Al-Bireh
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Al-Bireh or El-Bireh (Arabic: البيرة) is a town in the West Bank in the Palestinian territories, 15 kilometres north of Jerusalem. The city of Al-Bireh resides on Palestine’s middle series of mountains, 15 kilometers North of Jerusalem and is 860 metres above sea level. It covers an area of 24.5 square kilometres. Its name means “Water Well,” due to the existence of many wells and springs. It is thought that it was named in 3500 BC.[dubious — see talk page]
Located in the center of Palestine, Al-Bireh served as an economic crossroad between the north and south. Thus, Al-Bireh served as a central pathway for caravans travelling between Jerusalem and Nablus.
The history of Al-Bireh extends back 6,000 years.[dubious — see talk page] Its strategic location served as a campground and rest area for many armies.
The great leader Salah Al-Deen El-Ayoubi camped in the city before he liberated Jerusalem from the Crusaders. Stories tell us that Jesus passed through Al-Bireh with his mother as a child. During this time, Priest Hilana constructed a church in Al-Bireh. The remains of the church can still be seen in the center of the city today.
It is also believed that Caliph Umar Ibn Al-Khattab visited the city when he came to liberate Palestine from the Byzantines. Until 1917, the city served as a political and administrative center for the Ottomans. On July 6, 1967, the Israeli troops occupied the city. In 1994, the civil administration of the city was turned over to the Palestinian National Authority under the Oslo Agreement.
Al-Bireh is a home for Public and Private Sectors. It is the second largest city in Palestine that houses government agencies and offices, after Gaza. Besides the Governor’s headquarters, it also hosts a considerable number of governmental, non-governmental, and private organizations. It is twinned with Youngstown, Ohio.
It is close to Ramallah, and forms a single constituency with Ramallah for elections to the Palestinian National Authority.
The mayor is Omar Hammayil.
[edit] Lineage
The vast majority of today's Al-Bireh inhabitants descent from a man named "Hussein" from Bani Umar tribe, who came to the area from Transjordan in late-16th century, together with a close friend named "Rashed" from Haddadeen tribe. Hussein the Muslim peasant lived in Al-Bireh, whereas his Christian friend Rashed (who was a blacksmith) lived in Ramallah.
There are five clans in today's Al-Bireh, each divided into a number of lineages. These are: Al-3abed, Al-Taweel, Al-Qor3an, Al-Qaraqrah, and Al-Hamayel. Dar Al-Rafidi(christian family) was accepted into dar al-Tawil.
