Al Jib

Al Jib
Other transcription(s)
• Arabic	الجيب
• Also spelled	al-Jib (official) al-Jeeb, el-Jib, el-Jeeb (unofficial)
View of Al Jib's center, 2012
Al Jib Location of Al Jib within the Palestinian territories
Coordinates: 31°51′N 35°11′E / 31.850°N 35.183°E / 31.850; 35.183Coordinates: 31°51′N 35°11′E / 31.850°N 35.183°E / 31.850; 35.183
Palestine grid	167/139
Governorate	Jerusalem
Government
• Type	Village council
Area
• Jurisdiction	9,879 dunams (9.9 km2 or 3.8 sq mi)
Population (2006, approx.)
• Jurisdiction	4,700
Name meaning	Al Jib, personal name

Al Jib or al-Jib (Arabic: الجيب‎‎) is a Palestinian village in the Jerusalem Governorate, located ten kilometers northwest of Jerusalem, in the seam zone of the West Bank. The surrounding lands are home to Al Jib Bedouin. Since 1967, Al Jib is occupied by Israel and about 90% of its lands are assigned as Area C. About a quarter of the land is seized by Military Orders for the establishment of Israeli settlements. The neighborhood Al Khalayleh was separated by the West Bank barrier. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Al Jib had a population of approximately 4,700 in 2006. The modern village is identified with the ancient city of Gibeon.

The 10th-century lexicographer, David ben Abraham al-Fasi, identified Al Jib with the ancient city, Gibeon, which view was corroborated also by the Hebrew Lexicon compiled by Wilhelm Gesenius and Frants Buhl ("now al-Ǧīb"). However, the first scientific identification of Al Jib with the ancient Canaanite city of Gibeon was made by Edward Robinson in 1838. Archaeological excavations led by James Pritchard in 1956, 1957, and 1959 confirmed this identification with the discovery of 56 jar handles inscribed with the Semitic triliteral gb'n. The inscriptions were dated to the end of the Judean monarchy and have been cross-referenced against genealogical lists in the Book of Chronicles. While they include many Benjaminite names, they also include non-Israelite names, attesting to the intermixing of local population.