Tulkarm
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Tulkarm or Tulkarem (Arabic: طولكرم Ṭūlkarm; Hebrew: טול כרם) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank.
The city's origins can be traced back to at least the third century C.E. under the name "Berat Soreqa", and in later centuries as "Tur Karma" (in Aramaic: טור כרמא), which means “mount of vineyards” in Aramaic, as the city is known for the fertility of the land and the vines around it. "Tur Karma" later became "Tul Karem". [1] "Kerem" means "vineyard" in Hebrew and mentioned in Book of Jeremiah:31:3:"Again shalt thou plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall have the use thereof".
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[edit] Location
The city is situated on the western part of the northern West bank, in the foothills of the Samarian mountains about 15 kilometres west of Nablus and 15 kilometres east of the Israeli coastal town of Netanya. It is bounded by the Jenin, Nablus and Qalqilya districts in the north, east and south, respectively, and by the 1948 cease-fire line in the west. This central location between the plain and the mountain has made it commercially and militarily significant and has had a great effect on its growth. The district lies between 40 to 500 m above sea level and is entirely within a fertile zone. This is a cause of regional high population density relative to other districts. Population density in the Tulkarm district is about 583 person/km² while in Ramallah, Hebron and Bethlehem districts it is 209, 245 and 230 person/km² respectively. In the past, it was a caravan station and a trading centre for the products of the mountain and the plain, as well as a point from which armies crossed to Egypt and the Levant (Al-Sham).
Tulkarm is at the crossroads of three historically important arteries: A road which runs north from the Latrun area along the edge of the plain to Mount Carmel and the Galilee, a road which winds northward along the outer tier of hills from the Ajalon valley to the Jezreel Valley, and a road that rises from the Mediterranean Sea at modern-day Netanya east to Nablus. In the past it was a junction of the coastal railroad from north of Haifa to Cairo and a branch of the narrow gauge Hejaz railway to Damascus.
Archeological findings reveal that an agglomeration has existed here at least since the Roman Period. Tulkarm's name has its roots in the Aramaic Tur Karma (Vineyard Hill), which was used by the Samaritan inhabitants of the Middle Ages and by the Crusaders. In the past, Tulkarm has assumed the form of a small village, but it has expanded since the beginning of the 20th century due to an increase in the traffic passing through. This development came to a halt in the 1930s with the construction of the Petah Tikva-Hadera highway, which bypasses the town in the west. Despite the fact that the Israel-Jordan armistice border of 1949 encircled Tulkarm in the southwest, west and north-west, the town population has increased considerably and it has become an administrative and agricultural center. The town has an agricultural school established during the British Mandate of Palestine with a monetary contribution by the philanthropist J.S. Kadoorie. Nowadays, it is recognized as a prominent community college in agriculture and teacher training.
[edit] Land use
Tulkarm was built over a relatively higher area than that surrounding it. The choice of the location was at the bottom of the mountainous heights so as to make it possible to defend the city, provide the stones for the construction and keep the buildings away from the plainland suitable for agriculture. The land which was formed as a result of the new fourth epoch consists mostly of creeping sands from the west to the east. The mountainous valleys carry quantities of Alluvium and gravel to Tulkarm's lands in the seasons of the heavy rain and floods, thus forming fertile soil. In addition, an aquifer feeds numerous wells and springs in the area.
Tulkarm is distinguished by the moderating effect the sea breeze has on its climate. The average temperature doesn’t exceed 27°C in August, while February's average temperature doesn’t fall below 13.5°C, and the humidity is moderate in summer, about 40-70%, though it rises in winter to between 70-85%. Tulkarm receives in excess of 550 mm of rain yearly, which is un-concentrated and irregular, characteristic of the Mediterranean Basin.
