:''Khirbet ad-Deir, part of Teqoa, should not be confused with

Khirbet ad-Deir Khirbet al-Deir ( ar, خربة الدير), or Khirbet ed-Deir, is a Palestinian village located southwest of Bethlehem, and northwest of Hebron. The town is in the Hebron Governorate of central West Bank. According to the 2007 Palestinian Centr ...

Hebron Governorate The Hebron Governorate ( ar, محافظة الخليل, Muḥāfaẓat al-Ḫalīl) is an administrative district of Palestine in the southern West Bank. The governorate's land area is and its population according to the Palestinian Central B ...

.'' Teqoa ( ar, تقوع, also spelled Tuquʿ) is a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

town in the

Bethlehem Governorate The Bethlehem Governorate ( ar, محافظة بيت لحم, Muḥāfaẓat Bayt Laḥm) is one of 16 Governorates of Palestine. It covers an area of the West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Its principal city and district capital is Bethlehem. Accordi ...

, located southeast of

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

in the

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 ...

. The town is built adjacent to the biblical site of Tekoa (Thecoe), now Khirbet Tuqu’, from which it takes its name. Today's town includes three other localities: Khirbet Ad Deir, Al Halkoom, and Khirbet Teqoa. According to the

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 ...

(PCBS), Teqoa had a population of 8,881 in 2007.2007 PCBS Census

. p. 117 The town is a part of the 'Arab al-Ta'amira village cluster, along with

Za'atara Za'atara ( ar, زعترة) is a Palestinian town located southeast of Bethlehem. The town is in the Bethlehem Governorate central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of over 6,289 in 2007 ...

Beit Ta'mir Beit Ta'mir ( ar, خربة بيت تعمر) is a Palestinian village located six kilometers southeast of Bethlehem.The town is in the Bethlehem Governorate central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village ha ...

, Hindaza, ''Khirbet al-Deir'' and

al-Asakra Al-Asakra ( ar, العساكرة) is a Palestinian village in the Bethlehem Governorate in the south-central West Bank, located 4.5 kilometers southeast of Bethlehem. It is a part of the Jannatah municipality. According to the Palestinian Central ...

. Tuqu has a municipal jurisdiction of over 191,262 dunams, but its built-up area consists of 590 dunams, as 98.5% of the village's land was classified as Area C, and 1.5% as

Area B The Palestinian enclaves are areas in the West Bank designated for Palestinians under a variety of U.S. and Israeli-led proposals to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The enclaves are often compared to the nominally self-governing black ...

in the 1995 accords. Situated in the immediate vicinity is the modern Israeli settlement of Tekoa, established in 1975 as a military outpost. Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are illegal under international law.

Etymology

''Strong's Concordance'' states that Tekoa means in

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 ...

"a stockade". Gesenius' lexicon uses "the pitching" in reference to tents.

Location

Teqoa is located 12 km (horizontal distance) south-east of

. It is bordered by Teqoa wilds to the east,

Jannatah Jannatah ( ar, جناتة) is a Palestinian town in the central West Bank south of Bethlehem in the Bethlehem Governorate. Nearby villages include Hindaza in the north and Tuqu' to the south. It is situated above sea level. The total land area ...

town to the north,

Al Manshiya AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

and

Marah Rabah Marah Rabah is a Palestinian village located twelve kilometers south of Bethlehem. The village is in the Bethlehem Governorate central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of over 1,320 in ...

to the west, and

Al Maniya Al-Maniya ( ar, 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 w ...

and

Kisan The Kus Indian Sut Asla Nicaragua ra (Nicaraguan Coast Indian Unity), better known by its acronym KISAN, was a rebel organization formed in 1985 to unify the struggle of the Miskito Indians and other indigenous peoples of Nicaragua's Atlantic Coas ...

villages to the south.

