Editing Nablus

{{Short description|Palestinian city in the northern West Bank}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Nablus
| translit_lang1     = Arabic
| translit_lang1_type = [[Arabic script|Arabic]]
| translit_lang1_info = {{lang|ar|نابلس}}
| translit_lang1_type1 = [[Latin script|Latin]]
| translit_lang1_info1 = Nābulus (''official'')
| type               = [[List of cities in Palestinian Authority areas|City]]
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image|total_width=300px|perrow=2/3/2/2|border=infobox
| image1= Nablus 2013.jpg
| alt1  =
| image2= مسجد النصر في مدينة نابلس في البلدة القديمة.jpg
| alt2  =
| image3= קבר יוסף.JPG
| alt3 =
| image4= Nablus old city 15.jpg
| alt4 =
| image5= Tell Balata.jpg
| alt5 =
| image6= Church of Bir Ya'qub.JPG
| alt6 =
| image7= View of Mount Ebal from the city of Nablus.jpg
| alt7 =
| image8= Nablus_Shopping_District.jpg
| alt8 =
| image9= Love Nablus.jpeg

}}
| image_caption      = '''Left-to-right from top:'''<br />Nablus and [[Mount Gerizim]] skyline; [[Manara Clock Tower]] and [[An-Nasr Mosque]]; [[Joseph's Tomb]] chamber; Old City of Nablus; [[Tell Balata]] archaeological site; Eastern Orthodox Church of Bir Ya'qub, where [[Jacob's Well]] is located; [[Mount Ebal]]; and a Nablus shopping district.
| image_blank_emblem = [[File:Nablus Logo.jpg]]
| blank_emblem_type  = Municipal Seal of Nablus
| pushpin_map        = Palestine
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within the [[State of Palestine]]
| image_map          = 
| map_caption        = 
| coordinates        = {{coord|32|13|20|N|35|15|40|E|region:PS|display=inline,title}}
| grid_name          = [[Palestine grid|Palestine&nbsp;grid]]
| grid_position      = 174/180
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = [[Palestine]]
| subdivision_type1  = [[Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority|Governorate]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Nablus Governorate]]
| established_title  = Founded
| established_date   = 72 CE
| government_footnotes = <!-- for references: use <ref> tags -->
| government_type    = [[List of cities in Palestinian Authority areas|Municipality Level A]] (from 1995)
| leader_title       = Head of Municipality
| leader_name        = [[Adly Yaish]]
| unit_pref          = dunam
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_total_km2     = 28.6
| area_total_dunam   = 28564
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 
| elevation_min_m    = 
| elevation_max_m    = 
| population_total   = 174,387
| population_as_of   = 2023
| population_footnotes = <ref name="PrelimCensus2017">{{cite report |date=February 2018 |title=Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 |url=https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Downloads/book2364-1.pdf |department=[[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS) |publisher=[[State of Palestine]] |pages=64–82 |access-date=2023-10-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/statisticsIndicatorsTables.aspx?lang=en&table_id=698 | title=PCBS &#124; Projected Mid -Year Population for Nablus Governorate by Locality 2017-2026 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/palestine/admin/ | title=Palestinian Territories: Administrative Division (Territories and Governorates) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Nablus Urban Area: Joint Urban Planning and Development | website=molg.pna.ps | url=https://www.molg.pna.ps/uploads/files/Nablus%20Urban%20Area%20Factsheet_sj_7e9e87c9f0a946a2aa86230743c55c72.pdf|access-date=2024-09-08}}</ref>
| population_note    = 
| population_metro   = 431,584
| population_density_km2 = auto
| website            = {{URL|http://www.nablus.org/}}
| footnotes          = 
| native_name_lang   = ar
}}
'''Nablus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|æ|b|l|ə|s|,_|ˈ|n|ɑː|b|l|ə|s}} {{respell|NA(H)B|ləs}}; {{langx|ar|نابلس|Nābulus}}, {{IPA|apc-PS|ˈnæːblɪs||LL-Q55633582 (ajp)-Khalil.rantissi-نابلس.wav|label=[[Palestinian Arabic|locally]]}}){{efn|{{langx|he|שכם|[[Shechem|Šəḵem]]}}, <small>[[ISO 259|ISO 259-3]]:</small> {{transliteration|he|Škem}}, {{IPA|he|ʃχem|pron|He-Shchem.ogg}}; {{langx|smp-Samr|ࠔࠬࠥࠊࠝࠌ|Šăkēm}}; {{langx|grc|Νεάπολις|Neápolis}}.}} is a [[State of Palestine|Palestinian]] city in the [[West Bank]], located approximately {{convert|49|km|mi}} north of [[Jerusalem]],<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Time and Date AS |location=Stavanger, Norway |year= 2013 |title= Distance Calculator |url=http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/distances.html?n=2323 |access-date= 2013-03-10}}</ref> with a population of 156,906.<ref name="PrelimCensus2017" /> Located between [[Mount Ebal]] and [[Mount Gerizim]], it is the capital of the [[Nablus Governorate]] and a commercial and cultural centre of the [[State of Palestine]], home to [[An-Najah National University]], one of the largest Palestinian institutions of higher learning, and the [[Palestine Exchange|Palestine Stock Exchange]].<ref name="Bishara">Amahl Bishara, ‘Weapons, Passports and News: Palestinian Perceptions of U.S. Power as a Mediator of War,’ in John D. Kelly, Beatrice Jauregui, Sean T. Mitchell, Jeremy Walton (eds.) [https://books.google.com/books?id=du5kcfUuL9oC&pg=PA128 ''Anthropology and Global Counterinsurgency,''] pp.125-136 p.126.</ref> Nablus is under the administration of the [[Palestinian National Authority]] (PNA).

The modern name of the city can be traced back to the [[Roman Empire|Roman period]], when it was named {{lang|la|Flavia Neapolis}} by Roman emperor [[Vespasian]] in 72 CE. During the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine period]], conflict between the city's [[Samaritans|Samaritan]] and newer [[Christians|Christian]] inhabitants peaked in the [[Samaritan revolts]] that were eventually suppressed by the Byzantines by 573, which greatly dwindled the Samaritan population of the city. Following the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant]] in the 7th century, the city was given its present-day Arabic name of {{lang|ar-Latn|Nablus}}. After the [[First Crusade]], the [[Crusades|Crusaders]] drafted the laws of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]] in the [[Council of Nablus]], and its Christian, Samaritan, and [[Muslims|Muslim]] inhabitants prospered. The city then came under the control of the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubids]] and the [[Mamluk Sultanate]]. Under the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turk]]s, who [[Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–1517)|conquered the city in 1517]], Nablus served as the administrative and commercial centre for the surrounding area corresponding to the modern-day northern West Bank. Much of Nablus' history is preserved in [[Old City of Nablus|its Old City]], which contains more than 100 monumental buildings.

After the city was captured by [[British Empire|British]] forces during [[World War I]], Nablus was incorporated into [[Mandatory Palestine]] in 1922. The [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]] saw the entire West Bank, including Nablus, [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank|occupied and annexed]] by [[Jordan|Transjordan]]. Since the [[Six-Day War|1967 Arab–Israeli War]], the West Bank [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|has been occupied]] by [[Israel]]; since 1995, it has been governed by the [[Palestinian Authority]] as part of [[Palestinian enclaves|Area A of the West Bank]]. Today, the population is predominantly Muslim, with small Christian and Samaritan minorities.

