, وادي العوجا), also spelled Ouja, known in Hebrew as Nahal Yitav () is a valley or stream ( ar, وادي ', "wadi"), in the West Bank, originating near the Ein Samia spring and flowing to Al-Auja near Jericho b ...
stream, "al-auja" meaning "the meandering one". This should not to be confused with the other river called in Arabic by the same name, Nahr al-Auja, and known by its
biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of ...
and
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
name as the
Yarkon River
The Yarkon River, also Yarqon River or Jarkon River ( he, נחל הירקון, ''Nahal HaYarkon'', ar, نهر العوجا, ''Nahr al-Auja''), is a river in central Israel. The source of the Yarkon ("Greenish" in Hebrew) is at Tel Afek (Antip ...
. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
this coincidence led to the term of "the line of the two Aujas" referring to a strategic line connecting the two river valleys.
British Mandate era
In the
1922 census of Palestine
The 1922 census of Palestine was the first census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine, on 23 October 1922.
The reported population was 757,182, including the military and persons of foreign nationality. The divis ...
ad-Duyuk
Ein ad-Duyuk al-Foqa ( ar, عين الديوك الفوقا), also called Duyuk, is a Palestinian village in the Jericho Governorate in the eastern West Bank situated in the Jordan Valley, located northwest of Jericho. According to the Palestinian ...
and Nweimeh had a population of 332; 322 Muslims and 10 Christians,Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jericho, p 19 /ref> where the Christians were 7 Orthodox, and 3 Syrian Catholic.Barron, 1923, Table XIV, p 45 /ref> According to the 1931 census, Al-Auja had a population of 253 Muslims, in 100 houses.Mills, 1932, p 45 /ref>
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,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p 24 /ref> and together they had jurisdiction over 106,946
dunam
A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; tr, dönüm; he, דונם), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area equivalent to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amou ...
s of land. Of this, 418 dunams were used for citrus and bananas, 2,822 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land, 6,502 for cereals, while a total of 97,204 dunams were classified as non-cultivable areas.
Jordanian era
In the wake of the
1948 Arab–Israeli War
The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 ...
, al-Auja has been under
Israeli occupation
Israeli-occupied territories are the lands that were captured and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. While the term is currently applied to the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights, it has also been used to refer t ...
. 30,147 dunams of al-Auja's land was classified as "closed-off area" barred from Palestinian use.
According to ARIJ,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
have confiscated land from Al-Auja in order to construct four
Israeli settlement
Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
s:
*993 dunams for Nativ HaGdud,Al 'Auja Town Profile p. 19
*499 dunams for
Yitav
Yitav ( he, יִיטַ"ב, an abbreviation of ''Yad Yitzhak Tabenkin'') is an Israeli settlement and moshav shitufi in the southern Jordan Valley of the West Bank. Located just north of Jericho and west of the Palestinian village of al-Auja, ...
.
*497 dunams for
Niran
Na'aran ( he, נערן), formerly known as Niran () is an Israeli settlement organized as a kibbutz in the West Bank. Located in Area C of the Jordan Valley near Jericho,
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS; ar, الجهاز المركزي للإحصاء الفلسطيني) is the official
statistical institution of the State of Palestine. Its main task is to provide credible statistical figures a ...
, al-Auja had a population of over 4,000 inhabitants in mid-year 2006. In 1997,
refugee
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS; ar, الجهاز المركزي للإحصاء الفلسطيني) is the official
statistical institution of the State of Palestine. Its main task is to provide credible statistical figures a ...
. The 15.5% of Al-Auja area which is located in " Area A", was transferred to the
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,
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.Al 'Auja village Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem. 21 January 2006.
Herodian
Herodian or Herodianus ( el, Ἡρωδιανός) of Syria, sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled ''History of the Empire from the Death o ...
town founded by and named after
Herod Archelaus
Herod Archelaus (, ''Hērōidēs Archelaos''; 23 BC – ) was ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea, including the cities Caesarea and Jaffa, for a period of nine years (). He was the son of Herod the Great and Malthace the Samar ...
, 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.
Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem
The Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ; ar, معهد الابحاث التطبيقية - القدس) is a Palestinian NGO founded in 1990 with its main office in Bethlehem in the West Bank. ARIJ is actively working on research proje ...