In the Hebrew Bible

According to biblical sources,

Ephrath Ephrath or Ephrathah or Ephratah ( he, אֶפְרָת \ אֶפְרָתָה) is a biblically-referenced former name of Bethlehem, meaning "fruitful". It is also a personal name. Biblical place A very old tradition is that Ephrath refers to Bethleh ...

ites from

and the Calebites from

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...

founded Teqoa. Samuel talks of a "wise woman" of Tekoa in the time of

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

().Singer, I.
The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia - Tekoa
accessed 25 July 2017 King Rehoboam fortified the city and made it strategically important (). The people of Teqoa who returned from Babylon were Calebites (), and they participated in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem (). The location of biblical Teqoa is well defined in Scripture. In the '' Jewish Encyclopedia'' (1901),

Isidore Singer Isidore Singer (10 November 1859 – 20 February 1939) was an American encyclopedist and editor of ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' and founder of the American League for the Rights of Man. Biography Singer was born in 1859 in Weisskirchen, M ...

notes that "the Greek text of a passage
Joshua 15:59
lost in the Hebrew .e.,_in_the_Masoretic_Text_().html" ;"title="Masoretic_Text.html" ;"title=".e., in the Masoretic Text">.e., in the Masoretic Text ()">Masoretic_Text.html" ;"title=".e., in the Masoretic Text">.e., in the Masoretic Text ()places it, together with

and other towns of the hill-country of Judah, south of Jerusalem". Singer offers as secure the identification of the site at "Khirbat Taḳu'ah". Jeremiah places Teqoa in the south (), and two other passages speak about the desert, or wilderness, of Tekoa ( and ). However, describes the Amos (prophet), prophet as "a herdsman of Tekoa", suggesting that the land was reasonable for shepherding.

Archaeology of Khirbet Teqoa

Teqoa, the town known from the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' classical ancient sources, has been identified with Khirbet Teqoa ("ruins of Teqoa"), immediately east of modern Teqoa, both of which are c. 5 miles (8 km) south of

,Negev and Gibson, 2001, p. 496 also spelled Khirbet al-Tuq'u.Ellenblum, 2003, pp
136137
/ref> Various ruins were seen at the site in the mid-19th century. These included the walls of houses, cisterns, broken columns and heaps of building stones, some of which had "bevelled edges" which supposedly indicated ancient

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

origin.

History of excavation

Khirbet Teqoa (Grid Ref. 170100/115600), has been excavated by Martin Heicksen (1968), John J. Davis (1970), and Sayf al-Din Haddad (1981).

Periods

The main periods of habitation brought to light by archaeological digs at Khirbet Teqoa are the

Iron Age II The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly a ...

, and the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

period. Less well represented are the Iron Age IIb,

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, Early and Late Roman, and medieval ( Crusader to

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

) periods.

Byzantine-period remnants

The Bible indicates Teqoa as the birthplace of prophet

Amos Amos or AMOS may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Amos Records, an independent record label established in Los Angeles, California, in 1968 * Amos (band), an American Christian rock band * ''Amos'' (album), an album by Michael Ray * ''Amos' ...

, and from the 4th century CE on a tomb alleged to be his was said to be visible at the village. A chapel built over the tomb is attested in the 6th century and is mentioned again in the 8th. The ruins consist of a double cave over what was a baptismal font,

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

floors; a Monophysite monastery is located near the tomb. Byzantine ceramics have been found. The remains of the

church and

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

are still visible. When Victor Guérin visited the site in 1863, he described the remains of an almost completely destroyed church, and an octagonal baptismal font, carved into a monolithic block of reddish

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, measuring a meter and ten centimeters deep inside, and one meter thirty centimeters in diameter. On different sides of the octagon crosses were carved. At the bottom of the baptismal font the water flowed through an opening into a tank. The ''

Survey of Western Palestine The PEF Survey of Palestine was a series of surveys carried out by the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) between 1872 and 1877 for the Survey of Western Palestine and in 1880 for the Survey of Eastern Palestine. The survey was carried out after the ...

'', with data collected between 1872 and 1877, refers again to the font: "There is also a very fine octagonal font about 4 feet high and 4 feet 3 inches diameter of inscribed circle; on every other side is a design. Two of these designs represent crosses, a third is a wreath, the fourth is formed by two squares interlaced diagonally to one another. The font is of good reddish stone." A magical amulet etched on a silver plate and written in

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

is among the findings from the Byzantine period. The amulet contains 16 lines, 11 of which use

Hebrew script The Hebrew alphabet ( he, אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish ...

; the others show magic characters. It dates to the fifth to seventh centuries CE, and is currently located in the SBF Museum, Jerusalem.

