Al-Qubeiba () is a Palestinian town in the Jerusalem Governorate of Palestine, located 2 kilometers northwest of Jerusalem in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics in 2017, the village had a population of 3,876. Al-Qubeiba lies at an altitude of 783m to 795m above sea-level. It is located in a conflict area near the border with Israel between Ramallah and Jerusalem. The settlement of Giv'on HaHadashah lies 5 km southeast of al-Qubeiba. It is surrounded by the town of Biddu (east), Beit 'Anan (northwest), Qatanna (southwest), and Kharayib Umm al-Lahim (west). Unlike the surrounding region, al-Qubeiba has large areas covered with pine and olive trees.
History Crusader to Mamluk period In the Crusader era a new Frankish village was erected along the still extant Roman road and received the name Parva Mahomeria.Pringle, 1998, pp. 167-9 In 1159 it was mentioned in a document defining its borders with Beit 'Anan.Röhricht, 1893, RHH, p. 88, no 338
After the expulsion of the Crusaders from the Holy Land, the next Christian established presence in Palestine were the Franciscan custodians of the holy sites. During the 13th century Qubeibeh was gradually adopted by pilgrims as the location of Emmaus, the village mentioned in Luke 24:13-35, eventually replacing Abu Ghosh in this function. From 1335 on the Franciscans adopted it too and began an annual pilgrimage to this site.
Late Ottoman period In 1838 el-Kubeibeh was noted as a Muslim village, part of Beni Malik area, located west of Jerusalem.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 124
In 1863 the French explorer Victor Guérin described it as a village of a hundred people who lived in old houses, each consisting of a single vaulted room.Guérin, 1868, pp. 348-61
An Ottoman village list from about 1870 found that el-kubebe had a population of 79, in 12 houses, though the population count included only men.Socin, 1879, p. 157 Also noted that it was in the Beni Malik areaHartmann, 1883, p. 118, also noted 12 houses
In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described it as a "village of moderate size, standing on a flat ridge with a few olives to the west. [..] To the west is a monastery of Latin monks, established in 1862."Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 17 A ruined Crusader church was noted.Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, pp. 130-131
In 1896 the population of El-kubebe was estimated to be about 144 persons.Schick, 1896, p. 126 Note that Schick mistakenly writes the Socin number for Al-Qubayba, Ramle, that is, 499.
British Mandate period In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Al-Qubeiba had a population of 236 inhabitants, consisting of 26 Christians and 210 Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jerusalem, p. 15 where all the Christians were Roman Catholics.Barron, 1923, Table XIV, p. 45 This had increased in the 1931 census to 316, 55 Christians and 261 Muslim, in 83 residential houses.Mills, 1932, p. 42
In the 1945 statistics Al-Qubeiba had a population of 420; 340 Muslims and 80 Christians,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 25 with 3,184 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 58 Of this, 534 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 1,032 used for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 104 while 22 dunams were built-up land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 154
Jordanian period In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Al-Qubeiba came under Jordanian rule. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950.
In 1961, the population of Qubeiba was 701,Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 24 of whom 116 were Christian, the rest Muslim.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, pp. 115-116
Post-1967 Since the Six-Day War in 1967 Al-Qubeiba has been under Israeli occupation. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 688, of whom 21 originated from the Israeli territory.
After the 1995 Oslo accords, 53.3% of village land was classified as Area B, and the remaining 46.2% as Area C. Israel has expropriated more than 500 dunams of village land in order to construct the West Bank barrier.Al Qubeiba Village Profile, ARIJ, pp. 16–17
Tourism St. Cleophas Church is in Al-Qubeiba.
Geopolitical status Al-Qubeiba along with Beit Duqqu, Beit 'Anan, Beit Surik, Qatanna, Biddu, Beit Ijza, Kharayib Umm al-Lahim and at-Tira form the "Biddu enclave". The enclave is linked to Ramallah by underpasses and a road that is fenced on both sides. From the "Biddu enclave" Palestinians will travel along a fenced road that passes under a bypass road to Bir Nabala enclave, then on a second underpass under Bypass Road 443 to Ramallah.OCHA
Diaa' A-Din 'Abd al-Karim Ibrahim Abu 'Eid was shot dead by gunfire during an anti-barrier demonstration on 18 April 2004.B'Tselem West Bank Statistics Muhammad Fadel Hashem Rian and Zakaria Mahmoud 'Eid Salem were shot dead during anti-barrier demonstrations on 26 February 2004 at Beit Ijaz (a satellite village of Biddu).
Health The medical facilities for al-Qubeiba are classified as level 2 according to the Palestinian National Authority Ministry of Health.Health care Facilities West Bank
References
Bibliography
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External links Welcome To al-Qubayba Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17: IAA, Wikimedia commons Al Qubeibah Village (Fact Sheet), Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem, (ARIJ) Al Qubeiba Village Profile, ARIJ Al Qubeiba aerial photo, ARIJ Locality Development Priorities and Needs in Al Qubeiba, ARIJ