Land designations in the West Bank are defined by the recent "Oslo II" interim agreement, where Tulkarm proper is Area 'A,' or full Palestinian control. The surrounding villages are in either Area 'A' or 'B,' wherein Palestinian control is limited to non-security affairs. Much of the open area around Tulkarm is Area 'C,' or full Israeli responsibility. Presently, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is not able to assume complete sovereignty over Palestinian land, and the division of the Palestinian territories into A, B and C hinders the potentials of dealing with the Palestinian areas as a whole geographic integrity as an essential ingredient for sound environmental management. The Tulkarm district covers approximately 334.53 km², comprising 5.7% of the West Bank and 5.4% of the Palestinian territories (Gaza Strip and West Bank). Currently, only 5.39% of the Tulkarm district contains Palestinian built-up areas, while approximately 2.73% is taken up by Israeli settlements, nature reserves, forests and military bases. The Tulkarm district area is divided by the "Oslo II" interim agreement as follows: Area A, which includes Tulkarm and Qalqilyah cities in addition to Tulkarm Refugee Camp, covers 10.155 km² (3.0%) of the district's land. Since October 1995, the Israeli army has withdrawn from this area, and all responsibilities for internal security and public order are presently held by Palestinians.
[edit] Israeli settlements
Avnei Hefetz, Sal'it and Einav are the three Israeli settlements in the area.
[edit] Israeli control in July 2006
On July 22, 2006, Israeli soldiers attacked Tulkarm after having laid siege for a week. They sent in about 60 armed vehicles and fired live ammunition and sound bombs. Tulkarm residents responded by attacking the Israeli forces.[1]
[edit] Nature reserves
Currently, Israel has declared one nature reserve in the Tulkarm district with a total area of almost 1.735 km² (0.52% of the Tulkarm district area).
[edit] Forests
There are six forests in the district, with a total area of about 4.146 km² (1.24% of the total area). Most of these forests are located on fertile soil types (terra rossa, brown rendzinas and pale rendzinas).
[edit] Population
At the end of the British mandate, the Tulkarm district was composed of 77 villages in addition to the cities of Tulkarm and Qalqiliya (Encyclopedia Palestina, 1984). The total area of the Tulkarm district under the British Mandate was about 835.361 km², but this area was reduced to 333 km² when the Israeli army occupied a large part of the area during the 1948 war and incorporated it in Israel. In 1945, the total estimated population of the Tulkarm district was 86,140; however, the 1961 statistics show a decline to 83,600. This decline is due to the shrinking of the Tulkarm district's area and the high number of inhabitants who were forced to leave during the 1948 Arab Israeli-war (Encyclopedia Palestina, 1984). The current population of the Tulkarm district is estimated at 162,936 people including the two refugee camps, Tulkarm and Nur Shams, representing 12.4% of the total population of the West Bank. The number of people living in the rural areas is representing 52.8% of the total population of the Tulkarm district. Approximately 20,778 people live in refugee camps, 54,281 live in urban areas.
[edit] Climate
The climate of Tulkarm is subtropical, with rainfall limited to the winter. The average temperature in the winter ranges from 8 to 16 °C, while the average temperature in the summer ranges from 17 to 30 °C.
[edit] Precipitation
The rainy season in the Tulkarm district usually starts in October and continues through May. Between December and February, almost 70% of annual rainfall occurs, while 20% of annual rainfall occurs in October and November. December and January are normally the wettest months in the Tulkarm district. Rain in June and September is rare and comes to negligible amounts. July and August have no rain at all, except for one rainfall of 1.5 mm on July 10, 1995 in Tulkarm City (Tulkarm Agricultural Department).
The mean annual rainfall in the Tulkarm City is 642 mm for the period from 1952 to 1995 (Tulkarm Agricultural Department).
The amount of mean annual rainfall in the Tulkarm district varies from year to year and rain may fall with great intensity in wet years.
There is no available data on a hail in the Tulkarm district, but hail associated with thunderstorms can occur in Tulkarm district, mostly in midwinter. This hail is liable to cause damage principally to vegetables and ripening oranges (Orni, E. 1980).
[edit] Dew
There is no available data on the amount of dew fall in the Tulkarm district. It is known, however, that dew is greater in the west, closer to the sea especially on windless nights when the soil grows colder than the air that touches its surface. In general, the coastal plain of Israel has an average of 200 nights of dew per year and the total annual dew fall in the region is estimated at 30 mm.[2]
[edit] Humidity
Humidity in the Tulkarm district reaches high values with an annual average of 69.6%. In winter, this value increases to an average of 75.9% in February while in May it reaches its lowest value of 62.4%. Summer months are humid with an average humidity of 70.3% from June to August.
