The following is a list of cities administered by the Palestinian National Authority. After the 1995 Interim Agreements, the Palestinian National Authority took control of civil affairs in the West Bank Palestinian enclaves, designated Areas A and B, where most Palestinian population centers are located (and excluding those within the municipal borders of East Jerusalem). Israel Defense Forces are responsible for security in Area B in the West Bank and have full control over localities in Area C.
Following the 2007 rift between the main two Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas, the Palestinian National Authority has been split with the former dominating the Palestinian government in the West Bank and the latter controlling the Gaza Strip.
The Local Government Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority is responsible for granting a town with city or municipality status. However, there is no specific guidelines for a particular locality to achieve the status of Palestinian city. It is mostly judged on the population reaching above 20,000. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) took its latest official census in 2007. [1]
The largest city in the Gaza Strip and all of Palestine was Gaza City prior to the Israel-Hamas War, and the largest cities in the West Bank are East Jerusalem and Hebron. Some cities form agglomerations with other towns or cities, such as the Bethlehem metropolitan area with Beit Jala and Beit Sahour. Ramallah and al-Bireh also form an agglomeration and are often considered a single city.[ citation needed ]
The following is a list of all Palestinian cities under Ramallah-administration, their governorates, their specific jurisdictions and their populations according to the 2007 census and the 2015 estimate by the PCBS.
Common Name | Arabic Name | Governorate | Jurisdiction | Population (2007 census) [2] | Population (2015 estimate) [3] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abasan al-Kabira | عبسان الكبيرة | Khan Yunis | Area A | 18,413 | 23,198 |
Abu Dis | أبو ديس | Jerusalem | Area B | 10,782 | 12,385 |
Bani Na'im | بني نعيم | Hebron | Area A, Area B | 20,084 | 25,698 |
Bani Suheila | بني سهيلا | Khan Yunis | Area A | 31,703 | 39,941 |
Beit Hanoun | بيت حانون | North Gaza | Area A | 38,047 | 51,073 |
Beit Jala | بيت جالا | Bethlehem | Area A, Area C [4] | 11,758 | 14,419 |
Beit Lahia | بيت لاهيا | North Gaza | Area A | 64,457 | 86,526 |
Beit Sahour | بيت ساحور | Bethlehem | Area A | 15,367 | 18,165 |
Beit Ummar | بيت اُمّر | Hebron | Area B | 13,548 | 17,335 |
Beitunia | بيتونيا | Ramallah and al-Bireh | Area A | 39,761 | 34,592 |
Bethlehem (Beit Lahm) | بيت لحم | Bethlehem | Area A | 35,266 | 40,983 |
al-Bireh | البيرة | Ramallah and al-Bireh | Area A | 58,202 | 67,540 |
Deir al-Balah | دير البلح | Deir al-Balah | Area A | 54,439 | 70,045 |
ad-Dhahiriya | الظاهرية | Hebron | Area A | 28,776 | 36,820 |
Dura | دوره | Hebron | Area A | 28,268 | 36,170 |
Gaza City (Ghazzah) | غزة | Gaza | Area A | 649,221 | 766,331 |
Halhul | حلحول | Hebron | Area A | 22,128 | 28,313 |
Hebron (al-Khalil) | الخليل | Hebron | Area A, Area B, Area C | 263,146 | 308,750 |
Idhna | إذنا | Hebron | Area B | 19,012 | 24,326 |
Jabalia | جباليا | North Gaza | Area A | 122,998 | 165,110 |
Jenin | جنين | Jenin | Area A | 99,004 | 115,305 |
Jericho (Ariha) | أريحا | Jericho | Area A | 18,346 | 22,609 |
Khan Yunis | خان يونس | Khan Yunis | Area A | 142,637 | 179,701 |
Nablus | نابلس | Nablus | Area A | 216,132 | 239,772 |
Qabatiya | قباطية | Jenin | Area A | 36,197 | 40,282 |
Qalqilya | قلقيليه | Qalqilya | Area A | 41,739 | 50,700 |
Rafah | رفح | Rafah | Area A | 121,774 | 158,414 |
Ramallah | رام الله | Ramallah and al-Bireh | Area A | 97,460 | 104,173 |
Sa'ir | سعير | Hebron | Area B | 18,045 | 23,089 |
as-Samu | السموع | Hebron | Area A | 19,649 | 25,141 |
Surif | صوريف | Hebron | Area B, Area C | 13,648 | 17,535 |
Tubas | طوباس | Jenin | Area A | 26,154 | 30,801 |
Tulkarm | طولكرم | Tulkarm | Area A | 61,300 | 79,114 |
Ya'bad | يعبد | Jenin | Area A | 23,640 | 26,543 |
al-Yamun | اليامون | Jenin | Area A | 26,383 | 30,870 |
Yatta | يطّا | Hebron | Area A | 48,672 | 62,277 |
az-Zawayda | الزوايده | Deir al-Balah | Area A | 16,939 | 21,795 |
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the de facto administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, 10 km north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of 872 meters (2,861 ft) above sea level, adjacent to al-Bireh.
