Jabalia

A large cemetery dating to the 8th century CE was found near Jabalia. The workmanship indicates that the Christian community in Gaza was still very much in existence in the early Islamic era of rule in Palestine, and capable of artistic achievements. The remains of the pavement spared by the iconoclasts show depictions of wild game, birds, and country scenes. The late dating of the mosaic pavement proves that the intervention of the iconoclasts, after 750, is later than previously thought and is associated with Abbasid conservatives.Humbert, Jean-Baptiste. [http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/articles/HumbertGaza.html The rivers of Paradise in the Byzantine Church near Jabaliyah - Gaza] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227015130/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/articles/HumbertGaza.html |date=2009-02-27 }} Studium Biblicum Franciscanum - Jerusalem. 16 December 2000.

While working on the Salah al-Din Road, laborers accidentally uncovered a monastery from the Byzantine period. The site was excavated by the Palestinian Department of Antiquities. Now the stunning Byzantine mosaics of the monastery are covered with sand to shield them from erosion caused by the direct impact of the winter rain.[http://www.papp.undp.org/en/newsroom/publications/pdf/focus/04v1.pdf Jabalya Mosaic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327014858/http://www.papp.undp.org/en/newsroom/publications/pdf/focus/04v1.pdf |date=2009-03-27 }} Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People. p.6. 2004. Byzantine ceramics have also been found.Dauphin, 1998, p. 883

In 2022, the restoration of a fifth-century Byzantine church carried out by the French organisation Premiere Urgence Internationale and the British Council was finished. The church is decorated with mosaics and religious texts written in Greek.{{cite web| url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/restored-byzantine-church-re-opens-in-gaza-171021 | title = Restored Byzantine church re-opens in Gaza |work=www.hurriyetdailynews.com | date = 26 January 2022 |access-date=31 October 2023}}

Jabalia was known for its fertile soil and citrus trees. The Mamluk Governor of Gaza Sanjar al-Jawli ruled the area in the early 14th century and endowed part of Jabalia's land to the al-Shamah Mosque he built in Gaza.

Until 2014, Jabalia also had the ancient Omari Mosque. The site was believed to have housed a mosque since the seventh century, and its portico and minaret dated back to the 14th century, but the Omari was destroyed by Israeli bombings in 2014.{{Cite web |last=AFP |title=Long-neglected Gaza heritage wilts in war |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/long-neglected-gaza-heritage-wilts-in-war/ |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}} The portico consists of three arcades supported by four stone columns. The arcades have pointed arches and the portico is covered by crossing vaults.[http://www.mideasttravelling.net/palestine/gaza/gaza_culture.htm Travel in Gaza] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823050026/http://www.mideasttravelling.net/palestine/gaza/gaza_culture.htm |date=2013-08-23 }} MidEastTravelling.

Incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, Jabalia appeared in 1596 tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Gaza of the Liwa of Gazza. It had a population of 331 households, all Muslim, who paid taxes on wheat, barley, vine yards, and fruit trees; a total of 37,640 akçe. 2/3 of the revenue went to a waqf.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 144

In 1838, Edward Robinson noted Jebalia as a Muslim village, located in the Gaza district.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/118/mode/1up 118]

In 1863, Victor Guérin found in the mosque fragments of old constructions, and at the well some broken columns.Guérin, 1869, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongog02gu#page/175/mode/1up 175]-176; as referred by Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp03conduoft#page/251/mode/1up 251] He further noted: "This village, towards the west, borders on the dunes of the coast. It is surrounded, on the other three sides, by fertile gardens, separated from each other by hedges of cacti and other thorny shrubs. Cultivated with care, they are planted with fig, pomegranate, almond, apricot, lemon and orange trees. There are also a few apple trees. Residents go to sell their fruit in Gaza's various markets."Guérin, 1869, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongog02gu#page/176/mode/1up 176]: "Ce village, vers l'ouest, touche aux dunes de la côte. Il est entouré, des trois autres côtés, de fertiles jardins, que separent entre eux des haies de cactus et d'autres arbustes épineux. Cultivés avec soin, ils sont plantés de figuiers, de grenadiers, d'amandiers, d'apricotiers, de citronniers et d'orangers. On y aperçoit aussi quelques pommiers. Les habitants vont vendre leurs fruits aux divers marchés de Gaza."

