Deir el-Balah
Encyclopedia
Deir el-Balah or Dayr al-Balah is located in the central Gaza Strip
and is the capital or muhfaza (seat) of the Deir el-Balah Governorate. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
, the city had a population of 49,751 in mid-year 2006.
Well-known for its beaches and date palms, recent archeological excavations uncovered a cemetery dating back to the late Bronze Age
filled with pottery, tombs, bronze pots and a mosaic floor. Deir al-Balah also contains a monastery
built by St. Helena in 372
AD.
The city has been a frequent target of Israel
i incursion
s, particularly since the beginning of the Second Intifada in 2001, with the stated aim of stopping Qassam rocket
fire into Israel. Ahmad Kurd
, a Hamas
member, was elected mayor in late January 2005 and of the city's council seats, 13 of 15 were won by Hamas candidates in February 2005.
period in 1149, Deir al-Balah or Darum became a stronghold of the Templar Knights and the Knights Hospitaller
from Jerusalem, led by King Baldwin III
. Forts were built in Deir al-Balah that were used as a base from which to attack the Fatimid
forces who had withdrawn from Gaza
and established independent rule in Ascalon
. By the end of 1170, Saladin
’s army had arrived, entering Palestine
through Darum, now known as Deir al-Balah.
The tug-of-war between the Crusaders and various Cairo
-based Muslim
forces continued. After the Ayyubid
s were overthrown by the Mamluk
s from within the palace walls in Cairo, Deir al-Balah came under Mamluk rule from 1250 to 1517. Regular mail routes run by mounted messengers with colored sashes were introduced from Cairo to Gaza via the towns of Rafah
, Wadi as-Salqa, al-Darum (Deir al-Balah), Malkas, Bayt Jibrin
, Beit Hanoun
, Beit Daras
, Qatra
, Lydda
, Auja, Tira
, Qatoun, Fahmah and Jenin
, and from there to Damascus
. Roads, bridges, postal stations and khans were built to accommodate the messengers. Pigeon mail service was introduced for which towers were built. Produce available in this time period in Deir al-Balah included barley, wheat, grapes and grape leaves, olives, raspberries, lemons, figs, sweet melons, pomegranates and dates.
i incursion
s since the Al-Aqsa Intifada
in 2001, in part due to Qassam rocket
-strikes.
In January 2004, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights reported that the Israel Defense Forces
issued "written orders to 10 Palestinian families in Deir el-Balah ordering the confiscation of their land and homes located northeast of Kfar Darom
settlement. According to the owners of these properties, Israeli soldiers informed them orally when they were handed the orders that the land will be used to establish additional Israeli security facilities. The total area subject to these confiscation orders is approximately 700 dunum
s."
The areas surrounding city has also been frequent targets of razing. On January 4, 2004, "Israeli bulldozers destroyed more than 50 dunums of land mostly cultivated with olive trees in Abu El-‘Ajen area east of Deir el-Balah city." Later on January 7, 2004, "Israeli bulldozers staged into Al-Hikr area south of Deir el-Balah city under heavy barrage of gunfire and razed 70 dunums of land cultivated with guava and orange owned by Abu Holy and Abu Reziq families."
The Applied Research Institute (Jerusalem) reported that on November 2, 2004, the "house of Hassan Abu Maghseb was dynamited after the IDF
planted it with heavy explosive devices in Wadi el-Salqa area to the east of Deir el-Balah, displacing all of its dwellers."
and United Kingdom
have imposed economic sanctions
on the Palestinian territories
that has severely damaged Deir el-Balah's economy along with those of most cities in the Gaza Strip.
in Gaza. Commonly referred to as the British War Cemetery of Deir al-Balah. The CWGC
s name for it is Deir El Belah War Cemetery (note the alternative transcription of دير اللبلح).
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
and is the capital or muhfaza (seat) of the Deir el-Balah Governorate. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics is the statistical organization under the umbrella of the Palestinian Cabinet of the Palestinian National Authority....