The Palestinian territories, also known as the Occupied Palestinian Territory, consist of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967. These territories make up the State of Palestine, which was self-declared by the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1988 and is recognized by 145 out of 193 UN member states.
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in the southern Levant region of West Asia recognized by 145 out of 193 UN member states. It encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, collectively known as the Palestinian territories, within the broader geographic and historical Palestine region. The country shares most of its borders with Israel, and it borders Jordan to the east and Egypt to the southwest. It has a total land area of 6,020 square kilometres (2,320 sq mi) while its population exceeds five million people. Its proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, while Ramallah serves as its administrative center. Gaza City was its largest city until 2023.
Beit Hanoun or Beit Hanun is a Palestinian city on the northeast edge of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 52,237 in 2017. As a result of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Beit Hanoun has been militarily contested between the Hamas administration and Israel. Furthermore, the town has been entirely depopulated, and virtually all its structures have either been destroyed or rendered unusable due to extreme damage. The remains of Beit Hanoun are located by the Nahal-Hanun stream, 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) away from the Israeli town of Sderot.
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Dura is a Palestinian city located eleven kilometers southwest of Hebron, in the southern West Bank, in the Hebron Governorate of the State of Palestine. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 39,336 in 2017. The current mayor is Ahmad Salhoub.
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Bani Zeid is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate of Palestine, in the north-central West Bank, located 27 kilometers (17 mi) northwest of Ramallah, about 45 kilometers northwest of Jerusalem and about 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) southwest of Salfit. A town of over 6,000 inhabitants, Bani Zeid was founded when the villages of Deir Ghassaneh and Beit Rima merged to form a municipality in 1966 during the Jordanian rule.
Qatanna is a Palestinian town in the central West Bank part of the Jerusalem Governorate, located 12 km. northwest of Jerusalem. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 6,981 inhabitants in 2017. Primary health care for the town is level 2.
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Palestine produces no oil or natural gas and is predominantly dependent on the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) for electricity. According to UNCTAD, the Palestinian Territory "lies above sizeable reservoirs of oil and natural gas wealth" but "occupation continues to prevent Palestinians from developing their energy fields so as to exploit and benefit from such assets." In 2012, electricity available in West Bank and Gaza was 5,370 GW-hour, while the annual per capita consumption of electricity was 950 kWh. National sources only produce 445 GWh of electricity, supplying less than 10% of demand. The only domestic source of energy is the disputed Gaza Marine gas field, which has not yet been developed. Palestinian energy demand increased rapidly, increasing by 6.4% annually between 1999 and 2005. Future consumption of electricity is expected to reach 8,400 GWh by 2020 on the expectation that consumption will increase by 6% annually.
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The Palestinian cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, announced on 23 June 2016 a decision to hold municipal elections on 8 October 2016. The elections were suspended by the Palestinian Court in early September and in January 2017 they were set to 13 May 2017. They were expected to be the first elections in all of the Palestinian territories since Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007, as Hamas agreed to participate in the local elections and allow them to be held in the Gaza Strip but disagreements between Hamas and Fatah led to Hamas boycotting stating it will participate only after "ending disagreements, achieving reconciliation, and uniting Palestinian institutions, including at the political, judicial, and security levels". The elections were later slated to be held in West Bank in May 2017 and were postponed in Gaza Strip.
Events in the year 2020 in State of Palestine.