Azzun

Infobox Palestinian Authority muni
name=Azzun


imgsize=250
caption=
arname=عزّون
meaning=
founded=
type=munb
typefrom=
altOffSp='Azzun
altUnoSp=Azon
governorate=ql
latd=32|latm=10|lats=35.34|latNS=N
longd=35|longm=03|longs=34.43|longEW=E
population=8,300
popyear=2006
area=9,130
areakm=9.1
mayor=

Azzun ( _ar. عزّون) is a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank, located 24 kilometers south of Tulkarm and is a part of the Qalqilya Governorate. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Azzun had a population of approximately 8,300 in mid-year 2006. [ [http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/populati/pop04.aspx Projected Mid -Year Population for Qalqiliya Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006] Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.] Most of the inhabitants are Muslim, however there is also a significant Christian minority.

Azzun was a site of battle - part of Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in Palestine. An Arab poet, Ibrahim Touqan was quoted as saying, "by means of Azzun, how soaked [in] the blood [of] Franks [in the] mother valley." [ [http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/_Azzun_2232/Article_7942.html Azzun Past and Present] Abdul Aziz Arar.]

Prior to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the town had a total land area of 24,496 dunams. Today, the town consists of 9,130 dunams of which 1,209 dunams is built-up area. There are four mosques located in the town. Most of the population works in agriculture and herding (40%) or trade and handicrafts (41%), while the 19% work in public sectors. In 2008, the town's unemployment rate was 19%. [ [http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=1288 Israeli Occupation Forces closes the Northern Entrance of the Azzun Al Shamaliyya town] Land Research Center 2008-02-20]

References