- Al-Fasayil
Infobox Palestinian Authority muni
name=al-Fasayil
imgsize=250
caption=
arname=فصايل
meaning=
founded=1980s
type=mund
typefrom=
altOffSp=al-Fasa'il
altUnoSp=Khirbet al-Fasayil
governorate=jr
population=900
popyear=2006
area=47,951
areakm=48.0
mayor=al-Fasayil or al-Fasa'il ( _ar. فصايل) is a Palestinian village in the northeastern
West Bank , a part of theJericho Governorate , located 14 kilometers northwest ofJericho and about 40 kilometers southeast ofNablus . The closest Palestinian locality is Duma to the west. The village's total land area is 47,951dunam s. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/al_Fasa_il_2183/index.html Welcome to al-Fasa'il] PalestineRemembered.]History
Al-Fasayil was known as "Phasaelis". The village's ancient name derived from a tower that
Herod the Great built in theJordan Valley north of Jericho in dedication to his elder brotherPhasael . [Josephus , Jewish War" 1.21.9;] This has lead to the belief that Herod founded "Phasaelis". [http://www.vkrp.org/studies/historical/herodian-estates/info/southern-jordan-river.asp The Estate of the Southern Jordan River] Virtual Karak Resources Project and Appalachian College Association.] It was mentioned by Roman historianJosephus as being south of "Archelais ". It is also found on theMap of Madaba surrounded bydate palm s. The tomb of an anchorite named Peter was found in the village in 1949. [http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/mad/discussion/008discuss.html Phasaelis - (Kh. Fasayil)] Studium Biblicum Franciscanum - Jerusalem.2000-12-19 .]The ruins of a monastery dedicated to
Saint Cyriacus , a commemorated monk who died 556 CE, is also located in al-Fasayil. Among the ruins on the site is a large square building, of which now only the outline is visible, because it is almost completely buried. At the mouth of the nearby Wadi al-Fasayil, in a little mound, there is a "birkeh" ("pool") and many unexcavated remains of walls. The site is called Tell Sheikh ad-Diab because of a tomb of this personage, still in good condition.It was mentioned by a monk named Brocardus in the 13th century as being a small village called Pheselch and in the 14th century by
Marino Sanuto the Elder as being a small village by the name of Fasaelis. [Sharon, Moshe. (1997). [http://books.google.com/books?id=01ogNhTNz54C&pg=PA201&dq=Fasa%27il&lr=&sig=ACfU3U21FQ2DhV8St1dntUQ1z_ylBHjr3w#PPA201,M1 Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, (CIAP)] BRILL, pp.201-205.]The current village of al-Fasayil was established by
Bedouin s, mostlyPalestinian refugee s from theNaqab desert in the 1980s. Many of the inhabitants are registered as residents of theBethlehem Governorate and not Jericho. Al-Fasayil was part of theNablus Governorate until 1995 when it became a part of theJericho Governorate . [ [http://www.un.org/unrwa/access/BedouinReport_May06.pdf Report on the Situation of Bedouin Refugees in the West Bank]United Nations UNRWA . May 2006.]In 2006,
Israel i authorities demolished 15 shelters in the village, and in 2008 an additional 6 were demolished. [ [http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=1290 Jordan Valley Residents] Land Research Center.2008-03-01 .] Al-Fasayil gained international attention when in 2007 theIsrael Defense Forces planned on demolishing the village's primary school. Since al-Fasayil is located in Area C of the West Bank, Israel has complete control over the village, and granting building permits are authorized by them; the school was built without a permit. Residents often complain about the rarity of Israel permitting construction in the village. [ [http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGACT600222007?open&of=ENG-2MD The fight to build a West Bank village school]Amnesty International .2007-11-01 .]Demographics
Its population was 318 in 1961, decreasing dramatically to about 150 in 1983. According to a census taken by the
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics , al-Fasayil had a population of 648 in 1997, of which 31% were refugees fleeing other parts of the West Bank in the 1967Six-Day War . [ [http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/jer_t6.aspx Palestinian Population by Locality and Refugee Status]Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics .] The gender make-up was approximately 50% male and 50% female. [ [http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/jer_t1.aspx Palestinian Population by Locality, Sex and Age Groups in Years]Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics .] There were 900 inhabitants in mid-year 2006. [ [http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/populati/pop09.aspx Projected Mid -Year Population for Jericho Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006]Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics .]References
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