==History==
===Classical antiquity===
{{further|Samaritan Revolts|Samaria}}
[[File:Volusian Neapolis.jpg|thumb|right|Coin minted in Nablus ({{lang|la|Neapolis}}), in the name of Emperor [[Volusian]], 251–253 CE]]
{{lang|la|Flavia Neapolis}} ('new city of the emperor [[Flavius]]') was named in 72 CE by the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] emperor [[Vespasian]] and applied to an older [[Samaritan]] village, variously called {{lang|und|Mabartha|italic=yes}} ('the passage')<ref name=Negevp175>Negev and Gibson, 2005, p. 175.</ref> or {{lang|und|Mamorpha|italic=yes}}.<ref>(a) {{lang|grc|ὅθεν διὰ τῆς Σαμαρείτιδος καὶ παρὰ τὴν Νέαν πόλιν καλουμένην, Μαβαρθὰ δ᾽ ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων, καταβὰς εἰς Κορέαν}}, [[Josephus]], {{lang|la|[[Bellum Judaicum]]}}, 4:449 {{lang|la|intus autem Samaria; oppida Neapolis, quod antea Mamortha dicebatur}}, 'the town are Naplous, formerly called Mamorpha'. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], {{lang|la|[[Natural History (Pliny)|Historia Naturalis]]}}, 5.69.</ref> Located between [[Mount Ebal]] and [[Mount Gerizim]], the new city lay {{convert|2|km|mi|sp=us}} west of the [[Bible|Biblical]] city of [[Shechem]] which was destroyed by the Romans that same year during the [[First Jewish–Roman War]].<ref name="STF">{{cite web |url=http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/discussion/035discuss.html |title=Neapolis – (Nablus) |access-date=2008-04-19 |date=19 December 2000 |publisher=Studium Biblicum Franciscanum – Jerusalem |archive-date=22 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122101623/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/discussion/035discuss.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="DNTA">{{cite web |url=http://www.dundee-nablus.org.uk/nablushistory.html |title=History of Nablus |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Dundee–Nablus Twinning Association}}</ref> Holy places at the site of the city's founding include [[Joseph's Tomb]] and [[Jacob's Well]]. Because of the city's strategic geographic position and the abundance of water from nearby springs, Neapolis prospered, accumulating extensive territory, including the former [[Judea]]n [[toparchy]] of [[Aqraba, Nablus|Acraba]].<ref name="STF" />

Insofar as the hilly topography of the site would allow, the city was built on a Roman [[grid plan]] and settled with veterans who fought in the victorious legions and other foreign colonists.<ref name=Negevp175 /> In the 2nd century CE, Emperor [[Hadrian]] built a grand [[Roman theatre (structure)|theater]] in Neapolis that could seat up to 7,000 people.<ref name="Semplici" /> Coins found in Nablus dating to this period depict Roman military emblems and gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon such as [[Zeus]], [[Artemis]], [[Serapis]], and [[Asklepios]].<ref name=Negevp175 /> Neapolis was entirely [[Paganism|pagan]] at this time.<ref name=Negevp175 /> [[Justin Martyr]] who was born in the city c. 100 CE, came into contact with [[Platonism]], but not with Christians there.<ref name=Negevp175 /> The city flourished until the civil war between [[Septimius Severus]] and [[Pescennius Niger]] in 198–9 CE. Having sided with Niger, who was defeated, the city was temporarily stripped of its legal privileges by Severus, who designated these to [[Sebastia, Nablus|Sebastia]] instead.<ref name=Negevp175 />

In 244 CE, [[Philip the Arab]] transformed Flavius Neapolis into a Roman colony named {{lang|la|Julia Neapolis}}. It retained this status until the rule of [[Trebonianus Gallus]] in 251 CE. The {{lang|la|[[Encyclopaedia Judaica]]}} speculates that Christianity was dominant in the 2nd or 3rd century, with some sources positing a later date of 480 CE.<ref name="OCHA" /> It is known for certain that a bishop from Nablus participated in the [[First Council of Nicaea|Council of Nicaea]] in 325 CE.<ref name=Negevp176>Negev and Gibson, 2005, p. 176.</ref> The presence of Samaritans in the city is attested to in literary and epigraphic evidence dating to the 4th century CE.<ref name=Negevp176 /> As yet, there is no evidence attesting to a Jewish presence in ancient Neapolis.<ref name=Negevp176 />

Si'on suggested that Neapolis was about 900 acres in size during the Byzantine period, making it three times larger than it was when it was first established as a Roman colony.<ref name="Si2001">{{citation |author=E Si'on (שיאון, ע׳) |publisher=[[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]] |script-title=he:תפרוסת היישוב במרכז הרי שומרון בתקופה הביזנטית (עבודת דוקטור) |title=Tifroset hayeshuv bemarkaz Hari Shomron Bitkufa habizantit (avodet doctor) |trans-title=The layout of settlement in the central Samaria Mountains during the Byzantine period (doctoral thesis) |date=2001 |page=43 |language=he }}</ref> Magen estimates that around 20,000 people lived there during this period.<ref name="Magen2005">{{citation |author=Y. Magen (מגן, י׳) |script-title=he:פלאביה ניאפוליס. שכם בתקופה הרומית |title=Flavia Niapolis. Shkem Bitkufa Haromit |trans-title=Flavia Neapolis. Nablus in the Roman Period |location=[[Jerusalem]] |publisher=Archaeology Staff Officer, Civil Administration of [[Judea and Samaria Area|Judea and Samaria]], [[Israel Antiquities Authority]] |date=2005 |pages=264–45 |language=he }}</ref>

[[File:Ancient ruins in a Nablus neighborhood.JPG|thumb|right|Ruins from antiquity (foreground) in a residential area in Nablus, 2008]]

Conflict among the Christian population of Neapolis emerged in 451. By this time, Neapolis was within the [[Palaestina Prima]] province under the rule of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. The tension was a result of [[Monophysitism|Monophysite]] Christian attempts to prevent the return of the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem|Patriarch of Jerusalem]], [[Juvenal of Jerusalem|Juvenal]], to his [[episcopal see]].<ref name="STF" /> However, the conflict did not grow into civil strife.

As tensions among the Christians of Neapolis decreased, tensions between the Christian community and the [[Samaritans]] grew dramatically. In 484, the city became the site of a deadly encounter between the two groups, provoked by rumors that the Christians intended to transfer the remains of [[Aaron]]'s sons and grandsons [[Eleazar]], [[Ithamar]] and [[Phinehas]]. Samaritans reacted by entering the cathedral of Neapolis, killing the Christians inside and severing the fingers of the bishop Terebinthus. Terebinthus then fled to [[Constantinople]], requesting an army garrison to prevent further attacks. As a result of the revolt, the Byzantine emperor [[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]] erected a church dedicated to [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]] on Mount Gerizim. He also forbade the Samaritans to travel to the mountain to celebrate their religious ceremonies, and expropriated their synagogue there. These actions by the emperor fueled Samaritan anger towards the Christians further.<ref name="STF" />

Thus, the Samaritans rebelled again under the rule of emperor [[Anastasius I (emperor)|Anastasius I]], reoccupying Mount Gerizim, which was subsequently reconquered by the Byzantine governor of [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]], Procopius. A third Samaritan revolt which took place under the leadership of [[Julianus ben Sabar]] in 529 was perhaps the most violent. Neapolis' bishop [[Ammonas]] was murdered and the city's priests were hacked into pieces and then burned together with the relics of [[saint]]s. The forces of Emperor [[Justinian I]] were sent in to quell the revolt, which ended with the slaughter of the majority of the Samaritan population in the city.<ref name="STF" />

===Early Muslim period===
[[File:Umm ar-Rasas Church of St. Stephen Nablus 2786.jpg|thumb|right|Depiction of Nablus (Neapolis) in the [[Umm ar-Rasas mosaics]], 8th century CE]]

[[File:Nablus Great Mosque-cropped.JPG|thumb|right|Minaret and entrance of 10th-century [[Great Mosque of Nablus]], 1908]]
Neapolis, along with most of Palestine, [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|was conquered by the Muslims]] under [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]], a general of the [[Rashidun army]] of [[Umar|Umar ibn al-Khattab]], in 636 after the [[Battle of Yarmouk]].<ref name="STF"/><ref name="DNTA"/> The city's name was retained in its [[Arabic language|Arabicize]]d form, {{lang|ar-Latn|Nabulus}}. The town prevailed as an important trade center during the centuries of [[Islam]]ic [[Arab]] rule under the [[Umayyad]], [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] and [[Fatimid]] dynasties.

