Teqoa | |
---|---|
Arabic transcription(s) | |
• Arabic | تقوع |
• Latin | Taqua (official) Teqoa (unofficial) Tuqu' (historical) |
Location of Teqoa within Palestine | |
Coordinates: 31°38′11″N 35°12′52″E / 31.63639°N 35.21444°E | |
Palestine grid | 170/115 |
State | State of Palestine |
Governorate | Bethlehem |
Government | |
• Type | Municipality (from 1997) |
• Head of Municipality | Khaled Ahmad Hamida |
Area (built-up) | |
• Total | 590 dunams (0.6 km2 or 0.2 sq mi) |
Population (2017)[2] | |
• Total | 8,767 |
• Density | 15,000/km2 (38,000/sq mi) |
Name meaning | "The ruin of Tekua",[3] or "the place for pitching tents" |
Teqoa (Arabic: تقوع, also spelled Tuquʿ) is a Palestinian town in the Bethlehem Governorate, located 12 km (7.5 mi) southeast of Bethlehem in the West Bank. The town is built adjacent to the biblical site of Tekoa (Hebrew: תְּקוֹעַ, romanized: Təqōaʿ; also called Thecoe), now Khirbet Tuqu', from which it takes its name. Today's town includes three other localities: Khirbet ad-Deir,[4] al-Halkoom, and Khirbet Teqoa.[5] According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Teqoa had a population of 8,767 in 2017.[2]
The town is a part of the 'Arab al-Ta'amira village cluster, along with Za'atara, Beit Ta'mir, Hindaza, Khirbet ad-Deir, Nuaman, Ubeidiya and al-Asakra. Tuqu has a municipal jurisdiction of over 191,262 dunams, but its built-up area consists of 590 dunams,[5] as 98.5% of the village's land was classified as Area C, and 1.5% as Area B in the 1995 accords.[6] Situated in the immediate vicinity is the modern Israeli settlement of Tekoa, established in 1975 as a military outpost. Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are illegal under international law.[7]
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