Environmental Profile for the West Bank (Vol5) - Chapter 1: Location And Land Use

Nablus district is located in the northern part of the West Bank. It is bounded by Jenin and Israel from the north, Tulkarm and Israel from the west, Ramallah and Jericho from the south and the Jordan River from the east.

For technical reasons, the definition of the boundaries of Nablus district used by ARIJ in this profile is a combination of the pre-1967 Jordanian and the Israeli designation of the boundaries (Figure 1.2). The district is located between 349 m below sea level and 918 m above sea level.

Nablus district, as the rest of the West Bank, was under Israeli occupation since 1967. Under the "Oslo II" interim agreement signed in Washington D.C., on September 28, 1995, autonomy for cities, villages, refugee camps and hamlets in the West Bank was agreed upon. This allows for self-rule in these areas, including the establishment of a Palestinian Administration. The end of the year 1995 witnessed a new stage in Nablus history, when the Palestinians forces entered Nablus city for the first time declaring it a liberated Palestinian city. On January 1996 the Palestinians experienced the election for the first time in their life, where several Palestinian candidates were elected to represent the Palestinian people in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).

Land Use

Nablus district, with a total area of 158,022.4 hectares, has nine distinctive major land use. These include the Palestinian builtup areas, Israeli settlements, closed military areas and military bases, nature reserves, forests and cultivated areas (Figure 1.5 and Table 1.3). The Palestinian and Israeli built up areas make up 2.6% and 1.5% of the total area, respectively.

According to the "Oslo II" interim agreement between the Palestinian and Israel, the West Bank, will come under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Council in a phased manner, except for issues that will be negotiated in the permanent status negotiations. In the "Oslo II" interim agreement, the West Bank was divided into three main areas. These three areas in Nablus district are as follows: (Figure 1.3).

Palestinian Builtup Areas

There are 116 Palestinian builtup areas in Nablus district. Nablus, Salfit, and Tubas are the only cities registered as municipalities. There are four refugee camps namely Balata, Askar, Ein Beit Elma and Al-Far'a camps, while the other built-up areas are administered by either village councils or village mukhtars (Figure 1.4 and Table 1.1). The built-up areas account for approximately 4,127 hectares and are located on the following soil associations:


Figure 1.3	Figure 1.4	Figure 1.5

These soil associations are considered to be the most suitable soil for agricultural purposes in the district.

Israeli Settlements

There are 58 Israeli settlements in Nablus district, in addition to two military sites. Figure 1.2 shows the distribution and names of these settlements, while table 1.2 list some information about most of these settlements. These settlements occupy approximately 2,427 hectares of land. They are located on the following soil associations:

These soil associations are also considered to be the most suitable soil for agricultural and grazing purposes in the district.

Closed Military Areas and Bases

Closed military areas take up approximately 41,624 hectares (26.3%) of the district. The Israeli army claims that these areas are important both as security zones and for military training purposes. In addition, there are 36 military bases, using a total area of approximately 554 hectares. The closed military areas are mainly concentrated in the eastern slopes of the district, while the military bases are distributed throughout district. The closed military areas and bases are located on the same soil associations occupied by Israeli settlements.

Nature Reserves

Currently, there are 26 nature reserves in Nablus district which have been unilaterally declared by the Israeli authorities. This area occupies a total area of approximately 16,661 hectares (10.5%), most of which are located within the declared closed military areas. Because of the Israeli government's history of confiscating Palestinian land through declaring an area as a nature reserve, there is doubt about the true environmental significance of the currently declared nature reserve areas.

Forests

There are 18 forests in the district with a total area of approximately 527 hectares. Most of these forests are located in areas of fertile soil types (Terra Rossas, Brown Rendzinas and Pale Rendzinas) and favorable climatic conditions for agriculture.

Quarries

There are 8 quarries in the district occupying a total area of approximately 300 hectares. They are located in the areas of Jammaa'in, O'rif, Yasuf, Mirda, Qira and Zeita.

Cultivated Areas

These are estimated at 28,992 hectares of Nablus district of which only 3,358 hectares are devoted to irrigated agriculture. The remaining agricultural areas of 25,634 hectares are cultivated with rainfed crops.

Roads

The roads system in Nablus district, as in the other districts of the West Bank, is divided into two categories, those mostly for Palestinian use and the others for the Israeli settlers living in the district. For the most part, the Palestinian road system has not been expanded or repaired for many years. There are 365.8 km of main roads and 313.2 km of secondary roads that connect Nablus city with its nearby villages. Since the signing of the second stage of "Oslo II" interim agreement (September, 1995), Israel has moved to put in an entire new "by-pass" road system connecting the settlements throughout the West Bank and therefore providing "safe passage" to settlers living in the West Bank. These roads required confiscation of thousands of hectares of Palestinian lands and they stretch over the rural and agricultural lands of Nablus district. The existing bypass roads have a total length of 39.699 km (until March 1996) and the proposed ones are expected to consume another 73.0 km.

Industrial Area

There is only one industrial area in Nablus district located near Balata town. It covers around 124.1 hectares.