Under Muslim rule, Nablus contained a diverse population of Arabs and [[Persian people|Persian]]s, Muslims, Samaritans, Christians and [[Jew]]s.<ref name="STF" /> In the 9th century CE, [[Ya'qubi|Al-Yaqubi]] reported that Nablus had a mixed population of Arabs, [[Ajam]] (Non-Arabs), and Samaritans.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Levy-Rubin |first=Milka |date=2000 |title=New Evidence Relating to the Process of Islamization in Palestine in the Early Muslim Period: The Case of Samaria |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3632444 |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=257–276 |doi=10.1163/156852000511303 |jstor=3632444 |issn=0022-4995|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In the 10th century, the Arab geographer [[al-Muqaddasi]], described it as abundant of olive trees, with a large marketplace, a finely paved [[Great Mosque of Nablus|Great Mosque]], houses built of stone, a stream running through the center of the city, and notable mills.<ref name="Muqaddasip55">Muqaddasi, [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924028534265#page/n83/mode/2up/search/neapolis p. 55].</ref> He also noted that it was nicknamed "Little [[Damascus]]."<ref name="Semplici">Semplici, Andrea and Boccia, Mario. [http://www.ucodep.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=631&Itemid=90 – Nablus, At the Foot of the Holy Mountain] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708122053/https://www.ucodep.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=631&Itemid=90 |date=2017-07-08 }} Med Cooperation, p.6.</ref><ref name="Muqaddasip55" /> At the time, the linen produced in Nablus was well known throughout the [[Old World]].<ref name="Runcimanp353">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mrw8AAAAIAAJ|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mrw8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA353 353] |title=A History of the Crusades: The Kingdom of Acre and the later Crusades |first1=Steven |last1=Runciman |edition=Reprint, illustrated |publisher=CUP Archive |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-521-34772-3 }}</ref>

===Crusader period===
{{see also|Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem}}
The city was captured by [[Crusades|Crusaders]] in 1099, under the command of [[Tancred, Prince of Galilee|Prince Tancred]], and renamed ''Naples''.<ref name="STF"/> Though the Crusaders extorted many supplies from the population for their troops who were en route to Jerusalem, they did not sack the city, presumably because of the large Christian population there.<ref name="Andersonp72"/> Nablus became part of the [[royal domain]] of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]]. The Muslim, Eastern Orthodox Christian, and Samaritan populations remained in the city and were joined by some Crusaders who settled therein to take advantage of the city's abundant resources. In 1120, the Crusaders convened the [[Council of Nablus]] out of which was issued the first written laws for the kingdom.<ref name="STF"/> They converted the Samaritan synagogue in Nablus into a church.<ref name="Andersonp72">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TIcWAoiRhgAC|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=TIcWAoiRhgAC&pg=PA72 72]|title=The Keepers: an introduction to the history and culture of the Samaritans|first1=Robert T.|last1=Anderson|first2=Terry|last2=Giles|edition=Illustrated|publisher=Hendrickson Publishers|year=2002|isbn=1565635191}}</ref> The Samaritan community built a new synagogue in the 1130s.<ref name=Smithp70>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-noOrtrox4C|title=The crusades: a history|first1=Jonathan|last1=Riley-Smith|edition=2nd, illustrated|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|year=2005|isbn= 9780826472700|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-noOrtrox4C&pg=PA70 70]}}</ref> In 1137, Arab and [[Turkish people|Turkish]] troops stationed in [[Damascus]] raided Nablus, killing many Christians and burning down the city's churches. However, they were unsuccessful in retaking the city.<ref name="STF"/> Queen [[Melisende of Jerusalem]] resided in Nablus from 1150 to 1161, after she was granted control over the city in order to resolve a dispute with her son [[Baldwin III of Jerusalem|Baldwin III]]. Crusaders began building Christian institutions in Nablus, including a church dedicated to the [[Passion (Christianity)|Passion]] and Resurrection of [[Jesus]], and in 1170 they erected a hospice for pilgrims.<ref name="STF"/>

===Ayyubid and Mamluk rule===
[[File:Interior view of Nasr Mosque.JPG|thumb|right|Interior view of the [[An-Nasr Mosque]], converted from a [[Crusades|Crusader]] church to a mosque in the 13th century]]
Crusader rule came to an end in 1187, when the [[Ayyubid]]s led by [[Saladin]] captured the city. According to a liturgical manuscript in [[Syriac language|Syriac]], [[Roman Catholic Church|Latin Christians]] fled Nablus, but the original [[Eastern Orthodox]] Christian inhabitants remained.{{Citation needed|date=December 2013}} Syrian geographer [[Yaqut al-Hamawi]] (1179–1229), wrote that Ayyubid Nablus was a "celebrated city in Filastin (Palestine)... having wide lands and a fine district." He also mentions the large Samaritan population in the city.<ref name="le Strange">Le Strange, 1890, pp. [https://archive.org/details/palestineundermo00lestuoft/page/511/mode/1up 511]–515</ref> After its recapture by the Muslims, the [[Great Mosque of Nablus]], which had become a church under Crusader rule, was restored as a mosque by the Ayyubids, who also built a [[mausoleum]] in the old city.<ref name="OCHA"/>

{{anchor|Battle of Nablus (1242)}}
In October 1242, Nablus was raided by the [[Knights Templar]]. This was the conclusion of the 1242 campaign season in which the Templars had joined forces with the Ayyubid emir of Kerak, [[An-Nasir Dawud]], against the Mamluks. The Templars raided Nablus in revenge for a previous massacre of Christians by their erstwhile ally An-Nasir Dawud. The attack is reported as a particularly bloody affair lasting for three days, during which the Mosque was burned and many residents of the city, Christians alongside Muslims, were killed or sold in the slave markets of [[Acre, Israel|Acre]].
The successful raid was widely publicized by the Templars in Europe; it is thought to be depicted in a late 13th-century fresco in the Templar church of [[San Bevignate]], [[Perugia]].<ref>{{cite book|page=169|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xifq5OE7174C&pg=PA169|title=Crusader Art in the Holy Land, From the Third Crusade to the Fall of Acre|first1=Jaroslav|last1=Folda|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2005|isbn = 9780521835831}}.
{{cite book|page=271|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JfXl5kvabhoC&pg=PA271|title=From Saladin to the Mongols: the Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193–1260|first1=R. Stephen|last1=Humphreys|publisher=SUNY Press|year=1977|isbn=0873952634}}.
{{cite book|page=206|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3uFtzINjLAoC&pg=PA206 |title=The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple|first1=Malcolm|last1=Barber|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2012|isbn = 9781107604735}}.
</ref>

In 1244, the Samaritan synagogue, built in 362 by the high priest Akbon and converted into a church by the Crusaders, was converted into [[al-Khadra Mosque]]. Two other Crusader churches became the [[An-Nasr Mosque]] and al-Masakim Mosque during that century.<ref name="STF"/><ref name="Andersonp72"/>

The [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk dynasty]] gained control of Nablus in 1260 and during their reign, they built numerous mosques and schools.<ref name="DNTA"/> Under Mamluk rule, Nablus possessed running water, many [[Turkish bath]]s and exported olive oil and [[Nabulsi soap|soap]] to [[Egypt]], Syria, the [[Hejaz]], several [[Mediterranean]] islands, and the [[Arabian Desert]]. The city's olive oil was also used in the [[Umayyad Mosque]] in Damascus. [[Ibn Battuta]], the Arab explorer, visited Nablus in 1355, and described it as a city "full of trees and streams and full of olives." He noted that the city grew and exported [[carob]] jam to [[Cairo]] and Damascus.<ref name="le Strange"/>

