Hebron Governorate

Governorate of Palestine

31°30′N 35°06′E﻿ / ﻿31.5°N 35.1°E﻿ / 31.5; 35.1

Governorate in Palestine

Hebron Governorate

Governorate

2018 United Nations map of the area, showing the Israeli occupation arrangements in the governorate

Country|  Palestine
Area

• Total

| 1,060 km2 (410 sq mi)
Population

(2017 Census)[1]

• Total

| 711,223
| This figure excludes the Israeli West Bank settlements
ISO 3166 code| PS-HBN
Governorates of the West Bank (Palestine)

Jenin

Qabatiya

Ya'bad

Yamun

JENIN

Tulkarm

TULKARM

TUBAS

Tubas

Nablus

NABLUS

QALQILYA

Qalqilya

SALFIT

Salfit

RAMALLAH AND AL-BIREH

Ramallah

al-Bireh

Beitunia

Jericho

JERICHO

al-Quds (Jerusalem)

QUDS

Bethlehem

BETHLEHEM

HEBRON

Halhul

Hebron

Yatta

Dura

ad-Dhahiriya

* v
* t
* e

The Hebron Governorate (Arabic: محافظة الخليل, romanized: Muḥāfaẓat al-Khalīl) is an administrative district of Palestine in the southern West Bank.

The governorate's land area is 1,060 square kilometres (410 sq mi) and its population according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics in mid-year 2019 was 1,004,510. This makes the Hebron Governorate the largest of 16 governorates in both population and land area in the Palestinian territories.[2] The city of Hebron is the district capital or muhfaza (seat) of the governorate. The governor is Hussein al-Araj and its district commander[ambiguous] is Abdel Fattah al-Ju’eidi.[3]

During the first six months of the First Intifada 42 people in Hebron Governorate were killed by the Israeli army.[4]

## Emirates proposal

[edit]

The Wall Street Journal reported in July 2025 that a group of sheikhs of the Jaabari clan in Hebron, led by Wadee’ al-Jaabari, had penned a joint letter to Israeli economy minister Nir Barkat proposing to leave the Palestinian Authority to join the Abraham Accords and set up an "Emirate of Hebron". This plan had previously been proposed by Israeli scholar Mordechai Kedar, which would have Palestinian clans rule their local territories, rather than the PA or Hamas, modeled on the United Arab Emirates system. Jaabari met with a WSJ writer and later a Jerusalem Post writer, and said the sheikhs reject the Oslo Accords, do not trust the Palestinian Authority, and want a new solution. The plan will create a special economic zone and allow thousands of Hebron residents to work in Israel, which stopped after the October 7 attacks.[5][6]

## Localities

[edit]

The Hebron Governorate has a total of seven cities and eighteen towns. The governorate also contains more than 100 Bedouin villages and settlements that are not listed below.[2]

### Cities

[edit]

* Dura
* Halhul
* Hebron (capital)
* Yatta
* ad-Dhahiriya

### Municipalities

[edit]

The following localities have municipality status from the Ministry of Local Government of the Palestinian National Authority.

* Bani Na'im
* Beit 'Awwa
* Beit Ula
* Beit Ummar
* Deir Sammit
* Idhna
* Kharas

* Nuba
* Sa'ir
* as-Samu
* Surif
* Tarqumiya
* Taffuh

|
|

### Village councils

[edit]

The following have populations over 1,000 persons.

* Al Baqa
* Beit 'Amra
* Beit Einun
* Beit Kahil
* Beit ar-Rush al-Fauqa
* al-Burj
* Deir al-'Asal al-Fauqa
* ad-Duwwara
* Hadab al-Fawwar
* al-Heila
* Hureiz
* Imreish
* Jinba
* Karma
* al-Karmil
* Khalet al-Maiyya
* Khursa
* Ruq'a

* al-Kum
* Al-Muwarraq
* As Simiya
* Khirbet Safa
* Khirbat al-Simia
* Kuseis
* al-Majd
* Qalqas
* Qila
* al-Ramadien
* ar-Rihiya
* ash-Shuyukh
* Shuyukh al-Arrub
* as-Sura
* at-Tabaqa
* al-Uddeisa
* Zif

|
|

### Refugee camps

[edit]

* al-Arroub
* al-Fawwar

## Demographics

[edit]

