Al-Auja, Jericho
| al-Auja | |
|---|---|
| Other transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | العوجا |
| • Also spelled | al-'Auja (official) al-Awja (unofficial) |
Southern entrance to al-Auja, 2011
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 al-Auja
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| Coordinates: 31°56′51.39″N 35°27′42.39″E / 31.9476083°N 35.4617750°ECoordinates: 31°56′51.39″N 35°27′42.39″E / 31.9476083°N 35.4617750°E | |
| Governorate | Jericho |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality (from 1994) |
| Area | |
| • Jurisdiction | 107,905 dunams (107.9 km2 or 41.7 sq mi) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Jurisdiction | 4,000 |
Al-Auja (Arabic: العوجا) is a Palestinian town in the Jericho Governorate in the eastern West Bank, located ten kilometers north of Jericho. The town has a total area of 107,905 dunams, however its built-up area comprises only 832 dunams. After Israel's occupation of the West Bank in the 1967 Six-Day War, 30,147 dunams of al-Auja's land was classified as "closed-off area" barred from Palestinian use. It is situated 230 meters below sea level.
The town is built along, and shares the name of, the Wadi al-Auja stream, "al-auja" meaning "the meandering one". This should not to 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.
Agricultural land makes up over 10% of the town's area, mostly planted with bananas, oranges, and vegetables for which al-Auja is well known. Irrigation water is mainly supplied from the al-Auja spring.
According to a census conducted in 1931 by the British Mandate authorities, Al-Auja had a population of 253, in 100 houses. 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. Located in "Area A", complete control over al-Auja was transferred to the Palestinian National Authority in a 1994 deal which also included Jericho and Gaza.
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