===Ottoman era===
[[File:Louis-François Cassas, Vue Generale de Neapolis, dite vulgairement Napelouse et remplaçant l'ancienne Sichem.jpg|thumb|Nablus in the 1780s, by [[Louis-François Cassas]].]]
[[File:Nablus from the 1871-77 Palestine Exploration Fund Survey of Palestine.jpg|thumb|Nablus from the 1871–1877 [[PEF Survey of Palestine]]]]
[[File:Nablous, The Ancient Shechem MET DP116336.jpg|thumb|Nablus in 1857, photo by [[Francis Frith]]]]
Nablus came under the rule of the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1517, along with the whole of Palestine. The Ottomans divided Palestine into six {{lang|ota-Latn|[[sanjak]]s}} ('districts'): [[Safad]], [[Jenin]], [[Jerusalem]], [[Gaza City|Gaza]], [[Ajlun]] and [[District of Nablus|Nablus]], all of which were part of [[Ottoman Syria]]. These five {{lang|ota-Latn|sanjaks}} were subdistricts of the [[Vilayet of Damascus]]. Sanjak Nablus was further subdivided into five {{lang|ota-Latn|[[nahiya]]}} ('subdistricts'), in addition to the city itself. The Ottomans did not attempt to restructure the political configuration of the region on the local level such that the borders of the {{lang|ota-Latn|nahiya}} were drawn to coincide with the historic strongholds of certain families. Nablus was only one among a number of local centers of power within Jabal Nablus, and its relations with the surrounding villages, such as [[Beita, Nablus|Beita]] and [[Aqraba, Nablus|Aqraba]], were partially mediated by the rural-based chiefs of the {{lang|ota-Latn|nahiya}}.<ref name="Doumani3">Doumani, 1995, Chapter: "The 1657 Campaign."</ref> During the 16th century, the population was predominantly Muslim, with Jewish, Samaritan and Christian minorities.<ref name="STF" /><ref>B. Lewis, Studies in the Ottoman Archives—I, ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'', University of London, Vol. 16, No. 3 (1954), 469–501.</ref><ref name="Hutteroth" />

After decades of upheavals and rebellions mounted by Arab tribes in the Middle East, the Ottomans attempted to reassert centralized control over the Arab {{lang|ota-Latn|vilayets}}. In 1657, they sent an expeditionary force led mostly by Arab {{lang|ota-Latn|[[sipahi]]}} officers from central [[Ottoman Syria|Syria]] to reassert Ottoman authority in Nablus and its hinterland, as part of a broader attempt to established centralized rule throughout the empire at that time. In return for their services, the officers were granted agricultural lands around the villages of Jabal Nablus. The Ottomans, fearing that the new Arab land holders would establish independent bases of power, dispersed the land plots to separate and distant locations within Jabal Nablus to avoid creating contiguous territory controlled by individual clans. Contrary to its centralization purpose, the 1657 campaign allowed the Arab {{lang|ota-Latn|sipahi}} officers to establish their own increasingly autonomous foothold in Nablus. The officers raised their families there and intermarried with the local notables of the area, namely the [[ulama]] and merchant families. Without abandoning their nominal military service, they acquired diverse properties to consolidate their presence and income such as soap and pottery factories, [[Turkish bath|bathhouses]], agricultural lands, grain mills and, olive and sesame oil presses.<ref name="Doumani3" />

The most influential military family were the Nimrs, who were originally local governors of [[Homs]] and [[Hama]]'s rural subdistricts. Other officer families included the Akhrami, Asqalan, Bayram, Jawhari, Khammash, Mir'i, Shafi, Sultan and Tamimi families, some of which remained in active service, while some left service for other pursuits. In the years following the 1657 campaign, two other families migrated to Nablus: the Jarrars from [[Balqa (region)|Balqa]] and the [[Tuqan family|Tuqans]] from northern Syria or Transjordan. The Jarrars came to dominate the hinterland of Nablus, while the Tuqans and Nimrs competed for influence in the town. The former held the post of {{lang|ota-Latn|[[mutasallim]]}} ('tax collector, strongman') of Nablus longer, though non-consecutively than any other family. The three families maintained their power until the mid-19th century.<ref name="Doumani3" />

[[File:Tristram142a.jpg|thumb|right|Nablus, by [[Medlycott baronets|W. C. P. Medlycott]], in [[Henry Baker Tristram|H. B. Tristram]], 1865<ref>[[Henry Baker Tristram|H. B. Tristram]]: [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Qd8TAAAAIAAJ The Land of Israel: Travels in Palestine], p. 142, 1865</ref>]]

In the mid-18th century, [[Zahir al-Umar]], the autonomous Arab ruler of the [[Galilee]] became a dominant figure in Palestine. To build up his army, he strove to gain a monopoly over the [[cotton]] and olive oil trade of the [[southern Levant]], including Jabal Nablus, which was a major producer of both crops. In 1771, during the [[Ali Bey al-Kabir|Egyptian Mamluk]] invasion of Syria, Zahir aligned himself with the Mamluks and besieged Nablus, but did not succeed in taking the city. In 1773, he tried again without success. Nevertheless, from a political perspective, the sieges led to a decline in the importance of the city in favor of Acre. Zahir's successor, [[Jezzar Pasha]], maintained Acre's dominance over Nablus. After his reign ended in 1804, Nablus regained its autonomy, and the Tuqans, who represented a principal opposing force, rose to power.<ref name="Doumani4" />

===Egyptian rule and Ottoman revival===
[[File:Nablus 1898.jpg|thumb|right|Nablus in 1898]]
[[File:Félix Bonfils Jeune femme de Naplouse.jpg|thumb|Young woman from Nablus, between 1867 and 1885]]
In 1831–32 [[Muhammad Ali Dynasty|Khedivate Egypt]], then led by [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali]], conquered Palestine from the Ottomans. A policy of [[conscription]] and new [[taxation]] was instituted which led to a [[Peasants' Revolt of 1834 (Palestine)|revolt]] organized by the {{lang|ar-Latn|[[ayan (class)|a'ayan]]}} (notables) of Nablus, [[Hebron]] and the Jerusalem–Jaffa area. In May 1834, [[Qasim al-Ahmad]]—the chief of the [[Jamma'in]] {{lang|ota-Latn|nahiya}}—rallied the rural sheikhs and {{lang|ota-Latn|[[fellahin]]}} (peasants) of Jabal Nablus and launched a revolt against Governor [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt|Ibrahim Pasha]], in protest at conscription orders, among other new policies. The leaders of Nablus and its hinterland sent thousands of rebels to attack Jerusalem, the center of government authority in Palestine, aided by the [[Abu Ghosh]] clan, and they conquered the city on 31 May. However, they were later defeated by Ibrahim Pasha's forces the next month. Ibrahim then forced the heads of the Jabal Nablus clans to leave for nearby villages. By the end of August, the countrywide revolt had been suppressed and Qasim was executed.<ref name="Doumani4">Doumani, 1995, Chapter: "Egyptian rule, 1831–1840."</ref>

Egyptian rule in Palestine resulted in the destruction of [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] and thus, the political importance of Nablus was further elevated. The Ottomans wrested back control of Palestine from [[Egypt Eyalet|Egypt]] in 1840–41. However, the [[Arraba, Jenin|Arraba]]-based Abd al-Hadi clan which rose to prominence under Egyptian rule for supporting Ibrahim Pasha, continued its political dominance in Jabal Nablus.<ref name="Doumani4" />

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Nablus was the principal trade and manufacturing center in Ottoman Syria. Its economic activity and regional leadership position surpassed that of Jerusalem and the coastal cities of [[Jaffa]] and Acre. [[Olive oil]] was the primary product of Nablus and aided other related industries such as [[Nabulsi soap|soap-making]] and basket weaving.<ref name="Doumani" /> It was also the largest producer of cotton in the Levant, topping the production of northern cities such as Damascus.<ref name="Doumani5" /> Jabal Nablus enjoyed a greater degree of [[autonomy]] than other {{lang|ota-Latn|sanjaks}} under Ottoman control, probably because the city was the capital of a hilly region, in which there were no "foreigners" who held any military or bureaucratic posts. Thus, Nablus remained outside the direct "supervision" of the Ottoman government, according to historian [[Beshara Doumani]].<ref name="Doumani">Doumani, 1995, Chapter: "Introduction."</ref>