, the city had a population of 49,751 in mid-year 2006.
Well-known for its beaches and date palms, recent archeological excavations uncovered a cemetery dating back to the late Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
filled with pottery, tombs, bronze pots and a mosaic floor. Deir al-Balah also contains a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
built by St. Helena in 372
372
Year 372 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Modestus and Arintheus...
AD.
The city has been a frequent target of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i incursion
Incursion
Incursion is a science fiction role playing game created by Richard Tucholka and published by Tri Tac Games in 1992.-Overview:The player characters are humans abducted by alien slave traders...
s, particularly since the beginning of the Second Intifada in 2001, with the stated aim of stopping Qassam rocket
Qassam rocket
The Qassam rocket is a simple steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. Three models have been produced and used between 2001 and 2011....
fire into Israel. Ahmad Kurd
Ahmad Kurd
Ahmad Kurd is the mayor of Deir al-Balah located in the central Gaza Strip. He was elected as mayor in 2005 as the candidate for the political party and militant group, Hamas. He also occupies the job of local sheikh in the Deir al-Balah mosque. Kurd is the director of the Gaza Strip-based...
, a Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
member, was elected mayor in late January 2005 and of the city's council seats, 13 of 15 were won by Hamas candidates in February 2005.
History
During the CrusaderCrusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
period in 1149, Deir al-Balah or Darum became a stronghold of the Templar Knights and the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
from Jerusalem, led by King Baldwin III
Baldwin III of Jerusalem
Baldwin III was king of Jerusalem from 1143 to 1163. He was the eldest son of Melisende and Fulk of Jerusalem, and the grandson of Baldwin II of Jerusalem.-Succession:...
. Forts were built in Deir al-Balah that were used as a base from which to attack the Fatimid
Fatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
forces who had withdrawn from Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
and established independent rule in Ascalon
Ashkelon
Ashkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age...
. By the end of 1170, Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
’s army had arrived, entering Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
through Darum, now known as Deir al-Balah.
The tug-of-war between the Crusaders and various Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
-based Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
forces continued. After the Ayyubid
Ayyubid dynasty
The Ayyubid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin, founded by Saladin and centered in Egypt. The dynasty ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The Ayyubid family, under the brothers Ayyub and Shirkuh, originally served as soldiers for the Zengids until they...
s were overthrown by the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s from within the palace walls in Cairo, Deir al-Balah came under Mamluk rule from 1250 to 1517. Regular mail routes run by mounted messengers with colored sashes were introduced from Cairo to Gaza via the towns of Rafah
Rafah
Rafah , also known as Rafiah, is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. Located south of Gaza, Rafah's population of 71,003 is overwhelmingly made up of Palestinian refugees. Rafah camp and Tall as-Sultan form separate localities. Rafah is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate...
, Wadi as-Salqa, al-Darum (Deir al-Balah), Malkas, Bayt Jibrin
Bayt Jibrin
Bayt Jibrin was a Palestinian Arab village located northwest of the city of Hebron. The village had a total land area of 56,185 dunams or , of which were built-up while the rest remained farmland.The early inhabitants of Bayt Jibrin are the Canaanites...
, Beit Hanoun
Beit Hanoun
Beit Hanoun is a city on the north-east edge of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 32,187 in mid-year 2006. It is administered by the Palestinian Authority...
, Beit Daras
Beit Daras
Bayt Daras was a Palestinian Arab town located on the Lachish River, northeast of Gaza and approximately above sea level, which was depopulated in 1948.-History:...
, Qatra
Qatra
Qatra was a Palestinian Arab village located southwest of the city of Ramla and west of Jerusalem, some above sea level.- History :Qatra was a Canaanite center of political and economic authority that along with 30 other urban sites in regions bordering the Mediterranean sea, entered a period...
, Lydda
Lod
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...
, Auja, Tira
Tira
Tira , "The Fort" is an Arab city in the Center District of Israel in Israel. At the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 22,600. It is part of the triangle....
