Chapter Three
Socio-Economic Characteristics
Demography and Population
The total area of Nablus district was approximately 2,474 km2 before 1967. In the year 1944, the total population of Nablus district was around 89,200 persons (Palestinian Statistical Abstract, 1984/86), later in the early 1960s, the total population reached 170,000 persons (Encyclopedia Palaestina, 1984).
According to official Palestinian statistics the estimated total population of Nablus district is 333,295 in 1994 including the four refugee camps: Balata, Askar, Ein Beit El Ma' and Far'a (PCBS, 1994 and UNRWA, 1994).
The population of the rural areas is approximately 182,463 representing 54.7% of the total population. The population of the four refugee camps is approximately 37,846 representing 11.4% of the total population. The population of urban and semi-urban areas is 112,986 representing 33.9% of the total population of Nablus district (PCBS, 1994 and UNRWA, 1994).
Nablus city is the only city in the West Bank where one can find the congregation of the three religions, Moslems, Christians and Samaritans live together. The Samaritans live in the south-western part of Nablus city. There are approximately 400 Samaritans living close to Nablus, 60% of them are below the age of 20 (Al-Awda, 1995). Over the years, the Samaritans have come to live as part of the Palestinian society. The Palestinian leadership recognized their rights to vote and to represent themselves in the Palestinian Legislative Council by assigning them one permanent seat in the council.
Population Density
The population density of Palestine varies greatly between areas. The district of Nablus has a population density of approximately 211 people/km2. In Nablus district, at least 70% of the land is still controlled by Israel and Palestinians are not allowed to live there. Therefore, in reality the population density is more like 700 people/km2.
Economics
Most of the economic assets of the West Bank are concentrated in Nablus city. What distinguishes Nablus city from the other Palestinian cities is the type of land ownership. There are many families who held large tracts of land, while land is fragmented into small pieces in the other cities.
Major industrial activities in Nablus district include aggregate quarrying, stone and marble cutting and a wide range of manufacturing and processing industries. Processing and manufacturing industries include food products, clothing, leather products, furniture, printing, workshop fabrication, mixed concrete, terrazzo tiles and cement blocks. These industries are found in Nablus municipal industrial zones (Center for Engineering and Planning, 1993).
The unemployment rate in Nablus district for 1994 was approximately 23%. Due to the Israeli continuous closure of the West Bank and the limited opportunities for employment in the West Bank, the unemployment has increased significantly. Approximately 60% of the employed persons have permanent job, 20% have seasonal jobs and 20% have part-time jobs (PARC & Arab Thought Forum, 1994).
Infrastructural Services
The level and extent of infrastructure in the region vary between urban and rural areas. Nablus city and other secondary urban centers generally enjoy open access to internal road networks, relatively sufficient water and electrical power supply, and adequate municipal services such as waste collection and disposal. However, a large proportion of villages in the region suffers from lack of adequate infrastructure, particularly in the areas of sanitation and sewage, water distribution and regular electric power supply.
The district contains a large number of charitable and non-governmental organizations that fill the gaps in services that the formal institutions are yet unable to provide. Appendix 1 shows the major associations and institutions in the district.
Sewage Disposal Facilities
According to the survey which was conducted by ARIJ in November 1995, the wastewater network covers only 38% of Nablus district. Almost 70% of Nablus city is served by the sewage network. The remaining parts of the city use cesspits to dispose their wastewater, or simply drain the wastewater in the nearby wadis. Open sewerage channels are usually used in the refugee camps.
Piped Water Supplies
Approximately 75% of the population in Nablus district receive piped water supply. However, water supply is irregular and the network suffers from frequent dry periods which sometimes, especially during summer, last for several days or even months.
