Deir Jarir

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Deir Jarir
Arabic دير جرير
Government Municipality
Also Spelled Dayr Jarir (officially)
Governorate Ramallah & al-Bireh
Population 4,300 (2006[1])
Jurisdiction 33,357 dunams (33.4 km²)

Deir Jarir (Arabic: دير جرير‎) is a Palestinian agricultural town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank, located eleven kilometers east of Ramallah. It is situated on a hilltop overlooking the Jordan Valley at an elevation of 900 meters.[2] According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Deir Jarir had a population of approximately 4,300 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.[1]

It spreads along a large land area of 33,357 dunams, of which 17.2% is under the civil jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), while the remainder is under Israeli military control. Most of the land administered by the PNA is the city's built-up area and most of Deir Jarir's cultivated lands are grown with grape vines and fig and olive trees. Open-spaces make-up 76% of the town's area.[2]

In September 2005, hundreds of armed residents from Deir Jarir attacked the nearby town of Taybeh, which was provoked by a family feud. The feud was caused by a Christian man from Taybeh allegedly having intimate relations with a Muslim woman from Deir Jarir. The attack left dozens of houses burnt to the ground and three men were arrested (two from Deir Jarir and one from Taybeh). Despite the incident, the neighboring towns continue to have healthy relations; residents say "the people of Taybeh and the people of Deir Jarir are one family".[3]

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