Year  | Muslims  | Christians  | Jews  | Total  | Notes and sources

|
|
|
|
|

1538  | 749 h  | 7 h  | 20 h  | 776 h  | (h = households), Cohen & Lewis[7]
1774  |  |  | 300  |  | Azulai[8]
1817  |  |  | 500  |  | Israel Foreign Ministry[9]
1820  |  |  | 1,000  |  | William Turner[10]
1824  |  |  | 60 h  |  | (40 h Sephardim, 20 h Ashkenazim), The Missionary Herald[11]
1832  | 400 h  |  | 100 h  | 500 h  | (h = households), Augustin Calmet, Charles Taylor, Edward Robinson[12]
1837  |  |  | 423  |  | Montefiore census
1838  | c. 6000–7,000  | "few"  | 700  | 7–8,000  | William McClure Thomson[13]
1839  | 1295 f  | 1 f  | 241  |  | (f = families), David Roberts[14][15]
1840  |  |  | 700–800  |  | James A. Huie[16]
1851  | 11,000  |  | 450  |  | Official register[17]
1851  |  |  | 400  |  | Clorinda Minor[18]
1866  |  |  | 497  |  | Montefiore census
1871–2  | 2,800 h  |  | 200 h  | 3,000 h  | Ottoman records for the Syrian provincial sālnāme for these years[19]
1875  | 8,000–10,000  |  | 500  |  | Albert Socin[17]
1875  | 17,000  |  | 600  |  | Hebron Kaymakam[17]
1881  |  |  | 1,000–1,200  |  | PEF Survey of Palestine[17]
1881  |  |  | 800  | 5,000  | The Friend[20]
1890  |  |  | 1,490  |  | Jewish Encyclopedia
1895  |  |  | 1,400  |  | [21]
1906  |  |  | 1,100  | 14,000  | (690 Sephardim, 410 Ashkenazim), Jewish Encyclopedia
1922  | 16,074  | 73  | 430  | 16,577  | 1922 census of Palestine[22]
1929  |  |  | 700  |  | Israel Foreign Ministry[9]
1930  |  |  | 0  |  | Israel Foreign Ministry[9]
1931  | 17,277  | 109  | 134  | 17,532  | 1931 census of Palestine[23]
1938  |  |  | 0  | 20,400  | Village Statistics, 1938[24]
1945  | 24,400  | 150  | 0  | 24,560  | Village Statistics, 1945[25]
1961  |  |  |  | 37,868  | Jordanian census[26][27]
1967  | 38,073  | 136  |  | 38,348  | Israeli census[28]
1997  | n/a  | n/a  |  | 119,093  | Palestinian census[29]
2007  | n/a  | n/a  |  | 163,146  | Palestinian census[30]

## See also

[edit]

* Governorates of Palestine

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Main Indicators by Type of Locality - Population, Housing and Establishments Census 2017" (PDF). Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
2. ^ a b Hebron Governorate Statistical Yearbook No. 2; Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. pp. 59, 60. PCBS, November 2010.
3. ^ Hébron
4. ^ B'Tselem information sheet (July 1989). p. 4.
5. ^ Bob, Yonah Jeremy (July 6, 2025). "Reporter's Notebook: 'Post' meets with top Hebron sheikh who wants to pull out of PA". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
6. ^ "The unusual letter from the sheikhs of Hebron: Recognize the 'Emirate of Hebron' and we will recognize Israel". Ynet. Yedioth Ahronoth. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
7. ^ Lewis, Bernard; Cohen, Amnon (March 8, 2015). Population and Revenue in the Towns of Palestine in the Sixteenth Century. Princeton University Press. p. 109\. ISBN 978-1-4008-6779-0.
8. ^ רבי חיים יוסף דוד אזולאי, Meir Benayhu, Mosad Harav Kook, 1959.
9. ^ a b c "Hebron". Jewish Virtual Library.
10. ^ Turner, W. (1820). Journal of a tour in the Levant. Vol. 2\. John Murray. p. 261. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
11. ^ "American Board of Foreign Missions: Palestine Mission". The Missionary Herald. March 1825. p. 65.
12. ^ Augustin Calmet (1832). Dictionary of the Holy Bible. Crocker and Brewster. p. 488\. ISBN 978-1-4047-8796-4. `{{cite book}}`: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
13. ^ William McClure Thomson, The Land and the Book, Southern Palestine and Jerusalem, p. 275
14. ^ Robinson, p. 88
15. ^ David Roberts, The Holy Land – 123 Coloured Facsimile Lithographs and The Journal from his visit to the Holy Land. Terra Sancta Arts. 1982. ISBN 978-965-260-001-1. Plate III – 13. Journal entry March 17, 1839.
16. ^ James A. Huie (1840). The history of the Jews, from the taking of Jerusalem by Titus to the present time [by J.A. Huie]. p. 242.
17. ^ a b c d PEF Survey of Western Palestine, Volume III, p. 309
18. ^ Clorinda Minor (1851). Meshullam!: Or, Tidings from Jerusalem. Arno Press. p. 58\. ISBN 978-0-405-10302-5. `{{cite book}}`: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
19. ^ Alexander Scholch (Schölch), "The Demographic Development of Palestine, 1850-1882". International Journal of Middle East Studies Vol. 17, No. 4. (November 1985). p. 486.
20. ^ "Jewish Life in the East". The Friend. Vol. 54–55\. May 28, 1881. p. 333.
21. ^ Tzvi Rabinowicz (1996). The Encyclopedia of Hasidism. Jason Aronson. ISBN 978-1-56821-123-7.
22. ^ Barron, 1923, Table V, Sub-district of Hebron, p. 10
23. ^ Jessie Sampter (2007). Modern Palestine – A Symposium. Read Books. ISBN 978-1-4067-3834-6.
24. ^ Village Statistics (PDF). 1938. p. 52.
25. ^ Government of Palestine (1945), A Survey of Palestine, Vol. 1, p. 151
26. ^ First Census, Government of Jordan. 1964, p. 06
27. ^ West Bank, Volume 1 Table I – West Bank population according to 1967 census and Jordanian 1961 census, Levy Economics Institute
28. ^ West Bank, Volume 1 Table 4 – Population by religion, sex, age, and type of settlement, Levy Economics Institute
29. ^ "Palestinian Census 1997". Archived from the original on November 15, 2010.
30. ^ The last official census in 2007 gave 165,000.2007 Locality Population Statistics Archived 2010-12-10 at the Wayback Machine Hebron Governorate Population, Housing and Establishment Census 2007 Archived 2012-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).

