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Deir el-Balah

Deir al-Balah
Other transcription(s)
 • Arabic دير البلح
 • Also spelled Deir el-Balah (official)
Dayr al-Balah (unofficial)
Skyline of Deir al-Balah, 2008
Skyline of Deir al-Balah, 2008
Deir al-Balah is located in the Palestinian territories
Deir al-Balah
Deir al-Balah
Location of Deir al-Balah within the Palestinian territories
Coordinates: 31°25′08″N 34°21′06″E / 31.41889°N 34.35167°E / 31.41889; 34.35167Coordinates: 31°25′08″N 34°21′06″E / 31.41889°N 34.35167°E / 31.41889; 34.35167
Palestine grid 88/92
Governorate Deir al-Balah
Founded 14th century BC
Government
 • Type City (from 1994)
 • Head of Municipality Sa'ed Nassar
Area
 • Jurisdiction 14,735 dunams (14.7 km2 or 5.7 sq mi)
Population (2007)
 • Jurisdiction 54,439
Name meaning "Monastery of the Date Palm"

Deir al-Balah or Dayr al-Balah (Arabic: دير البلح‎‎ translated Monastery of the Date Palm) is a Palestinian city in the central Gaza Strip and the administrative capital of the Deir el-Balah Governorate. It is located over 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) south of Gaza City. The city had a population of 54,439 in 2007. The city is known for its date palms, after which it is named.

Deir al-Balah dates back to the Late Bronze Age when it served as a fortified outpost for the New Kingdom of Egypt. A monastery was built there by the Christian monk Hilarion in the mid-4th century AD and is currently believed to be the site of a mosque dedicated to Saint George, known locally as al-Khidr. During the Crusader-Ayyubid wars, Deir al-Balah was the site of a strategic coastal fortress known as "Darum" which was continuously contested, dismantled and rebuilt by both sides until its final demolition in 1196. Afterward, the site grew to become a large village on the postal route of the Mamluk Sultanate (13th-15th centuries). It served as an episcopal see of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem in Ottoman times until the late 19th century.

Under Egyptian control Deir al-Balah, whose population tripled through the influx of refugees from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, was a prosperous agricultural town until its capture by Israel in the Six-Day War. After 27 years of Israeli occupation, Deir al-Balah became the first city to come under Palestinian self-rule in 1994. Since the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000, it has witnessed frequent incursions by the Israeli Army with the stated aim of stopping Qassam rocket fire into Israel.Ahmad Kurd, a Hamas member, was elected mayor in late January 2005.


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