Salfit
Encyclopedia
Salfit also spelled Salfeet is a Palestinian
town in the central West Bank
. Salfit is located at an altitude of 570 metres (1,870.1 ft) in the central Samaria
n highlands adjacent to the Israeli settlement
of Ariel
. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
, the City had a population of 8,796 in 2007. Salfit was given municipality
status In 1955. It has been administered by the Palestinian Authority
since the 1995 Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
and has served as the district capital of the Salfit Governorate
since then.
because of a bypass road for the settlement of Ariel
crossing the main road. There are several governmental offices and institutions in the city. The educational of the Salfit's children is carried out in four modern schools for male and female in addition to Al-Quds Open University
. Salfit is also a well-known area in the field of stone cutting and marble. An industrial zone was established on 200 dunums of land at the east end of Salfit.
The Salfit Governorate is the largest olive oil
producer in the Palestinian territories
, producing 1,500 tons annually. Zaytoun
, the Palestinian Olive Tree Association, is active with Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC) in Salfit to improve the quality and sales of Palestinian Olive oil. Salfit is located just across a valley to the south of the Israeli settlement
of Ariel
and around 1/3 the population of Ariel, about midway between Nablus
and Ramallah
.
On 30 May 2008 the US Consulate General in Jerusalem presented 700 books and 100 magazines for a new library at the Community-Based Learning Center in Salfit and the ceremony was attended by the PA Ministry of Youth and Sports official, Hussein Azzam
, Deputy Governor of Salfit, Nawaf Souf. The Community Center is located on al-Madares Street in Salfit and was established by Relief International Schools Online (RISOL) in 2007
The Salfit Hospital was completed in 2006. While the Salfit Governorate is not the most heavily populated of the West Bank, with an estimated population at about 80,000, Salfit was isolated from the other Palestinian medical facilities, the closest Government Hospitals were in Nablus
, Tulkarem and Ramallah
at more than one-hour drive away.
The plant was supposed to be built on Salfit Governorate land 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) from the town of Salfit. The municipality received a grant of 22 million euros from the German
government to build the plant and a mainline pipe to the town but the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) stopped the construction of the building and seized all the equipment because it allegedly would interfere with Israel
's nearby Jewish settlement
s. The equipment was returned only 18 months later. As a result, the town had to take out a loan to buy a new piece of land eight kilometers closer to its outskirts and another loan of 2 million euros to move the pipes and the electricity cables. Although Israel approved the new site of the plant, the planned West Bank Barrier will now separate Salfit from the sewage plant.
In May 2006 international human rights organizations were called to witness sewage of Ariel settlement running into the agriculture valleys north of the city and damaging the surrounding agriculture and environment.
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
town in the central West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
. Salfit is located at an altitude of 570 metres (1,870.1 ft) in the central Samaria
Samaria
Samaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
n highlands adjacent to the Israeli settlement
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
of Ariel
Ariel (city)
Ariel is an Israeli settlement and a city in the West Bank. Ariel was established in 1978. Its population at the end of 2009 was 17,600, including 7,000 immigrants who came to Israel after 1990. It is the fourth largest Jewish settlement city in the West Bank., after Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit,...
. 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 8,796 in 2007. Salfit was given municipality
Municipality (Palestinian Authority)
In the territories administrated by the Palestinian Authority, a municipality is an administrative unit of local government similar to a city. They were established and decided after the creation of the Local Government Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority in 1994. All municipalities are...
status In 1955. It has been administered by the Palestinian Authority
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
since the 1995 Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
The Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, also known as the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, the Interim Agreement, Oslo 2, Oslo II, and Taba, was a key and complex agreement governing several aspects of the Palestinian territories of Gaza Strip and the West Bank.-History:It...
and has served as the district capital of the Salfit Governorate
Salfit Governorate
The Salfit Governorate is one of 16 Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority. It is located in the northwestern West Bank, bordered by the governorates of Ramallah and al-Bireh to the south, Nablus to the east and Qalqilya in the north as well as, Israel to the west. Its district capital...
since then.