===World War I and British Mandate===
[[File:Nablus 1918.jpg|thumb|right|Nablus in 1918]]
Between 19 September and 25 September 1918, in the last months of the [[Sinai and Palestine Campaign]] of the First World War the Battle of Nablus took place, together with the [[Battle of Sharon]] during the set piece [[Battle of Megiddo (1918)|Battle of Megiddo]]. Fighting took place in the [[Judean Hills]] where the [[British Empire]]'s [[XX Corps (United Kingdom)|XX Corps]] and [[Royal Flying Corps]] attacked the [[Ottoman Empire]]'s [[Yildirim Army Group]]'s [[Seventh Army (Ottoman Empire)|Seventh Army]] which held a defensive position in front of Nablus, and which the [[Eighth Army (Ottoman Empire)|Eighth Army]] had attempted to retreat to, in vain.<ref>Richard P. Hallion,[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAdtAIMTReEC&pg=PA31 ''Strike From the Sky: The History of Battlefield Air Attack, 1910-1945,''] University of Alabama Press, 2010 pp.29-33.</ref>

The [[1927 Jericho earthquake]] destroyed many of the Nablus' historic buildings, including the An-Nasr Mosque.<ref>Damage Caused By Landslides During the Earthquakes of 1837 and 1927 in the Galilee Region, By D. Wachs and D. Levitte, MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE, Report HYDRO/5/78 – Jerusalem – June 1978 [http://zadok.org/research/1927/landslides.html]</ref> Though they were subsequently rebuilt by [[Haj Amin al-Husayni]]'s [[Supreme Muslim Council]] in the mid-1930s, their previous "picturesque" character was lost. During the [[1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine]], the British authorities demolished buildings in the Old City quarter of Qaryun suspected of harboring insurgents or hiding weapons.<ref name=Doumani6>Doumani, 1995, Chapter: Family, Culture, and Trade.</ref> [[Aliyah|Jewish immigration]] did not significantly impact the demographic composition of Nablus, and it was slated for inclusion in the Arab state envisioned by the [[United Nations General Assembly]]'s [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine|1947 partition plan for Palestine]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/un/res181.htm |title=United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181: The Arab State |publisher=The Avalon Project at Yale Law School |access-date=2008-04-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061029150108/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/un/res181.htm |archive-date=2006-10-29 }}</ref>

===Jordanian period===
During the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], Nablus came under [[Jordan]]ian control. Thousands of [[Palestinian refugees]] fleeing from areas captured by [[Israel]]i forces arrived in Nablus, settling in refugee camps in and around the city. Its population doubled, and the influx of refugees put a heavy strain on the city's resources. Three such camps still located within the city limits today are [[Ein Beit al-Ma']], [[Balata Camp|Balata]] and [[Askar (camp)|Askar]]. During the Jordanian period, the adjacent villages of [[Rafidia]], [[Balata al-Balad]], al-Juneid and Askar were annexed to the Nablus municipality.<ref>Abujidi, 2014, p. 96.</ref> Nablus was [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank|annexed by Jordan]] in 1950.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cavendish |first=Richard |url=http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/jordan-formally-annexes-west-bank  |title=Jordan Formally Annexes the West Bank |work=History Today |date=4 April 2000 |access-date=7 June 2020 <!-- alternate url (paywalled): https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-61692149.html --> }}</ref>

===Israeli period===
[[File:2018 OCHA OpT map Nablus.jpg|thumb|2018 [[United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs|United Nations]] map of the area, showing the [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|Israeli occupation]] arrangements.]]
The 1967 [[Six-Day War]] ended in the [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|Israeli occupation]] of Nablus. Many [[Israeli settlement]]s were built around Nablus during the 1980s and early 1990s. The restrictions placed on Nablus during the First Intifada were met by a back-to-the-land movement to secure self-sufficiency, and had a notable outcome in boosting local agricultural production.<ref name="Robinson"/>

In 1976, [[Bassam Shakaa]] was elected mayor. On 2 June 1980, he survived an assassination attempt by the [[Jewish Underground]], considered a terrorist group by Israel, which resulted in Shakaa losing both his legs. In the spring of 1982, the Israeli administration removed him from office and installed an army officer who ran the city for the following three and a half years.<ref name="Publishers p. 6">Middle East International No 270, 7 March 1986, Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew|Lord Mayhew]], [[Dennis Walters]]. [[Daoud Kuttab]] p. 6</ref>

On 29 July 1985, the Israeli army imposed a 5-day curfew on the city that was lifted 2 hours a day The curfew was in response to the murder of two Israeli teachers on 21 July near [[Jenin]] and the killing of another Israeli on 30 July. [[an-Najah University|Najah University]] was closed for 2 months for hanging PLO propaganda posters.<ref>Middle East International No 256, 9 August 1985, Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew|Lord Mayhew]], [[Dennis Walters|Dennis Walters MP]]; [[Daoud Kuttab]] pp. 4,5</ref>

In January 1986, the Israeli administration ended with the appointment of [[Zafer al-Masri]] as mayor. A popular leader of the Nablus Chamber of Commerce al-Masri began a program of improvements in the town. Despite maintaining that he would have nothing to do with Israeli autonomy plans he was assassinated on 2 March 1986.<ref name="Publishers p. 6"/> The assassination was widely believed to be the work of the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine]].

On 18 June 1989 Salah el Bah'sh, aged 17, was shot dead by an [[Israeli army|Israeli soldier]] whilst walking through the Nablus [[Nablus#Old City|Casbah]]. Witnesses told [[B'Tselem]], the Israeli Human Rights group, that he was shot in the chest at close range after not responding to a soldier shouting "Ta'amod" (Halt!). The army indicated that an investigation was being carried out. B'Tselem understood that the victim was killed by a [[rubber bullet]].<ref>B'Tselem information sheet July 1989. p.9. [https://www.btselem.org/sites/default/files/sites/default/files2/update_july_1.1989.pdf pdf]</ref>

===Palestinian control===
[[File:Huwwara Checkpoint Palestine.jpg|thumb|right|View of [[Huwwara checkpoint]] with Palestinians waiting to travel south, 2006]]
Jurisdiction over the city was handed over to the [[Palestinian National Authority]] on 12 December 1995, as a result of the [[Oslo Accords]] [[Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip|Interim Agreement on the West Bank]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.passia.org/palestine_facts/chronology/19941995.htm |title=Palestine Facts 1994–1995 |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=[[Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs]] (PASSIA) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729174648/http://www.passia.org/palestine_facts/chronology/19941995.htm |archive-date=2013-07-29 }}</ref> Nablus is surrounded by [[Israeli settlements]] and was site of regular clashes with the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF) during the [[First Intifada]] when the local prison was known for torture.<ref name=Stanley/>
In the 1990s, Nablus was a hub of [[Palestinian nationalism|Palestinian nationalist]] activity in the West Bank and when the [[Second Intifada]] began, arsonists of Jewish shrines in Nablus were applauded.<ref name=Israeli>{{cite book|last1=Israeli|first1=Raphael|title=War, Peace and Terror in the Middle East|date=2014|publisher=Routledge|location=Hoboken|isbn=9781135295547|page=4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CRAiAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4}}</ref> After the controversy over the [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|Muhammad cartoons in ''Jyllands-Posten'']], originally published in Denmark in late September 2006, militias kidnapped two foreigners and threatened to kidnap more as a protest. In 2008, Noa Meir, an Israeli military spokeswoman, said Nablus remains "capital of terror" of the West Bank.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Neslen|first1=Arthur|title=In your eyes a sandstorm ways of being Palestinian|date=2011|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley, Calif.|isbn=9780520949850|page=197|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DSD6_qjgjOQC&pg=PT197}}</ref>

From the start of the [[Second Intifada]], which began in September 2000, Nablus became a flash-point of clashes between the IDF and Palestinians. The city has a tradition of political activism, as evinced by its nickname, ''jabal al-nar'' (Fire Mountain)<ref name="Robinson" >Glenn E. Robinson, [https://archive.org/details/buildingpalestin00robi/page/57  ''Building a Palestinian State: The Incomplete Revolution,''] Indiana University Press, 1997 p.57.</ref> and, located between two mountains, was closed off at both ends of the valley by Israeli checkpoints. For several years, movements in and out of the city were highly restricted.<ref name="Bishara" /> Nablus produced more [[List of Palestinian suicide attacks|suicide bombers]] than any other city during the Second Intifada.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Booth |first1=William |last2=Eglash |first2=Ruth |date=21 October 2013 |title=Palestinians in Nablus, once known for suicide bombers, now seeking better days |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/palestinians-in-nablus-once-known-for-suicide-bombers-now-seeking-better-days/2013/10/20/469febe0-38d0-11e3-89db-8002ba99b894_story.html}}</ref> The city and the [[Palestinian refugee camps|refugee camps]] of [[Balata Camp|Balata]] and [[Askar (camp)|Askar]] constituted the center of "knowhow" for the production and operation of the rockets in the West Bank.<ref name="intelligence">{{cite web |url=http://www.intelligence.org.il/eng/bu/Nablus/chapt.htm |title=The Terrorist Infrastructure in Nablus – Results and Forecast |access-date=2008-04-24 |work=Terrorisminfo.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013213643/http://intelligence.org.il/eng/bu/Nablus/chapt.htm |archive-date=2007-10-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