## External links

[edit]

* Hebron Governorate Statistical Yearbook No. 3 (2011)

* v
* t
* e

Hebron Governorate

Cities|

* Bani Na'im
* ad-Dhahiriya (incl: Khirbet Deir Shams•Khirbet Shuweika• Somara
* Dura (incl: Al-Hijra)
* Halhul
* Hebron (al-Khalil) (incl: Arab al-Fureijat • al-Baqa • Al Bowereh • Qalqas • Qla'a Zeta • Wadi al Hussein)
* Idna (incl: Suba)
* Sa'ir (incl: ad-Duwwara • al-Uddeisa • (Beit Einun •  Kuziba)
* as-Samu (incl: Khirbat al-Simia)
* Tarqumiyah
* Yatta

Towns|

* Beit Awwa
* Beit Kahil
* Beit Ula (Qila)
* Beit Ummar (Jala * Khirbet Safa)
* Deir Sammit • As Simiya
* Kharas
* Nuba
* ash-Shuyukh (Hamrush)
* Surif (Khirbet al-Deir)
* Taffuh
* Khalet al-Maiyya

Villages|

* Anab al-Kabir
* al-Karmil
* Arab al-Ka'abneh
* Beit 'Amra
* Beit Maqdum
* Al-Muwarraq
* Beit ar-Rush al-Tahta
* al-Burj • (Beit Mirsim • Beit ar-Rush al-Fauqa)
* Al-Bireh
* Al-Buweib
* Deir al-'Asal al-Fauqa
* Deir al-Asal al-Tahta
* Deir Razih
* ad-Deirat
* Ar-Rifa'iyya
* Fuqeiqis
* Hadab al-Alaqa
* Hadab al-Fawwar
* al-Heila
* Hatta
* Hureiz
* Imneizil
* Imreish
* Jala
* Karma
* Abda
* al-Karmil
* Khallet Edar
* Khallet al-Aqed
* Khalet al-Maiyya (at-Tabaqa • Umm Lasafa • Wadi Ubeid)
* Khallet al-Masafer
* Khashem al-Daraj
* Khallet Salih
* Kheroshewesh Wal Hadedeyah
* Khirbet Salama
* Khirbet Zanuta
* Khursa
* al-Kum
* Kurza
* Kuseis
* Ma'in
* al-Majd
* Marah al-Baqqar
* Masafer Yatta
* An-Najada
* Rabud
* al-Ramadin
* ar-Rihiya
* Sahel Wadi Elma
* Tawas
* Sikka
* Shuyukh al-Arrub
* as-Sura
* Susya
* Tarrama
* at-Tuwani
* Umm Ashoqan
* Umm al-Butm
* Umm al-Khair
* Wadi al-Amayer
* Wadi al-Kilab
* Wadi ash-Shajina
* Zif

Refugee camps|

* al-Arroub
* Fawwar

Other|

* Dura Museum
* Hebron University Museum
* Wadi al-Quf Reserve
* Tkiyet Nabi Nuh
* Al-Takiya Al-Ibrahimiya

* v
* t
* e

Governorates of Palestine

West Bank|

* Jerusalem (al-Quds)
* Bethlehem
* Hebron
* Jenin
* Jericho
* Nablus
* Qalqilya
* Ramallah and al-Bireh
* Salfit
* Tubas
* Tulkarm

Gaza Strip|

* Deir al-Balah
* Gaza
* Khan Yunis
* North Gaza
* Rafah

Authority control databases: Geographic |

* MusicBrainz area

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