Al-Bireh

Template:Infobox Palestinian Authority municipality al-Bireh or el-Bira (Arabic: البيرة) is a Palestinian city adjacent to Ramallah in the central West Bank, 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) north of Jerusalem. It is situated on the central ridge running through the West Bank and is 860 meters (2,820 ft) above sea level, covering an area of 22.4 square kilometers (8.6 sq mi). Its name means “Water Well,” and is believed to be derived from the biblical Beeroth.

Because of its location al-Bireh served as an economic crossroad between the north and south, along the caravan route between Jerusalem and Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of approximately 39,538 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

History

Al-Bireh, 1880

Edward Robinson identified Al-Bireh as the biblical Be'eroth, although this has been challenged by other scholars. It is mentioned by Saint Jerome who described it as "a large village on the way to Emmaus (Imwas), 7 miles from Jerusalem."

The Crusaders captured and named the town Birra. They built a castle, church and hospice there. The latter two buildings were built by the Templars in 1146 and belonged to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Ayyubids under Saladin drove away the Crusaders from Birra when they reconquered interior Palestine after the Battle of Hittin in 1187, and completely demolished the town. Yaqut al-Hamawi mentions seeing the ruins a few times during his travels in the area. Nearing the end of Ayyubid rule, in 1280, the modern town of al-Bireh was an inhabited village. The Ayyubids built a mosque in the town dedicated to Umar ibn al-Khattab adjacent to the church ruins.Until 1917, the city served as a political and administrative center for the Ottoman Empire.

On June 6, 1967, Israeli troops took control of the city ithe Six-Day War. In 1994, the civil administration of the city was turned over to the Palestinian National Authority under the Oslo Accords. Al-Bireh is the second largest center of Palestinian administration after Gaza. Besides the governor’s headquarters, it also hosts a considerable number of governmental, non-governmental, and private organizations, including the Ministries of Transportation, Supply, Information, Public Works and Higher Education, as well as the Palestine Broadcasting Corporation and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. Due to its proximity with Ramallah, the towns form a single constituency for elections to the Palestinian National Authority.

Demographics

In a 1922 survey by the British Mandate, al-Bireh had a population of 1,479, rising to 2,292 inhabitants in the 1931 census. In a 1945 land and population survey by Sami Hadawi, the town's residents numbered 2,920.

The 1997 census carried out by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics counted 27,856 residents, of which the gender distribution was exactly half male and half female. The majority of the inhabitants were Palestinian refugees who made up 55.4% of the total population. According to the PCBS, in mid-year 2006, al-Bireh had a population of 39,538 inhabitants. In the 2007 PCBS census, there were 38,202 people living in the city.

The vast majority of today's al-Bireh non-refugee inhabitants descend from the ancient Palestinian-Canaanites who mixed with Arabs from the Bani Umar tribe when they came to Palestine in late 16th-century.

Al-Bireh is inhabited by five major clans: Abed, Quraan, Hamayyel, Tawil, and Karakrah. Rafidi, a Christian family, was accepted into the Tawil clan.

Local government

Al-Bireh established a city council headed by mayor Eid Musa in 1928 under the British Mandate. Eight other mayors took office either through elections or government appointments following Musa, until 1982, when Israel dissolved the council. They replaced it with the Civil Administration of Al-Bireh led by an Israeli officer. In 1986, Israel appointed a temporary council, but the municipal council was established in 1996 by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and consisted of 12 member with Sheikh Jamal al-Tawil as mayor.

In the Palestinian municipal elections, 2005 the Hamas-backed Reform and Change List won 9 of the 15 seats, while independent lists won the remaining 6. The current mayor is Umar Hammayil.

Al-Bireh, located in Area A, is under the complete control of the PNA.

Religious and educational institutions

Al-Quds University maintains a campus in al-Bireh.

Medical care

In 2010, the Jerusalem Fund, National Arab American Medical Association Foundation and Physicians for Peace dedicated the Palestine Diabetes Institute in al-Bireh.

Sports

The the 7,000-seat Majed Ass'ad or Al Bireh International Stadium was completed in 2010; originally constructed in 1996, it was upgraded to international standards from 2006 to 2010 at a cost of €3 million. The work was funded by France, the German Development Bank, the UN Development Agency, and FIFA. Construction was halted by the Israeli Supreme Planning Council on November 1, 2009, but resumed in late December. In November 2009, the nearby settlement of Psagot petitioned the High Court of Justice to have the stadium shut down, citing concerns that rowdy soccer fans might attack Psagot.

The Palestinian Center for Judo, Karate and Aerobics is located in al-Bireh.

Sister cities

• Youngstown, Ohio.
• Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Gennevilliers, France

Notable residents

• Ahmad Sa'adat

External links

• Al-Bireh Municipality Website
• Al-Bireh Population
• The Al-Bireh demonstration project on agricultural reuse of wastewater in the West Bank