An Ottoman village list from about 1870 found that the village had a population of 828, in a total of 254 houses, though the population count included men, only.Socin, 1879, p. [https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde01deut#page/153/mode/1up 153]Hartmann, 1883, p. [https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ#page/n937/mode/1up 129], noted 253 houses In the Palestine Exploration Fund's 1883 Survey of Western Palestine, Jabalia was described as being a large adobe village, with gardens and a well on the northwest. It had a mosque named Jamia Abu Berjas.Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp03conduoft#page/236/mode/1up 236]

File:Jabalia 1931.jpg

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Jabalia had a population of 1,775 inhabitants, all Muslim,Barron, 1923, Table V, Sub-district of Gaza, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n10/mode/1up 8] increasing in the 1931 census to 2,425, still all Muslims, in 631 houses.Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 4]

File:Beit Hanoun 1945.jpg

In the 1945 statistics, Jabalia had a population of 3,520, all Muslims,Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p31.jpg 31] with 11,497 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Gaza/Page-045.jpg 45] Of this, 138 dunams were for citrus and bananas, 1,009 for plantations and irrigable land, 1,036 for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Gaza/Page-087.jpg 87] while 101 dunams were built-up land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Gaza/Page-137.jpg 137]

{{see also|2004 Israeli operation in the northern Gaza Strip}}

During the early months of First Intifada on 27 March 1989 Fares S'aid Falcha, aged 50, was beaten by Israeli soldiers. He died 3 weeks later in the Makassed Hospital. A report was compiled by the Military Police Investigators and details were passed on to the Chief Military Prosecutor.Talmor, Ronny (translated by Ralph Mandel) (1990) The Use of Firearms - By the Security Forces in the Occupied Territories. B'Tselem. [https://www.btselem.org/sites/default/files2/publication/199007_use_of_firearms_eng.doc download] p. 75 MK Yair Tsaban to defence ministers Yitzhak Rabin & Yitzhak Shamir, p.81 Rabin's reply

In late 2006, Jabalia was the scene of mass protests against airstrikes on homes. Israel contacted the residences of several Hamas members who launched missiles at Israeli civilians from the houses, warning them of an airstrike within the next 30 minutes. Neighbors responded by forming a human shield and successfully stalled the demolition.{{cite news |author=Conal Urquhart in Tel Aviv |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/nov/20/israel |title=Palestinians use human shield to halt Israeli air strike on militants' homes {{pipe}} World news |work=The Guardian |date= 2006-11-20|access-date=2010-05-08 | location=London}} In 2021, seven people were killed by a Hamas rocket.

{{main|Battle of Jabalia|Second battle of Jabalia}}

{{See also|31 October 2023 Jabalia refugee camp airstrike|Jabalia refugee camp airstrikes (2023–present)}}