According to the [[United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]], 522 residents of Nablus and surrounding refugee camps, including civilians, were killed and 3,104 injured during IDF military operations from 2000 to 2005.<ref name="OCHA">{{cite web |url=http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/OCHAoPt_NblsRprt05_En.pdf |title=Nablus after Five Years of Conflict |access-date=2008-04-27 |publisher=[[United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409050230/http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/OCHAoPt_NblsRprt05_En.pdf |archive-date=2008-04-09 }}</ref> In April 2002, following the [[Passover massacre]]—an attack by Palestinian militants that killed 30 Israeli civilians attending a [[Passover Seder|seder]] dinner at the Park Hotel in Netanya—Israel launched [[Operation Defensive Shield]], a major [[Battle of Nablus|military operation]] targeting in particular Nablus and Jenin. At least 80 Palestinians were killed in Nablus during the operation and several houses were destroyed or severely damaged.<ref name="AI">{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/143/2002/en/ |title=Israel and the Occupied Territories Shielded from scrutiny: IDF violations in Jenin and Nablus: Nablus |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=[[Amnesty International]]}}</ref>

The operation also resulted in severe damage to the historic core of the city, with 64 heritage buildings being heavily damaged or destroyed.<ref name=Stanley>{{cite book|last1=Stanley|first1=Bruce E.|last2=Dumper|first2=Michael R.T.|title=Cities of the Middle East and North Africa : a historical encyclopedia|date=2007|publisher=ABC-Clio|location=Oxford|isbn=9781576079195|pages=265–7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SapTk5iGDkC}}</ref> IDF forces reentered Nablus during [[Operation Determined Path]] in June 2002, remaining inside the city until the end of September. Over those three months, there had been more than 70 days of full 24-hour curfews.<ref name="AI"/> According to [[Gush Shalom]], IDF bulldozers damaged the al-Khadra Mosque, the Great Mosque, the al-Satoon Mosque and the [[Greek Orthodox Church]] in 2002. Some 60 houses were destroyed, and parts of the stone-paving in the old city were damaged. The al-Shifa ''[[Turkish bath|hammam]]'' was hit by three rockets from [[Apache helicopter]]s. The eastern entrance of the Khan al-Wikala (old market) and three soap factories were destroyed in [[F-16 Fighting Falcon|F-16]] bombings. The cost of the damage was estimated at $80 million US.<ref>[http://www.gush-shalom.org/terror/report1.html#nablus Report on the Destruction to Palestinian Institutions in Nablus and Other Cities (Except Ramallah) Caused by IDF Forces Between March 29 and April 21, 2002: Nablus] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021023418/http://gush-shalom.org/terror/report1.html |date=October 21, 2008 }}. [[Gush Shalom]]. April 22, 2002. Retrieved 2008-04-25.</ref>

In August 2016, the Old City of Nablus became a site of [[August 2016 Nablus clashes|fierce clashes]] between a militant group vs Palestinian police. On 18 August, two [[Palestinian Civil Police Force|Palestinian Police]] servicemen were killed in the city.<ref name=albawaba>{{Cite web|url=http://www.albawaba.com/news/palestinian-police-arrest-one-connection-nablus-shooting-877184|title = Palestinian police arrest one in connection with Nablus shooting}}</ref> Shortly after the raid of police on the suspected areas in the Old City deteriorated into a gun battle, in which three armed militia men were killed, including one killed by beating following his arrest.<ref name=albawaba/> The person beaten to death was the suspected “mastermind” behind the August 18 shooting - Ahmed Izz Halaweh, a senior member of the armed wing of the Fatah movement the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.<ref name=albawaba/> His death was branded by the UN and Palestinian factions as a part of “extrajudicial executions.”<ref name=albawaba/> A widespread manhunt for multiple gunmen was initiated by the police as a result, concluding with the arrest of one suspect Salah al-Kurdi on 25 August.<ref name=albawaba/>

==Geography==
[[File:IsraelCVFRtopography.jpg|thumb|Section of topographical map of Nablus area|269x269px]]

Nablus lies in a strategic position at a junction between two ancient commercial roads; one linking the [[Sharon plain|Sharon coastal plain]] to the [[Jordan Valley (Middle East)|Jordan valley]], the other linking Nablus to the [[Galilee]] in the north, and the biblical [[Judea]] to the south through the mountains.<ref name="AR">{{cite web |url=http://www.asiarooms.com/travel-guide/israel/israel-popular-destinations/-nablus.html |title=Nablus |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=AsiaRooms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113235721/http://www.asiarooms.com/travel-guide/israel/israel-popular-destinations/-nablus.html |archive-date=2008-01-13 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> The city stands at an elevation of around {{convert|550|m|ft|sp=us}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]],<ref name="NS">{{cite web |url=http://www.nablus.ws/nablus/history.htm |title=History |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Nablus.ps |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071112051126/http://www.nablus.ws/nablus/history.htm |archive-date = November 12, 2007}}</ref> in a narrow valley running roughly east–west between two mountains: [[Mount Ebal]], the northern mountain, is the taller peak at {{convert|940|m|ft|sp=us}}, while [[Mount Gerizim]], the southern mountain, is {{convert|881|m|ft|sp=us}} high.

Nablus is located {{convert|42|km|mi|sp=us}} east of [[Tel Aviv]], [[State of Israel|Israel]], {{convert|110|km|mi|sp=us}} west of [[Amman]], [[Jordan]] and {{convert|63|km|mi|sp=us}} north of Jerusalem.<ref name="NS"/> Nearby cities and towns include [[Huwara]] and [[Aqraba, Nablus|Aqraba]] to the south, [[Beit Furik]] to the southeast, [[Tammun]] to the northeast, [[Asira ash-Shamaliya]] to the north and [[Kafr Qaddum]] and [[Tell (town)|Tell]] to the west.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Thameenmap3.jpg |title=Detailed Map of the West Bank |access-date=2008-04-24 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627091037/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9b/Thameenmap3.jpg |archive-date=2008-06-27 }}</ref>

===Old City===
{{main|Old City of Nablus}}
{{See also|Levantine archaeology#Nablus}}In the center of Nablus lies the old city, composed of six major quarters: Yasmina, Gharb, Qaryun, Aqaba, Qaysariyya, and Habala. Habala is the largest quarter and its population growth led to the development of two smaller neighborhoods: al-Arda and Tal al-Kreim. The old city is densely populated and prominent families include the Nimrs, Tuqans, and Abd al-Hadis. The large fortress-like compound of the [[Abd al-Hadi Palace]] built in the 19th century is located in Qaryun. The [[Al-Nimr Palace|Nimr Hall]] and the [[Tuqan Palace]] are located in the center of the old city. There are several [[mosque]]s in the Old City: the [[Great Mosque of Nablus]], An-Nasr Mosque, al-Tina Mosque, [[al-Khadra Mosque]], [[Hanbali Mosque]], al-Anbia Mosque, Ajaj Mosque and others.<ref name="Semplici-a">Semplici, Andrea and Boccia, Mario. [http://www.ucodep.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=631&Itemid=90 – Nablus, At the Foot of the Holy Mountain] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708122053/https://www.ucodep.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=631&Itemid=90 |date=2017-07-08 }} Med Cooperation, p.17.</ref>