Solid Waste Disposal Services
The disposal of solid waste and its management is a crucial problem that is of great concern to the local authorities. Nearly 61.4% of the solid waste is collected in Nablus district, while 38.6% of the garbage is dumped randomly on the road sides, backyards and in the open spaces in the rest of the district. The Nablus municipality is responsible for collecting 23% of the garbage, while 22% of the solid waste is collected by the village council. Solid waste collection in the refugee camps is administered by UNRWA. Around 14% of the solid waste in Nablus district is collected by the UNRWA. The remaining 2.4% of the garbage is collected by several cooperatives in the district.
Electricity Services
In 1957, the Nablus Municipality Electricity Undertaking (NMEU) was established by the Municipality of Nablus. Due to the obsolescence of old generating units and inadequate maintenance of the new units, the NMEU is supplied by the Israeli Electric Cooperation (IEC) through two link-up points. One point is in the vicinity of the town of Anabta, while the second is near Askar refugee camp (Center for Engineering and Planning, 1993).
Nablus, Anabta, Beit Eiba, Zawata, Talloza, Askar, Balata Tell, Jeneid, Kafr Qallil, E'inabous, Quza and Huwwara are the only sites which are supplied by electricity through the NMEU. Other towns and villages in Nablus district which are not connected to the NMEU network are either supplied directly from the transmission lines serving the Israeli settlements in the region, or depend on local generators for providing minimal domestic requirements of electricity during a limited number of hours each day. These local generators are usually owned and operated by local village committees and cooperatives, or by private groups and individuals (Center for Engineering and Planning, 1993). Most of the electricity used in Nablus district is imported from Israel, this amount represent 108.8 GWH/y, while those generated is only 25.2 GWH/y. According to 1995 index, the price of electricity in Nablus district was 0.51 NIS/KWh which is the highest price of electricity in the West Bank (PERC, 1995).
Transportation and Communication
Nablus district is located on the major north-south road. From Nablus the road leads to the northern part of Palestine and the southern part through Jerusalem. The road 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 and is mainly classified into three main categories: paved roads with two or more lanes, single lane paved roads, and dirt roads. There are 365.8 km of main roads and 313.2 km of secondary roads that connect Nablus city with its nearby villages.
After the signing of the Oslo agreement, new road system was established to connect the settlements throughout the West Bank. Confiscation of thousands of hectares of Palestinian land was the negative consequence of this process. The new bypass roads have a total length of 39.699 km (until March 1996) and proposed bypass roads are expected to include another 73.0 km.
The Health Sector in Nablus District
Since the onset of Israeli occupation, the Israeli military authorities have implemented policies that neglected the existing governmental health services and led to the disintegration of health-care infrastructure in Palestine. The natural development of this sector was impeded by tight restrictions, including the denial of funds, the blocking of further development and the linkage of health-care institutions to their Israeli counterparts.
On 13 September 1993, a declaration of principles was signed by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Israeli Government. As stipulated by this agreement, a transfer of authority took place from the Israeli Military Government and its civil administration to the authorized Palestinians. One of the areas that was transferred to the Palestinian authorities is the health sector.
Health care services are provided by the three main operators in the Palestine:
- The public sector - The current organization of the public health care is similar to the previous situation with the important and fundamental exception, that the responsibility now lies on the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
- UNRWAS's health department - mainly towards refugees.
- Non-Governmental sector - involving local and international charitable organization, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private entrepreneurs.
Both the level and extent of health services need substantial improvements in order for the Palestinian to attain an acceptable level of health and enable them to participate fully and effectively in socio-economic development and reconstruction.
Primary Health Care Clinics
The primary health care in Palestine operates by public health offices. These offices supervise and are responsible for the preventive health services in the urban and rural areas. There are 53 primary health care clinics in Nablus district, which are distributed as follows: 19 clinics are operated by NGO's; 30 clinics are run by public sector; and UNRWA operates 4 clinics for the refugees (PCH, 1994).
Hospitals
There are four hospitals in Nablus district. Two are public hospitals with a total of 208 beds. The other two hospitals are operated by NGO's and have a total of 157 beds (PCH, 1994). There are four rehabilitation centers, one for motor rehabilitation, one for vision impaired, one for hearing disabilities and one for mental disabilities (PCH, 1994).