[edit] Temperature
The mean annual maximum temperature for the Tulkarm district is 22.3 °C and the mean annual minimum is 15.6 °C. Exposure to marine influences mitigates the temperature in the summer months especially at midday. The mean temperature from June to August is 25 °C. This value increases to an average of 26.2 °C in August (the hottest month). From 1992 until 1996, the highest maximum temperature measured was 41.4 °C at 2 p.m. on May 12, 1996. In winter, the area is influenced by warm air from the sea. The average temperature from December to February is 11.8 °C. The coldest days of the year come in January with an average of 11 °C.
[edit] Winds
In the Tulkarm district, the wind direction mainly lies between the southwest and northwest with mean annual wind speed of 3.4 km/h. In winter, the district is influenced by the depressions passing from west to east over the Mediterranean. These depressions bring westerly rain bearing winds. The average wind speed from December to February is 4.1 km/h. In summer, the district is influenced by the sea breeze that comes from the west. The incoming sea breeze usually begins to be felt in the Tulkarm district in the morning. Towards noon, winds change their direction to southeast and later in the evening they turn to south and southwest. The average wind speed from June to August is 2.85 km/h. In September and October, winds are more northerly with an average wind speed of 2.78 km/h. In spring, Khamaseen winds may blow over the area full of sand and dust. These winds cause rising temperatures and drop in humidity. The mean daily wind speed from April to June is 3.2 km/h.
[edit] Transportation
Roads in this district are classified into three categories, the first type is the solid surfaced roads with two lanes which connect Tulkarm and Qalqiliya cities with other districts. The second one is the one-lane solid surfaced roads which connect most of the rural communities. The third type is the unpaved roads in the rural areas. It should be mentioned here that most of the roads in the Tulkarm district lack the basic safety requirements. Transportation services available in the Tulkarm district comprise public buses and taxis in addition to private vehicles. However, due to insufficiency of organized public transportation system, it is noticed that a high percentage of private vehicles are being used by their owners to transport passengers between communities. This kind of transportation is dangerous due to lack of safety requirements and because drivers working in these cars are not qualified to work in public transportation. Added to this is the lack of insurance and licensing in most of these cars, which makes such transportation risky.
Nearly 21% of the population in the Tulkarm district have access to a limited number of lever-turned telephones in rural areas and 27% of the population have access to automatic switch boards. Hence it is concluded that 52% of the total population in this district are deprived of telephone services.[3]
[edit] Languages
The majority of the population speaks Arabic; however English is widely spoken as a second language. Hebrew is also understood among the residents.
[edit] Agriculture
Tulkarm produces citrus fruits, melons, olives, olive oil, tomatoes, potatoes, wheat, sesame, peanut, eggplant, chilly pepper, green beans, guava, and other products.
[edit] Education
There is a two-year and a four-year college at Tulkarm called the Khodori Institute, Al-Quds open university and two colleges for An-Najah National University. There are four high schools - two for girls and two for boys.
[edit] Television
Tulkarm has three private television stations; Al-Salam, Al-Fajir Al-Jadied and Al-Bilad.
[edit] Sports
Tulkarm has 2 semi-professional soccer teams; one is called Markez Shabab Tulkarm and the other is called Thaqafi Tulkarm. Both are in The Palestinian League Division One and both are usually on or near the top of the standings.
[edit] Notable people
- Ekrem Akurgal - Turkish archaeologist born in 1911 in Tulkarm
[edit] References
- ^ Bannoura, Ghassan H. "Army invades Tulkarem", IMEMC, July 22, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-03-09.
- ^ (Orni, E. 1980)
- ^ (Barghouthi and Daibes,1993)
Ariel (אריאל) • Beit Jala (بيت جالا/בית ג'אלה) • Betar Illit (ביתר עילית) • Bethlehem (بيت لحم/בית לחם) • East Jerusalem (القُدس/מזרח ירושלים) • Hebron (الخليل/חברון) • Jenin (جنين/ג'נין) • Jericho (أريحا/יריחו) • Ma'ale Adummim (מעלה אדומים) • Modi'in Illit (מודיעין עילית) • Nablus (نابلس/שׁכם) • Qalqilyah (قلقيلية/קלקיליה) • Ramallah (رام الله/רמאללה) • Salfit (سلفيت/סלפית) • Tulkarm (طولكرم/טול כרם)