The Jabalia refugee camp, which has been the target of multiple Israeli air strikes during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, was struck again on 31 October.{{cite news |last1=Mpoke Bigg |first1=Matthew |last2=Zraick |first2=Karen |last3=Boxerman |first3=Aaron |title=Images of the Jabaliya refugee camp show a large crater and widespread damage. |work=The New York Times |date=31 October 2023 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/10/31/world/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news/jabaliya-refugee-camp-gaza-damage?smid=url-share |access-date=31 October 2023}} The Israeli air-strike killed at least 50 Palestinians and trapped more than a hundred beneath the rubble, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.{{cite web |title=Rescue teams trying to evacuate people from under the rubble |url=https://aje.io/93du7y?update=2452212 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=31 October 2023}} The Indonesia Hospital said most casualties were women and children.{{cite news|title=Jabalia: Israel air strike reportedly kills dozens at Gaza refugee camp|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67276822|publisher=BBC News|author= David Gritten}} Gaza Interior Ministry stated the camp had been "completely destroyed," with preliminary estimates of about 400 wounded or dead.{{cite news |title=Jabalia refugee camp 'completely destroyed' |url=https://aje.io/93du7y?update=2451841 |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=31 October 2023}} IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari confirmed that Israeli fighter jets attacked the refugee camp,{{Cite web |title=Israel Gaza live news: Dozens reported killed in Gaza refugee camp blast |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67258466 |access-date=31 October 2023 |website=BBC News |date=30 October 2023 |language=en-gb}} and stated that the attack killed a Hamas commander who led the 7 October attacks, dozens of Palestinian militants, and destroyed Palestinian tunnels.{{cite news |title=Dozens reported killed in Gaza refugee camp blast |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-middle-east-67258466?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=65418cfb8ae7803bb6845e16%26IDF%20gives%20more%20details%20about%20attack%20on%20Jabalia%262023-10-31T23%3A39%3A27.247Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:bfe645c9-1a79-457a-996f-76ac44d98154&pinned_post_asset_id=65418cfb8ae7803bb6845e16&pinned_post_type=share |access-date=1 November 2023 |work=BBC News |date=30 October 2023 |language=en-gb}} Hamas claims none of its commanders were present and that Israel was using these claims as an excuse for the attack.{{Cite news |last1=Al-Mughrabi |first1=Nidal |last2=Rose |first2=Emily |last3=Al-Mughrabi |first3=Nidal |date=31 October 2023 |title=Israel strikes dense Gaza camp, says it kills Hamas commander |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-says-it-fires-israeli-troops-pressing-gaza-ground-assault-2023-10-31/ |access-date=1 November 2023}} The mayor of Jabalia stated Israel had destroyed 75 percent of Jabalia's water wells.{{cite web |title=Israel has destroyed most water wells in Jabalia: Mayor |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/9/israels-war-on-gaza-live-ceasefire-by-ramadan-looking-tough-biden-says?update=2760058 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=12 March 2024}}

The Battle of Jabalia began on 8 November 2023 as part of the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and ended its first phase in late January 2024 with an Israeli withdrawal.{{Cite web |title=IRAN UPDATE, JANUARY 30, 2024 |url=https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-january-30-2024 |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=Institute for the Study of War |language=en}} Following this, Palestinian forces and the IDF intermittently clashed in Jabalia.{{Cite web |title=IRAN UPDATE, FEBRUARY 10, 2024 |url=https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-february-10-2024 |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=Institute for the Study of War |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=IRAN UPDATE, FEBRUARY 21, 2024 |url=https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-february-21-2024 |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=Institute for the Study of War |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=4 March 2024 |title=Iran Update, March 4, 2024 |url=https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Iran%20Update%2C%20March%204%2C%202024%20PDF.pdf}}{{Cite web |title=IRAN UPDATE, MARCH 9, 2024 |url=https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-march-9-2024 |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=Institute for the Study of War |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=IRAN UPDATE, APRIL 16, 2024 |url=https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-april-16-2024 |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=Institute for the Study of War |language=en}} A May 2024 IDF offensive into the city ended on 31 May 2024 with an IDF withdrawal after over two weeks of intense fighting and more than 200 airstrikes. Palestinian officials said that 70% of the refugee camp was destroyed. The Israeli military said that it had destroyed over 10 kilometers of underground tunnels that it says the militants used.{{Cite news |last=Mackenzie |first=James |date=31 May 2024 |title=Israel completes combat operations in part of north Gaza, military says |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-says-combat-part-north-gaza-is-over-2024-05-31 |access-date=31 May 2024 |work=Reuters}}{{Cite web |last=Mohanna |first=Nagham |last2=Aldroubi |first2=Mina |date=2024-05-31 |title=Israeli forces withdraw after 20-day operation destroys 70 per cent of Gaza's Jabalia camp |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2024/05/31/israel-gaza-jabalia-hamas/ |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=The National |language=en}} The Israeli military also said that it had destroyed a number of weapons production sites and rocket launchers.{{Cite web |title=Gaza war: Israeli military says it has pulled out of Jabalia |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c977q9pe574o |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}} During the weeks-long operation, troops recovered the bodies of seven Israeli hostages.

