Teqoa

Teqoa
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicتقوع
 • LatinTaqua (official)
Teqoa (unofficial)
Tuqu' (historical)
A sketch of "Tekoa - Fureidis, Palestine"[1]
A sketch of "Tekoa - Fureidis, Palestine"[1]
Teqoa is located in State of Palestine
Teqoa
Teqoa
Location of Teqoa within Palestine
Coordinates: 31°38′11″N 35°12′52″E / 31.63639°N 35.21444°E / 31.63639; 35.21444
Palestine grid170/115
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateBethlehem
Government
 • TypeMunicipality (from 1997)
 • Head of MunicipalityKhaled Ahmad Hamida
Area
 (built-up)
 • Total590 dunams (0.6 km2 or 0.2 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)[2]
 • Total8,767
 • Density15,000/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, romanizedTəqōaʿ; 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]

  1. ^ Thomson, 1859, p. 425
  2. ^ a b Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 (PDF). Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (Report). State of Palestine. February 2018. pp. 64–82. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  3. ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 402
  4. ^ not be confused with Khirbet al-Deir in Hebron Governorate
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ARIJ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ '15 Palestinians detained in Tuqu near Bethlehem', Ma'an News Agency 19 March 2015.
  7. ^ "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2010.