Ya'bad

Ya'bad
Other transcription(s)
 • Arabic يعبد
 • Also spelled Yabad (official)
Ya'bad
Location of Ya'bad within the Palestinian territories
Coordinates:
Governorate Jenin
Government
 • Type Municipality
 • Head of Municipality Walid Abadi
Area
 • Jurisdiction 21,622 dunams (21.6 km2 / 8.3 sq mi)
Population (2007)[1]
 • Jurisdiction 13,640

Ya'bad (Arabic: يعبد‎) is a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank, 20 kilometers west of Jenin in the Jenin Governorate. It is a major agricultural town with most of its land covered with olive groves and grain fields. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 13,640 in 2007.[1] Its mayor is Walid Abadi who was elected in 2005.[2]

In the 17th-18th centuries, Ya'bad was well-known for producing the best cheese in Samaria. Politically it was ruled by the Qadri clan allied with the powerful Abd al-Hadi clan.[3] In 1935, the Arab nationalist resistance leader Izz ad-Din al-Qassam and a few of his men were killed in a cave near Ya'bad by British forces.[4]

A major charcoal mine in Fahima al-Jadida, is located near Ya'bad and most of its workers come from the city.[5] Since the establishment of "closed-off areas" and the construction of the West Bank Barrier in the northern West Bank, Ya'bad and surrounding cities and towns have seen an increase in unemployment which reached to 88% in 2006. The annual average income has dropped "dramatically" by one-third according to the World Bank.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b 2007 Locality Population Statistics. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).
  2. ^ Yabad municipality inaugurates new town hall
  3. ^ Doumani, Beshara. (1995). The Hinterland of Nablus
  4. ^ Segev, Tom (1999). One Palestine, Complete. Metropolitan Books. pp. 360–362. ISBN 0805048480. 
  5. ^ a b Palestinians struggle in dire straits Martin Asser BBC News