Al-Auja, Jericho

History

The town is built along, and shares the name of, the Wadi al-Auja stream, "al-auja" meaning "the meandering one". This should not be confused with the other river called in Arabic by the same name, Nahr al-Auja, and known by its biblical and Hebrew name as the Yarkon River. During World War I this coincidence led to the term of "the line of the two Aujas" referring to a strategic line connecting the two river valleys.

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Al-Auja, together with ad-Duyuk and Nweimeh had a population of 332; 322 Muslims and 10 Christians, where the Christians were 7 Orthodox, and 3 Syrian Catholic. According to the 1931 census, Al-Auja had a population of 253 Muslims, in 100 houses.

In the 1945 statistics, the village's population was 290, while Arab el Nuseirat had 520, Arab el Kaabina had 260, Arab el Ureinat had 210 and Arab el Saayida had 110 members; a total of 1,390; all Muslims, and together they had jurisdiction over 106,946 dunams of land. Of this, 418 dunams were used for citrus and bananas, 2,822 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land, 6,502 for cereals, while a total of 97,204 dunams were classified as non-cultivable areas.

Jordanian era

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, al-Auja came under Jordanian rule. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950.

Post 1967

Since the 1967 Six-Day War, al-Auja has been under Israeli occupation. 30,147 dunams of al-Auja's land was classified as "closed-off area" barred from Palestinian use.

According to ARIJ, Israel have confiscated land from Al-Auja in order to construct four Israeli settlements:

• 993 dunams for Nativ HaGdud,
• 499 dunams for Yitav.
• 497 dunams for Na'aran (Niran),
• 268 dunams for Gilgal.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Auja had a population of over 4,000 inhabitants in mid-year 2006. In 1997, refugees constituted 24.7% of the population. The 15.5% of Al-Auja area which is located in "Area A", was transferred to the Palestinian National Authority in a 1994 deal which also included Jericho and Gaza. The remaining 84.5% of al-Auja is Area C, which remains under total Israeli control.

The town and the adjacent village of Ras al-Auja are subject to frequent attacks by settlers and military forces. This includes denying access to water sources, pumping which causes local springs to dry up, destruction of houses, confiscation of agricultural equipment, damaging livestock, uprooting of olive and date trees, interference with grazing and violent attacks on Palestinian civilians. In 2024, an illegal outpost was established near Al-Auja from which the settlers and hilltop youth launch attacks on the residents, including dumping waste into the local spring.

Archaeology

Archelais

Archelais, a Herodian town founded by and named after Herod Archelaus, is now an archaeological site on the northern outskirts of Auja (Khirbet el-Beiyudat), and is gradually being covered by modern Palestinian construction and devastated by treasure hunters.

References

Bibliography

References

1. (February 2018). "Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017". [[State of Palestine]].
2. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/al__Auja__993/Article_1995.html Welcome to al-'Auja] Palestine Remembered.
3. H. S. Gullett. (1923). "The Australian Imperial Force in Sinai and Palestine, 1914-1918". Angus & Robertson Ltd..
4. Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jericho, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n21/mode/1up 19]
5. Barron, 1923, Table XIV, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n47/mode/1up 45]
6. Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 45]
7. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p24.jpg 24]
8. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Jerusalem/Page-056.jpg 56] {{Webarchive. link. (2008-08-05)
9. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Jerusalem/Page-101.jpg 101] {{Webarchive. link. (2018-06-22)
10. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Jerusalem/Page-151.jpg 151] {{Webarchive. link. (2018-06-22)
11. [http://vprofile.arij.org/jericho/pdfs/vprofile/Al%20%27Auja_tp_en.pdf Al 'Auja Town Profile] p. 19
12. [http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/populati/pop09.aspx Projected Mid -Year Population for Jericho District by Locality 2004- 2006] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-02-07 [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]])
13. [http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/jer_t6.aspx Palestinian Population by Locality and Refugee Status] {{webarchive. link. (2008-11-18 (1997) [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]].)
14. link. (2007-08-14 [[Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem]]. 21 January 2006.)
15. Saifi, Zeena. (2026-01-28). "‘We are reliving the Nakba’: A Palestinian community says it’s being erased as Israeli settler violence intensifies".
16. (30 November 2022). "Israeli settlers continue to level Palestinian land near Jericho".
17. (24 March 2022). "Al-'Auja, Jordan Valley: Israel demolishes house under construction and confiscates community residents' bulldozer".
18. (3 February 2024). "Ras 'Ein al-'Auja, Jordan Valley: Israeli settlers, with military and police escort, steal sheep and fire in the air. Police officers arrest the sheep's owner following settlers' false claims".
19. "Israel uproots and confiscates dozens of olive and palm seedlings, al-'Auja area, Jericho District".
20. (September 8, 2023). "Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinian Village of Al-Auja in Jericho".
21. (April 15, 2024). "Extremist settlers begin building new outpost near Jericho".
22. Jacobson, David M.. (2014). "Editorial: Vandalism and Worse at Herodian Sites". [[Palestine Exploration Quarterly]].
23. Ben Zvi, Sara Jo. (8 January 2018). "Wanton Destruction on a Calamitous Scale".