There are six {{Transliteration|ar|hamaams}} ([[Turkish bath]]s) in the Old City, the most prominent of them being al-Shifa and al-Hana. Al-Shifa was built by the Tuqans in 1624. Al-Hana in Yasmina was the last ''hamaam'' built in the city in the 19th century. It was closed in 1928 but restored and reopened in 1994.<ref name="Semplici"/> Several leather tanneries, ''[[souk]]s'', pottery and textile workshops line the Old City streets.<ref name="NS"/><ref name="Doumani2"/> Also located in the Old City is the 15th-century [[Khan al-Tujjar (Nablus)|Khan al-Tujjar]] caravanserai and the [[Manara Clock Tower]], built in 1906.<ref name="NS"/>{{Wide image|Nablus - eastern panorama.jpg|800px|Picture showing to the right the mountain "[[Mount Ebal|Ebal]]" with the rock of "Sit Islamieh", and to the left the south mountain "Jirziem" with an [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF military post]] on the far left}}
{{clear}}

===Climate===
The relatively temperate [[Mediterranean climate]] brings hot, dry summers and cool, rainy winters to Nablus. Spring arrives around March–April and the hottest months in Nablus are July and August with the average high being {{convert|29.6|°C|°F|1}}. The coldest month is January with temperatures usually at {{convert|6.2|°C|°F|1}}. Rain generally falls between October and March, with annual precipitation rates being approximately {{convert|656|mm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name="NS"/>
[[File:The Spring in Nablus, Palestine.jpg|thumb|Spring in Nablus, Palestine]]
{{Weather box
|location = Nabulus ( 570 meters above sea level) 1972-1997
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan high C = 13.1
|Feb high C = 14.4
|Mar high C = 17.2
|Apr high C = 22.2
|May high C = 25.7
|Jun high C = 27.9
|Jul high C = 29.1
|Aug high C = 29.4
|Sep high C = 28.4
|Oct high C = 25.8
|Nov high C = 20.2
|Dec high C = 14.6
|year high C = 22.35
| Jan mean C = 9.0
| Feb mean C = 8.8
| Mar mean C = 11.9
| Apr mean C = 16.6
| May mean C = 20.7
| Jun mean C = 24.0
| Jul mean C = 24.8
| Aug mean C = 24.4
| Sep mean C = 22.5
| Oct mean C = 20.5
| Nov mean C = 17.5
| Dec mean C = 13.1
| year mean C = 17.8
|Jan low C = 6.2
|Feb low C = 6.7
|Mar low C = 8.8
|Apr low C = 12.1
|May low C = 14.9
|Jun low C = 17.4
|Jul low C = 19.3
|Aug low C = 19.5
|Sep low C = 18.5
|Oct low C = 16.2
|Nov low C = 12.1
|Dec low C = 7.8
|year low C = 13.3
|Jan record high C = 22.9
|Feb record high C = 28.1
|Mar record high C = 30.4
|Apr record high C = 35
|May record high C = 38.6
|Jun record high C = 38
|Jul record high C = 38.1
|Aug record high C = 38.6
|Sep record high C = 38.8
|Oct record high C = 35.3
|Nov record high C = 30.7
|Dec record high C = 28
|year record high C= 38.8
|Jan record low C = -0.6
|Feb record low C = -2.8
|Mar record low C = -1
|Apr record low C = 0.6
|May record low C = 6.9
|Jun record low C = 11.4
|Jul record low C = 12.3
|Aug record low C = 15.9
|Sep record low C = 13
|Oct record low C = 9.3
|Nov record low C = 1.4
|Dec record low C = 0.3
|year record low C = -2.8

|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 155
|Feb precipitation mm = 135
|Mar precipitation mm = 90
|Apr precipitation mm = 34
|May precipitation mm = 5
|Jun precipitation mm = 0
|Jul precipitation mm = 0
|Aug precipitation mm = 0
|Sep precipitation mm = 2
|Oct precipitation mm = 17
|Nov precipitation mm = 60
|Dec precipitation mm = 158
|year precipitation mm = 656
| Jan humidity = 74
| Feb humidity = 75
| Mar humidity = 66
| Apr humidity = 55
| May humidity = 47
| Jun humidity = 50
| Jul humidity = 65
| Aug humidity = 62
| Sep humidity = 73
| Oct humidity = 62
| Nov humidity = 54
| Dec humidity = 69
| year humidity = 
|source 1 = Arab Meteorology Book<ref name=amb>{{cite web
| url = http://extras.springer.com/2007/978-1-4020-4577-6/Book_Shahin_ISBN_9781402045776_Appendix.pdf
| title = Appendix I: Meteorological Data
| publisher = Springer
| access-date = October 25, 2015
| archive-date = March 4, 2016
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072830/http://extras.springer.com/2007/978-1-4020-4577-6/Book_Shahin_ISBN_9781402045776_Appendix.pdf
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>
|date=August 2010
}}

==Demographics==
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left:15px;"
|-
! Year
! Population
|- style="background:#add8e6;"
| 1596 || style="text-align:center;"|4,300<ref name="Hutteroth">Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p.5.</ref>
|- style="background:#add8e6;"
| 1849 || style="text-align:center;"|20,000<ref name="BD">Doumani, Beshara. [https://www.jstor.org/pss/164049 Counts in Ottoman Palestine: Nablus, circa 1850] Cambridge University Press.</ref>
|- style="background:#add8e6;"
| 1860 || style="text-align:center;"|15,000<ref>Sabbagh, Karl. (2008) [https://books.google.com/books?id=VO2XLcVizEoC&pg=PA62&dq=Nablus&sig=ACfU3U1sGikjN4H0T0k4zth0YJQoHSgIDg#PPA72,M1 Palestine: History of a Lost Nation] Grove Press.</ref>
|- style="background:#add8e6;"
| 1922 || style="text-align:center;"|15,947<ref name=Census1922a>Barron, 1923,  Table IX, Sub-district of Nablus, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n26/mode/1up 24]</ref> 
|- style="background:#add8e6;"
| 1931 || style="text-align:center;"|17,181<ref name="Census1931">Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 63]</ref>
|- style="background:#add8e6;"
| 1945 || style="text-align:center;"|23,250<ref name=1945p19>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p19.jpg 19]</ref><ref name=Hadawi60>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Nablus/Page-060.jpg 60]</ref>
|- style="background:#add8e6;"
| 1961 || style="text-align:center;"|45,768<ref>Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/JordanCensusPages/JordanCensus1961-p13.pdf 13]</ref>
|- style="background:#add8e6;"
| 1987 || style="text-align:center;"|93,000<ref>Census by [[Israel Central Bureau of Statistics]]</ref>
|- style="background:#add8e6;"
| 1997 || style="text-align:center;"|100,034<ref name="PCBSCensus">{{cite web |url=http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabID=3820&lang=en |title=Summary of Final Results: Population, Housing and Establishment Census-1997 |access-date=2008-04-24 |year=1997 |publisher=[[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118173714/https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabID=3820&lang=en |archive-date=2008-11-18 }}</ref>
|- style="background:violet;"
| 2007 || style="text-align:center;"| 126,132<ref name="PCBS07">PCBS07,[http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_PCBS/Downloads/book1487.pdf 2007 Locality Population Statistics] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210081942/http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_PCBS/Downloads/book1487.pdf |date=December 10, 2010 }}. [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS).</ref>
|- style="background:violet;"
| 2017 || style="text-align:center;"| 156,906<ref name="PrelimCensus2017" />
|}

In 1596, the population consisted of 806 Muslim households, 20 [[Samaritan]] households, 18 Christian households, and 15 Jewish households.<ref name="Hutteroth"/> Local Ottoman authorities recorded a population of around 20,000 residents in Nablus in 1849.<ref name="BD"/> In 1867 American visitors found the town to have a population of 4,000 'the chief part of whom are Mohammedans', with some Jews and Christians and 'about 150 Samaritans'.<ref>Ellen Clare Miller, 'Eastern Sketches – notes of scenery, schools and tent life in Syria and Palestine'. Edinburgh: William Oliphant and Company. 1871. Page 171: 'Nablous'.</ref> In the [[1922 census of Palestine|1922 British census of Palestine]], there were a total of 15,947 inhabitants (15,238 Muslims, 544 Christians, 147 Samaritans, 16 Jews, and two Druze).<ref name=Census1922a/> Population continued to grow, rising to 17,189 (16,483 Muslims, 533 Christians, 160 Samaritans, seven Druze, and six Jews) at the [[1931 census of Palestine]] with 309 in nearby suburbs (225 Muslims and 84 Christians).<ref name="Census1931"/>