Having failed to dismantle Hamas in Jabalia,{{Cite web |last= |title=Iran Update, May 31, 2024 |url=https://www.iswresearch.org/2024/05/iran-update-may-31-2024.html |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=Institute for the Study of War}} the IDF reinvaded the city after four months on 5 October 2024.{{Cite web |date=6 October 2024 |title=Dozens killed in Gaza as Israeli army launches new incursion in north |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/several-killed-israeli-air-strike-gaza-mosque-2024-10-05/ |website=Reuters}}

Jabalia's residents have various origins, including the Hauran, Egypt, Bedouin communities, as well as people from Hebron and Jaffa.Grossman, D. (1986). "Oscillations in the Rural Settlement of Samaria and Judaea in the Ottoman Period". in Shomron studies. Dar, S., Safrai, S., (eds). Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House. p. 385

A number of male pseudohermaphrodite births have been reported in Jabalia. Jehad Abudaia, a Canadian-Palestinian pediatrician and urologist, has suggested that consanguinity due to cousin marriages accounts for the prevalence of pseudohermaphrodite births. In the Gaza Strip, pseudohermaphrodite conditions often go undetected for years after birth due to the region's lower standards of medical treatment and diagnostics.Watson, Ivan. "[http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/17/gaza.gender.id/index.html Rare Gender Identity Defect Hits Gaza Families]." CNN. December 17, 2009. Retrieved on December 17, 2009.

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in the State of Palestine}}

Jabalia is twinned with:{{cite web |title=Ümraniye Municipality and Palestine Jabalia Al Nazlah Municipality Has Become 'Sister Municipalities' With a Ceremony.|url=https://www.umraniye.bel.tr/en/main/pages/umraniye-municipality-and-palestine-jabalia-a/302|website=umraniye.bel.tr|publisher=Ümraniye|access-date=2020-06-01}}

• {{flagicon|TUR}} Ümraniye, Turkey

{{Reflist|25em}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book | editor =Barron, J.B. | title = Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922 |url=https://archive.org/details/PalestineCensus1922 |publisher = Government of Palestine | year = 1923}}
• {{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H.H.|author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1883|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp03conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund|volume=3}}
• {{cite book |last= Dauphin |first = C.|author-link= Claudine Dauphin | title = La Palestine byzantine, Peuplement et Populations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FC1mAAAAMAAJ |volume = III : Catalogue | series = BAR International Series 726 | year = 1998 | publisher = Archeopress | location = Oxford|language =fr|isbn= 0-860549-05-4}}
• {{cite book|title=Village Statistics, April, 1945 |url=http://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/Hebrew/library/Pages/BookReader.aspx?pid=856390|author=Department of Statistics|year=1945|publisher=Government of Palestine}}
• {{cite book|last=Guérin|first=V.|author-link=Victor Guérin|title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptiongog02gu|volume=1: Judee, pt. 2|year=1869|publisher= L'Imprimerie Nationale|location=Paris|language=fr}}
• {{cite book|title=Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine|url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|first=S.|last=Hadawi|author-link=Sami Hadawi|year=1970|publisher=Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center}}
• {{cite journal | last = Hartmann | first =M.| author-link = Martin Hartmann | title = Die Ortschaftenliste des Liwa Jerusalem in dem türkischen Staatskalender für Syrien auf das Jahr 1288 der Flucht (1871) | journal = Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins | volume = 6 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ/page/n131 102]–149 | url =https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ | year = 1883}}
• {{cite book | last1= Hütteroth |first1=W.-D.|author-link1=Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth|first2=K. | last2=Abdulfattah |author-link2=Kamal Abdulfattah| title = Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wqULAAAAIAAJ | year = 1977 | publisher = Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft|isbn= 3-920405-41-2}}
• {{cite book | editor = Mills, E. | title = Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas |url=https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas | publisher = Government of Palestine | location = Jerusalem | year = 1932}}
• {{cite book|last=Palmer|first=E.H.|author-link=Edward Henry Palmer|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft|title=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|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund}}
• {{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838| location=Boston|publisher=Crocker & Brewster|volume=3}}
• {{cite journal | last = Socin | first =A.| author-link = Albert Socin | title = Alphabetisches Verzeichniss von Ortschaften des Paschalik Jerusalem | journal = Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins | volume = 2 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/zeitschriftdesde01deut/page/135 135]–163 | url = https://archive.org/details/zeitschriftdesde01deut | year = 1879}}

{{Refend}}

{{Commons}}

• [https://www.un.org/unrwa/refugees/gaza/jabalia.html UNRWA Jabalia]
• [http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/Jabaliya_1203/index.html Welcome To The City of Jabaliya]
• Survey of Western Palestine, Map 19: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8381 IAA], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.19.jpg Wikimedia commons]

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