Other archaeological sites and landmarks

The site of Khirbet Teqoa is considered "qualified in terms of tourism". A second archaeological site near Teqoa, Khirbet Umm El 'Amd, is "not qualified" in terms of tourism. The New Lavra of Saint Sabas (est. 507) is today in ruins at the site of Bir el-Wa'ar, c. 3 km south of Tuqu'.

Paleolithic caves in Wadi Khureitun

Outside Teqoa, adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Tekoa is

Wadi Khureitun Wadi Khureitun or Nahal Tekoa is a wadi in a deep ravine in the Judaean Desert in the West Bank, west of the Dead Sea, springing near Tekoa. Name The Hebrew name, Nahal Tekoa ("Tekoa Stream"), and the English name used in some Christian contexts, ...

, sometimes spelled Khreiton ("

Chariton Chariton of Aphrodisias ( grc-gre, Χαρίτων ὁ Ἀφροδισιεύς) was the author of an ancient Greek novel probably titled '' Callirhoe'' (based on the subscription in the sole surviving manuscript). However, it is regularly referred t ...

Valley"). The valley is notable for containing three prominent caves inhabited since the Paleolithic era: Umm Qatfa, Umm Qala'a and Erq al-Ahmar. The latter was inhabited since 8,000 BCE and traces of fire have been found in Umm Qala'a, dating back 500,000 years.

History of Teqoa

Hellenistic period

During the

Maccabean Revolt The Maccabean Revolt ( he, מרד החשמונאים) was a Jewish rebellion led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and against Hellenistic influence on Jewish life. The main phase of the revolt lasted from 167–160 BCE and ende ...

it was fortified by the Greek general Bacchides (

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

, ''Ant.'' XIII, 15).

Roman period

Josephus again mentions Teqoa in connection with the

First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt ( he, המרד הגדול '), or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled ...

(''Life'' 420, ''War'' IV, 518).

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...

(c. 260s-340) mentions a village by the name of Teqoa ('' Onomasticon'' 98:17, etc.).

Byzantine period

Teqoa is again mentioned in Byzantine sources.

Muslim conquest and Early Muslim period

Teqoa was captured by during the

Muslim conquest The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He esta ...

of Syria and with time, several of its inhabitants converted to Islam. There was a significant nomadic Bedouin presence in the village's vicinity.

Crusader and Ayyubid period

Teqoa was known as "Casal Techue" by the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

who conquered Palestine in 1099. Its Christian residents welcomed the Crusaders. Medieval chronicler

William of Tyre William of Tyre ( la, Willelmus Tyrensis; 113029 September 1186) was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from his predecessor, William I, the Englishman, a former ...

relates that the Christians of the village aided the Crusaders during the Siege of Jerusalem in 1099, by guiding them to local springs and food sources. Many of the villagers also joined the Crusader army.Thekoa - (Tuqu'a)
Studium Biblicum Franciscanum - Jerusalem. In 1108, the Russian traveller Abbot Daniel noted that Casal Techue was "a very big village" with a mixed Christian and Muslim population. The village was granted by

King Fulk Fulk ( la, Fulco, french: Foulque or ''Foulques''; c. 1089/1092 – 13 November 1143), also known as Fulk the Younger, was the count of Anjou (as Fulk V) from 1109 to 1129 and the king of Jerusalem with his wife from 1131 to his death. During t ...

and

Queen Melisende Melisende (1105 – 11 September 1161) was Queen of Jerusalem from 1131 to 1153, and regent for her son between 1153 and 1161, while he was on campaign. She was the eldest daughter of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, and the Armenian princess M ...

to the canons of the Holy Sepulchre in 1138 in exchange for

Bethany Bethany ( grc-gre, Βηθανία,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā'') or what is locally known as Al-Eizariya or al-Azariya ( ar, العيزرية, " laceof Lazarus"), is a Palestinian town in the West B ...