, Qatoun, Fahmah and Jenin
Jenin
Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
, and from there to Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. Roads, bridges, postal stations and khans were built to accommodate the messengers. Pigeon mail service was introduced for which towers were built. Produce available in this time period in Deir al-Balah included barley, wheat, grapes and grape leaves, olives, raspberries, lemons, figs, sweet melons, pomegranates and dates.
Al-Aqsa Intifada
The city has been a frequent target of IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i incursion
Incursion
Incursion is a science fiction role playing game created by Richard Tucholka and published by Tri Tac Games in 1992.-Overview:The player characters are humans abducted by alien slave traders...
s since the Al-Aqsa Intifada
Al-Aqsa Intifada
The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...
in 2001, in part due to Qassam rocket
Qassam rocket
The Qassam rocket is a simple steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. Three models have been produced and used between 2001 and 2011....
-strikes.
In January 2004, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights reported that the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
issued "written orders to 10 Palestinian families in Deir el-Balah ordering the confiscation of their land and homes located northeast of Kfar Darom
Kfar Darom
Kfar Darom was a kibbutz and an Israeli settlement within the Gush Katif bloc in the Gaza Strip.-Original kibbutz:Kfar Darom was founded on 250 dunams of land purchased in 1930 by Tuvia Miller for a fruit orchard on the site of an ancient Jewish settlement of the same name mentioned in the Talmud...
settlement. According to the owners of these properties, Israeli soldiers informed them orally when they were handed the orders that the land will be used to establish additional Israeli security facilities. The total area subject to these confiscation orders is approximately 700 dunum
Dunam
A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...
s."
The areas surrounding city has also been frequent targets of razing. On January 4, 2004, "Israeli bulldozers destroyed more than 50 dunums of land mostly cultivated with olive trees in Abu El-‘Ajen area east of Deir el-Balah city." Later on January 7, 2004, "Israeli bulldozers staged into Al-Hikr area south of Deir el-Balah city under heavy barrage of gunfire and razed 70 dunums of land cultivated with guava and orange owned by Abu Holy and Abu Reziq families."
The Applied Research Institute (Jerusalem) reported that on November 2, 2004, the "house of Hassan Abu Maghseb was dynamited after the IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
planted it with heavy explosive devices in Wadi el-Salqa area to the east of Deir el-Balah, displacing all of its dwellers."
Income
The working population in Deir el-Balah was 24,304 in 2005, the vast majority being paid employees. Most workers are involved in service shops and markets and trading hand-made crafts. The city has a fishing industry although it is very minor. The United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
have imposed economic sanctions
Economic sanctions against the Palestinian National Authority
The 2006–2007 economic sanctions against the Palestinian National Authority were economic sanctions imposed by Israel and the Quartet on the Middle East against the Palestinian National Authority and the Palestinian territories following the January 2006 legislative elections that brought Hamas to...
on the Palestinian territories
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
that has severely damaged Deir el-Balah's economy along with those of most cities in the Gaza Strip.
Commonwealth War Cemetery
Northwest of Deir al-Balah is one of two Commonwealth War CemeteriesCommonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
in Gaza. Commonly referred to as the British War Cemetery of Deir al-Balah. The CWGC
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
s name for it is Deir El Belah War Cemetery (note the alternative transcription of دير اللبلح).
External links and references
- Gaza Refugee Camp Profiles, UNWRA, 31 March 2006.
- Laborers in Deir Al Balah Governorate
- Projected Mid -Year Population for Deir Al- Balah Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006, Palestinian Central Bureau of StatisticsPalestinian Central Bureau of StatisticsThe Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics is the statistical organization under the umbrella of the Palestinian Cabinet of the Palestinian National Authority....
. - Sixty Israeli tanks break into Deir al-Balah, two Palestinians shot Arabic News.com
- Map of the Deir-al Balah Governorate
- Article on Washington Post
- CWGC's description of the War Cemetery