**Table 1.1: Palestinian built-up areas in Nablus district, 96 (PBS,94 & UNRWA, 94)**
Location	Pop. #	Location	Pop. #	Location	Pop. #
Deir Ballut	2731	Iskaka	674	Nisf Jbeil	341
Kafr Ed Dik	3376	Salfit	6986	Ijnesiniya	456
Bruqin	2550	Yatma	1876	En Naqura	1131
Rafat	1126	Es Sawiya	1859	Yasid	973
Zawiya	3622	Luban Esh Sharqiya	1438	Zawata	1165
Sarta	1737	Ammuria	253	Beit Eiba	2258
Mas-ha	1303	Kh. Qais	251	Jeneid	231
Bidya	4809	Jalud	398	Beit Wazan	858
Sanniriya	2001	Qaryut	1951	A’zmut	1594
A’zun El A’tma	687	Talfit	219	El Badan	1354
Qarawat BaniHassan	2016	Qabalan	4015	Nablus	93139
Beit Amein	974	Osrin	817	A’sira Esharqiya	7736
Jinsafut	1558	Jurish	904	Talloza	4048
Kafr Laqif	625	Qasra	2469	Jiftlik	1866
Kh. Sir	636	Za’tara	29	Arab El Muthalath	N/A
Baqa	1221	El Maghaiyer	1280	Esh Shuna	N/A
Hajja	1819	Duma	1436	El Musafeh	N/A
Immatin	1626	Majdal Bani Fadil	1159	Marj Na’ajat	N/A
Fara’ta	440	Beita	5119	Marj Na’aja	818
A’sira El Qibliya	1280	A’qraba	4505	Farsha	N/A
Tell	2753	Fasayil	410	E’in Shalabi	340
Sarra	1667	Madama	1066	En Nasiriya	571
Jit	1694	Huwwara	4130	Kh. El A’qrabaniya	916
Kafr Qaddum	2793	Odla	531	El A’qrabaniya	1013
Deir Sharaf	2029	A’warta	3563	Beit Hassan	1086
Farkha	1011	Burin	2092	Kh. El Marsas	N/A
Haris	2072	Kafr Qallil	2093	Tammun	7608
Kafr Haris	1953	Yanun	79	Tayasir	1443
Qira	695	Beit Furik	6456	A’qqaba	3244
Mirda	1484	Beit Dajan	2560	Tubas	12861
Deir Istiya	3064	Salim	3288	Kh. Kishda	450
Zeita	3177	Deir El Hatab	1324	Kh. Salhab	30
Jammaa’in	4162	Askar R.C.	10361	Kh. Ebziq	171
O’rif	1433	Bazzariya	1460	Bardala	519
E’inabous	1381	Burqa	3315	E’in El Bayda	494
Quza	N/A	Beit Imrin	1956	Kh. Kardala	200
Yasuf	1174	Sabastiya	2332	Kh. El Maleh	93
Qussien	1281	Rujeib	2189	Balata R.C.	16094
Far’a R.C.	6345	Camp No.1 R.C.	5046

**Table 1.2: Jewish settlements in Nablus district, 1992 (Tufakji, 1994; Ester Goldberg,93).**
Settlement	Date of Establishment	Number of Families	Proposed Number of Families
Mekhora	1973	30	80
Megdalim	1984	27	250
Nofim	1986	44	400
Oranit	1983	650	"2,800"
Arial	1978	2800	"20,000"
Argamon	1971	27	80
Barqan	1981	N/A	N/A
Beqa’ot	1972	30	80
El Qana	1977	480	"2,500"
Eli	1984	140	"6,000"
Elon More	1980	430	"6,000"
Ez Efrayim	1985	40	760
Gittit	1972	25	80
Hamra	1971	75	80
Homesh	1980	40	273
Kfar Tappuah	1978	45	780
Ma’ale Efrayim	1978	320	"5,000"
Ma’ale Levona	1984	48	124
Mehola	1969	46	80
Shamod Mehola	1979	40	80
Rotem	1984	N/A	N/A
Bitronot	1983	N/A	N/A
Hemdat	1982	N/A	N/A
Ro’i	1978	23	80
Massu’a	1974	25	80
Yafit	1980	22	80
Peza’el	1972	50	80
Tomer	1978	50	80
Shilo	1978	262	"5,500"
Tel Hayim (Itamar)	1984	52	2350
Yizhar	1984	45	360
Berakha	1983	50	2500
Sahve Shamron	1978	120	650
Qedumim Zefon	1982	N/A	N/A
Qedumim	1975	400	"6,000"
Yaqqir	1981	90	900
Netafim	1983	37	150
Qarna Shamron	1978	850	"5,200"
Ginnot Shamron	1985	N/A	N/A
Neve Oraanim	1991	N/A	N/A
Niriyya	1994	N/A	N/A
Sha’are Tiqva	1983	350	1020
El Qana D	1981	115	400
Yo’ezer	1982	65	"4,400"
Pedu’ea	1984	55	312

**Table 1.3: Land use classification in Nablus district.**
Land Use	Area(Hectares)	% of Land
Palestinian Built-up Areas	"4,127.10"	2.6
Israeli Settlements	"2,427.80"	1.5
Closed Military Areas	"41,624.30"	26.3
Military Bases	554.7	0.4
Nature Reserves	"16,661.20"	10.5
Forests	526.9	0.3
Quarries	300.9	0.2
Cultivated Areas	"28,992"	18.4
Industrial Areas	124.1	0.08
Others*	"62,683.40"	39.7
Total	158022.4	100%
*" Others represent either roads, unused land, or land used for grazing."**

Chapter One Location And Land Use

Location