Etymology
The word "Salfit" is a Canaanite word which means "basket of grapes" (Sal meaning "basket and fit meaning "grapes".) The historic city of Salfit has many monuments that link the modern town to a Canaanite, Israelite, Samaritan, Roman and Islamic heritage.Economy
Salfit is a major administrative and commercial center for the dozens of villages surrounding it. However, the route for Palestinians from Salfit's northern dependencies has been sealed off by the Israel Defense ForcesIsrael 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...
because of a bypass road for the settlement of Ariel
Ariel (city)
Ariel is an Israeli settlement and a city in the West Bank. Ariel was established in 1978. Its population at the end of 2009 was 17,600, including 7,000 immigrants who came to Israel after 1990. It is the fourth largest Jewish settlement city in the West Bank., after Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit,...
crossing the main road. There are several governmental offices and institutions in the city. The educational of the Salfit's children is carried out in four modern schools for male and female in addition to Al-Quds Open University
Al-Quds Open University
Al-Quds Open University is an administratively, academically and financially independent public university. According to the university's website, it was established in Amman, Jordan, by a decree issued by the Palestinian Liberation Organization and started operating in the Palestinian territories...
. Salfit is also a well-known area in the field of stone cutting and marble. An industrial zone was established on 200 dunums of land at the east end of Salfit.
The Salfit Governorate is the largest olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
producer in 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...
, producing 1,500 tons annually. Zaytoun
Zaytoun
Zaytoun is a non-profit organisation established to support Palestinian farming communities by helping to increase the market for their olive oil products internationally, and also by helping the farmers themselves improve the quality of their oil through training and equipment provision.As a...
, the Palestinian Olive Tree Association, is active with Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC) in Salfit to improve the quality and sales of Palestinian Olive oil. Salfit is located just across a valley to the south of the Israeli settlement
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
of Ariel
Ariel (city)
Ariel is an Israeli settlement and a city in the West Bank. Ariel was established in 1978. Its population at the end of 2009 was 17,600, including 7,000 immigrants who came to Israel after 1990. It is the fourth largest Jewish settlement city in the West Bank., after Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit,...
and around 1/3 the population of Ariel, about midway between Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
and Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
.
On 30 May 2008 the US Consulate General in Jerusalem presented 700 books and 100 magazines for a new library at the Community-Based Learning Center in Salfit and the ceremony was attended by the PA Ministry of Youth and Sports official, Hussein Azzam
Hussein Azzam
Born in Palestine, Hussein Azzam was a former prisoner held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.He was released in 2004, two years after his capture, without charge and returned home to his family....
, Deputy Governor of Salfit, Nawaf Souf. The Community Center is located on al-Madares Street in Salfit and was established by Relief International Schools Online (RISOL) in 2007
The Salfit Hospital was completed in 2006. While the Salfit Governorate is not the most heavily populated of the West Bank, with an estimated population at about 80,000, Salfit was isolated from the other Palestinian medical facilities, the closest Government Hospitals were in Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
, Tulkarem and Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
at more than one-hour drive away.
Water treatment plant
There are a large number of water springs in and around the city but they unable to cope with the growing demand of the city. For the past nine years, the municipality has been trying to build a waste-water treatment plant to service the residents of Salfit town. In July 2007 the House of Water and Environment (HWE) of Ramallah produced a report the “Assessment of the Impact of Pollution Sources on the Water Environment and the Lives of the Residents in the Northern West Bank, Palestine”.The plant was supposed to be built on Salfit Governorate land 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) from the town of Salfit. The municipality received a grant of 22 million euros from the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
government to build the plant and a mainline pipe to the town but the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) stopped the construction of the building and seized all the equipment because it allegedly would interfere with Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's nearby Jewish settlement
Jewish settlement
Jewish settlement may refer to :* Israeli settlement : Jewish communities currently established in the West Bank or in the Golan Heights, between 1967 and 2006 in the Gaza strip or between 1967 and 1981 in the Sinai....
s. The equipment was returned only 18 months later. As a result, the town had to take out a loan to buy a new piece of land eight kilometers closer to its outskirts and another loan of 2 million euros to move the pipes and the electricity cables. Although Israel approved the new site of the plant, the planned West Bank Barrier will now separate Salfit from the sewage plant.
In May 2006 international human rights organizations were called to witness sewage of Ariel settlement running into the agriculture valleys north of the city and damaging the surrounding agriculture and environment.