Medical and Health-Care Personnel
Nablus district possesses the highest rate of medical and health-care personnel among all the districts of the West Bank. The total number of human health resources in Nablus district is as follows.
- 282 physicians, representing 23.9% of the total physicians in Palestine (Medical Associations, 1996).
- 331 nurses, representing 15% of the total number of nurses in Palestine (PRC, 1993).
- 93 dentists representing 22.1% of the total dentists in Palestine (Medical Associations, 1996).
- 170 technicians representing 14% of the total number of technicians in Palestine (PRC, 1993).
The Education Sector in Nablus District
The education sector in Palestine has traditionally been subjected to numerous conflicting external factors. The early formulation of the present school system was established during the British mandate period. Since the end of the mandate period, and due to the political situation in the region, the Palestinian people have been deprived of their right to freely develop their education and culture. Between 1948 and 1967, the education received by the majority of the Palestinians in the West bank was influenced greatly by the Jordanian System. After 1967, the West Bank education system was altered and limited by the Israeli occupiers. In 1994, Palestine got, for the first time in the history, the right to define its educational curriculum. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provided education services to the Palestinian refugees in Palestine and other Arab countries, formulated its own education system and structure.
In 1944, there were 9 government schools in Nablus district. By the school year 1966/67 the number of schools had grown to 29. The district had 3 private schools in 1944 and by 1966/67 the number reached to 16 private schools (Encyclopedia Palaestina, 1984).
Literacy rates of all the Palestinians are lowest among females in the West Bank, where 32% of women report that they are not able to write and only 8% of the men cannot write (FAFO, 1993)
Pre-School Education (Kindergarten)
There are approximately 71 kindergartens in Nablus district, all of which are supervised by the private sector. Around 5691 pupils are found in all kindergartens, 52% are males and 48% are females (PCBS, 1995).
General Education
According to the 1994/95 Palestinian statistics, there are now 245 schools in Nablus district, 136 are basic, 38 are secondary and the remaining 71 are kindergartens (PCBS, 1995). Around 148 schools are administered by the government, 16 by UNRWA, and the remaining 81 schools are owned and administered by the private sector (PCBS, 1995).
The total enrollment in all schools is estimated to be nearly 59,957 students. The number of students studying in the community colleges is around 661 pupils (PCBS, 1995). Table 3.1 shows the participation by males-females in the education system.
Table 3.1: Distribution of pupils by educational level and sex (1993/94)(PCBS, 1995).Kindergarten Basic Secondary Colleges Male 2968 25709 2293 331
Female 2723 24348 1916 330
Total 5691 50057 4209 661 A lower participation is seen among females in the secondary level of education, because some abandon schools to get married at this age. A lower result can be seen among boys in the higher education level, where most boys, after completing the secondary school, move to work to support their future financially or travel abroad to continue their higher education.
Although government schools which were established after 1967 comprise the largest sector of the school system in Nablus district, the educational system is in great need for attention and review. Overcrowding in classrooms greatly affects the levels of both education and literacy among pupils (Figure 3.1).
Higher Education
University Education
An-Najah National university in Nablus is one of the leading universities in the West Bank. In the year 1995/96 thus representing 18.5% of the total number of students in Palestine (The Council of Higher Education, 1995/96).
An-Najah National university provides Bachelor degrees in several subjects, such as Arts, Science, Economic, Education, Agriculture and Engineering. Recently, the university started to provide Master degrees' programs in water and environmental engineering, in addition to the existing Master programs in Art, Chemistry, Biology, Education and Business Administration.
Community Colleges
Community colleges are defined as colleges that offer programs at post-secondary level that lead to an intermediate diploma degree. According to the 1994/95 Palestinian statistics, there are 939 students studying in the two community colleges in Nablus district (Nablus Community Colleges and Modern Community Colleges) of which 447 are males and 492 are females (PCBS, 1995).