, the concession allowing the inhabitants to collect bitumen and '

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

' from the Dead Sea shores. The area's population included

villein A villein, otherwise known as ''cottar'' or '' crofter'', is a serf tied to the land in the feudal system. Villeins had more rights and social status than those in slavery, but were under a number of legal restrictions which differentiated them ...

s comprising local Christians and Muslims, the latter being Islamised former Christians, and apparently also recent

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

(West European) settlers, with Bedouin living outside the village. The ruins of a castle, a Frankish

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

from the period, are found at Khirbat at-Teqoa at the edge of the biblical and Byzantine archaeological mound, some 41x48x60 m in size, and protected by a rock-cut ditch.Pringle, 1997, p
103
/ref>

Zengid The Zengid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Oghuz Turkic origin, which ruled parts of the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia on behalf of the Seljuk Empire and eventually seized control of Egypt in 1169. In 1174 the Zengid state extended from Tripoli ...

forces captured Casal Techue in 1138. The Knights Templar under Robert the Burgundian managed to recapture the town easily, but experienced their first military defeat when Zengid forces counterattacked, leaving the area between the town and

"strewn with Templar bodies" according to William of Tyre. He blamed the Templars' defeat on their failure to pursue fleeing Muslim forces which allowed them to regroup just outside Casal Techue. Syrian geographer

Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) ( ar, ياقوت الحموي الرومي) was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine Greek ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th-13th centuries). He is known for ...

described it as "a village famous for its honey" during a visit there in 1225,Pringle, 1998, pp
347
348 during Ayyubid rule.

Ottoman period

Teqoa, like all of Palestine, was incorporated into the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in 1517. According to an Ottoman census in 1526, 82 families lived in the village, 55 of which were Christians. In 1596 the village appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the ''

Nahiya A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...

'' of Quds of the '' Liwa'' of Quds. It had a population of 62 Muslim households and five Christian households. The villagers paid taxes on wheat, barley, olives, vines or fruit trees, and goats or beehives; a total of 27,000 akçe. All of the revenue went to a

waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitab ...

. The majority of Teqoa's Christian inhabitants emigrated to Bethlehem in the 18th century.Taqou' village
(1998) Mitri Raheb and Fred Strickert, ''Bethlehem 2000: Past and Present'', Palmyra publishing house, 1998, via ''This Week in Palestine'' Teqoa's Christian migrants formed Bethlehem's Qawawsa Quarter.Teqoa area
Zeiter, Leila. Centre for Preservation of Culture and History. French explorer

Victor Guérin Victor Guérin (15 September 1821 – 21 Septembe 1890) was a French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included Greece, Asia Min ...

visited the place in 1863, and he described finding the scarce remains of a church, and an octagonal baptismal font.Guérin, 1869, p
141
/ref> The PEF's ''

'' in 1883 mentions that ''Khurbet Tequa'' "seems to have been large and important in Christian times. It is still inhabited by a few persons living in the caves ..Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p
368
/ref>

Jordanian period

The modern town of Teqoa was established in 1948 during Jordanian rule.Kark and Oren-Nordheim, 2001, pp.
202241

279
ff The inhabitants were Bedouin tribesmen from the 'Arab al-Ta'amira tribe. Tuqu' Town Profile
Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem, 2008. Retrieved on 2012-03-13. In 1961, the population was 555.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p
23
/ref>

Post-1967

During the

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 Ju ...

in 1967, Teqoa came 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 to a ...

, remaining so until this day. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 1,362. Over the years,

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 ...

has

confiscated Confiscation (from the Latin ''confiscatio'' "to consign to the ''fiscus'', i.e. transfer to the treasury") is a legal form of seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of spoliation under legal forms, ...

1436 dunams of Teqoa's land for the construction of three Israeli settlements: Tekoa,

Mitzpe Shalem Mitzpe Shalem ( he, מִצְפֵּה שָׁלֵם, , Shalem Lookout) is an Israeli settlement and former kibbutz in the eastern West Bank. Located near Highway 90 about north of Ein Gedi and north of the Green Line about 1 km from the wes ...

, and a resort, Metzoke Dragot. In addition, the settlers have constructed various outposts. In May 2001, after the killing of two Jewish Israeli boys outside the nearby Israeli settlement of Tekoa, Teqoa was temporarily sealed off by the Israeli Army. Consequently, residents could not reach their jobs in Bethlehem and Israel, and shepherds could not reach grazing lands outside the village. Prophet Amos's Words Still Ring True
Abu Ghazaleh, Sami. International Center of Bethlehem

Demographics

According to a 1997 census by the

(PCBS), Teqoa had a population of 4,890 inhabitants. There were only 24

Palestinian refugees Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country over the course of the 1947–49 Palestine war (1948 Palestinian exodus) and the Six-Day War (1967 Palestinian exodu ...

, making up 0.5% of the population. There were 2,534 males and 2,356 females. Tuqu's population grew to 8,881 in the 2007 PCBS census. There were 1,368 households, with the average household size consisting of between six and seven members. The gender ratio was 49% women and 51% men. Teqoa has a Muslim majority and there are ten mosques in the town. They are the following: Abu Bakr as-Siddik Mosque, Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque, al-Sahaba Mosque, al-Tawba Mosque, Abd al-Rahman Ibn 'Oof Mosque, Zaid Ibn Haritha Mosque, al-Abbas Mosque and Salah ad-Deen Mosque, al-Ansar Mosque and Ali Ibn Abi Talib Mosque. Most of the inhabitants belong to the 'Arab al-Ta'amira tribe. Principal clans include Badan, Jibreen, Sha'er, 'Emur, Nawawra, 'Urooj, Abu Mifrih, az-Zawahra, Sbeih, at-Tnooh, Sleiman and Sabbah.

Economy

Agriculture, particularly livestock, dominates Teqoa's economy. Dairy is produced and sold in local markets and in Bethlehem. Industry is virtually nonexistent, although there is a stone quarry and brick factory in the town. Unemployment is high at about 50% and mostly caused by Israeli restrictions on movement and access to the labor market in Israel proper as a result of the Second Intifada between 2000 and 2004. As of 2008 around 45% of Teqoa's workforce was employed in the Israeli labor market while another 30% worked in agriculture. The remainder of economic activity was split between employment in the Palestinian government or trade and services. Efforts have been made to attract tourists. A municipal center was built near the ruins of a

church in Teqoa. Tuqu' is well known for its vegetables.

Government

98.5% of Teqoa's land area has been located in

Area C (West Bank) Area C ( he, שטח C; ar, منطقة ج) is an Oslo II administrative division of the West Bank, defined as "areas of the West Bank outside Areas A and B". Area C constitutes about 61 percent of the West Bank territory; the area was committ ...

, or Nature reserves since 1995, thus giving 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,

no control over its administration and civil affairs. Originally, twelve tribal elders managed the town, but unable to plan and carry out internal improvements, they ceded their power to a council of younger men. The 13-member municipal council was established in 1997 to administer Teqoa as well as the villages of ''Khirbet al-Deir'', al-Halqum and Khirbet Tuqu' which were put under Tuqu's jurisdiction. Its first mayor, Suleiman Abu Mufarreh, initiated the construction of the municipal hall and recovered Tuqu's stolen baptismal font, relocating it to the front of the municipal hall.Levin, Jerry
Save our heritage in the Holy Land
''

Al-Ahram Weekly ''Al-Ahram Weekly'' is an English-language weekly broadsheet printed by the Al-Ahram Publishing House in Cairo, Egypt. History and profile ''Al Ahram Weekly'' was established in 1991 by the '' Al-Ahram'' newspaper, which also runs a French-la ...

''. October 2003. Teqoa is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

consisting of eleven members, including the mayor. In the 2005 Palestinian municipal elections, the

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...

-backed Reform list won the majority of the seats (eight), while the independent local United Teqoa list won three. Reform member Khaled Ahmad Hamida won the post of mayor, succeeding Raed Hamida.Local Elections (Round two)- Successful candidates by local authority, gender and No. of votes obtained
Central Elections Commission - Palestine, p.25

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * (pp
183
ff, Tekoa) * (pp
43
44, no. 174) *

External links

Tekoa
Welcome to Palestine *Survey of Western Palestine, Map 21
IAAWikimedia commons Tuqu' Town (Fact Sheet)

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 ...

(ARIJ)
Tuqu’ Town Profile
ARIJ
Tuqu’ aerial photo
ARIJ {{Bethlehem Governorate Towns in the West Bank Populated places in the Bethlehem Governorate Hebrew Bible cities Books of Samuel Municipalities of the State of Palestine