The 1938 village statistics show a further increase to 19,200.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VillageStatistics1938orig.pdf |title=Village Statistics |year=1938 |pages=39}}</ref> The [[Village Statistics, 1945|1945 village statistics]] list the population as 23,250 (22,360 Muslims, 680 Christians, and 120 "other").<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VillageStatistics1945orig.pdf |title=Village Statistics |year=1945 |pages=19}}</ref>

According to the [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS), Nablus had a population of 126,132 in 2007.<ref name="PCBS07"/> In the PCBS's 1997 census, the city had a population of 100,034, including 23,397 [[Palestinian refugees|refugees]], accounting for about 24% of the city's residents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/nab_t6.aspx |title=Palestinian Population by Locality and Refugee Status |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=[[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111114030654/http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/nab_t6.aspx |archive-date=2011-11-14 }}</ref> Nablus' Old City had a population of 12,000 in 2006.<ref name="Semplici"/> The population of Nablus city comprises 40% of its [[Nablus Governorate|governorate]]'s inhabitants.<ref name="PCBS07"/>

Approximately half of population is under 20 years old. In 1997, the age distribution of the city's inhabitants was 28.4% under the age of 10, 20.8% from 10 to 19, 17.7% from 20 to 29, 18% from 30 to 44, 11.1% from 45 to 64 and 3.7% above the age of 65. The gender distribution was 50,945 males (50.92%) and 49,089 females (49.07%).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/nab_t1.aspx |title=Palestinian Population by Locality, Sex and Age Groups in Years |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=[[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080614231547/http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/nab_t1.aspx |archive-date=2008-06-14 }}</ref>

===Religion===
In 891 CE, during the early centuries of [[Islam]]ic rule, Nablus had a religiously diverse population of Samaritans, [[Muslim]]s and Christians. Arab geographer [[Shams al-Din al-Ansari al-Dimashqi|Al-Dimashqi]], recorded that under the rule of the Mamluk Dynasty (Muslim Dynasty based in Egypt), local Muslims, Samaritans, Orthodox Christians, Catholics and Jews populated the city.<ref name="le Strange"/> At the [[1931 census of Palestine|1931 census]], the population was counted as 16,483 Muslims, 533 Christians, 6 Jews, 7 Druses and 160 Samaritans.<ref name="Census1931"/>  However, this census was taken after the [[1929 Palestine riots]] which drove the Jews out of many majority-Arab cities.<ref>Great Britain, 1930: Report of the Commission on the disturbances of August 1929, Command paper 3530 (Shaw Commission report), p. 65.</ref>

The majority of the inhabitants today are Muslim, but there are small [[Palestinian Christian|Christian]] and [[Samaritan]] communities as well. Much of the local [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] Muslim population of Nablus is believed to be descended from Samaritans who converted to Islam. Certain Nabulsi family names are associated with Samaritan ancestry – Muslimani, Yaish, and Shakshir among others.<ref>[http://www.zajel.org/article_view.asp?newsID=4425&cat=18 The Political History of the Samaritans] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119035811/http://www.zajel.org/article_view.asp?newsID=4425&cat=18 |date=2012-01-19 }}</ref> According to the historian Fayyad Altif, large numbers of Samaritans converted because of persecution and because the monotheistic nature of Islam made it easy for them to accept it.<ref name=Ireton>{{cite web|title=The Samaritans – A Jewish Sect in Israel: Strategies for Survival of an Ethno-religious Minority in the Twenty First Century|author=Sean Ireton|publisher=Anthrobase|year=2003|access-date=2007-11-29|url=http://www.anthrobase.com/Txt/I/Ireton_S_01.htm}}</ref>

In 1967, there were about 3,500 Christians of various denominations in Nablus, but that figure dwindled to about 650 in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wrmea.com/archives/Jan_Feb_2008/0801050.html |title="We Need Justice", Says Father Yousef Sa'adah, a Melkite Priest in Nablus |access-date=2008-04-24 |last=Corillet |first=Joel |date=February 2008 |work=Washington Report on Middle East Affairs}}</ref> Of the Christian populace, there are seventy [[Orthodoxy#Christianity|Orthodox Christian]] families, about thirty Catholic (Roman Catholic and Eastern Melkite Catholic) families and thirty [[Anglican]] families. Most Christians used to live in the suburb of [[Rafidia]] in the western part of the city.<ref name="Semplici"/>

There are seventeen Islamic monuments and eleven mosques in the Old City.<ref name="OCHA"/><ref name=NW/> Nine of the mosques were established before the 15th century.<ref name="OCHA"/> In addition to Muslim houses of worship, Nablus contains an Orthodox church dedicated to Saint Justin Martyr,<ref name="Semplici"/> built in 1898, and the ancient Samaritan synagogue, which is still in use.<ref name=NW>[http://www.nablus.org/nablus/maps.htm Places in Nablus]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Nablus Website.</ref>

==Economy==

Beginning in the early 16th century, trade networks connecting Nablus to [[Damascus]] and [[Cairo]] were supplemented by the establishment of trading posts in the [[Hejaz]] and [[Arab states of the Persian Gulf|Gulf]] regions to the south and east, as well as in the [[Anatolian Peninsula]] and the [[Mediterranean]] islands of [[Crete]] and [[Cyprus]]. Nablus also developed trade relations with [[Aleppo]], [[Mosul]], and [[Baghdad]].<ref name="Doumani2">Doumani, 1995, Chapter: "The City of Nablus."</ref> The Ottoman government oversaw the safety and funding of the annual [[hajj]] (''qafilat al-hajj'') from [[Damascus]] to the Islamic holy cities of [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]]. Pilgrimage caravans became a key factor in the fiscal and political relationship between Nablus and the central government. For a brief period in the early 17th century, the governor of Nablus, [[Farrukh Pasha]], was appointed leader of 
the caravan (''[[amir al-hajj]]''), and he constructed a large commercial compound in Nablus for that purpose.<ref name="Doumani2" />

In 1882, there were 32 soap factories and 400 [[loom]]s exporting their products throughout the Middle East.<ref name="Semplici" /><ref name="IO">{{cite web |url=http://www.islamonline.net/english/In_Depth/PalestineInFocus/Thepeople/former/1967/WestBank/04.shtml |title="Little Damascus": Nablus City, West Bank |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Islam Online |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413023559/http://www.islamonline.net/English/In_Depth/PalestineInFocus/Thepeople/former/1967/WestBank/04.shtml <!--Added by H3llBot--> |archive-date=2008-04-13}}</ref> Nablus exported three-fourths of its soap — the city's most important commodity—to Cairo by caravan through [[Gaza City|Gaza]] and the [[Sinai Peninsula]], and by sea through the ports of [[Jaffa]] and Gaza. From Egypt, and particularly from Cairo and [[Damietta]], Nablus merchants imported mainly rice, [[sugar]], and spices, as well as linen, cotton, and wool textiles. Cotton, soap, olive oil, and textiles were exported to Damascus, whence silks, high-quality textiles, copper, and a number luxury items, such as jewellery were imported.<ref name="Doumani2" /> Outside  the city limits, extensive fields of [[olive]] groves, [[ficus|fig]] and [[pomegranate]] orchards and [[grape]] vineyards covered the  slopes. Crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and ''[[mulukhiyya]]'' were grown in the fields and grain mills were  scattered across central [[Samaria]].<ref name="Doumani2" /> Nablus was also the largest producer of [[cotton]] in the Levant, producing over {{convert|225000|kg|0|abbr=on}} of the product by 1837.<ref name="Doumani5">Doumani, 1995, Chapter: "Cotton Production in Jabal Nablus."</ref>[[File:Placa dels màrtirs Nablus.jpg|thumb|Downtown Nablus, Martyrs Square|left]]

Today, Nablus has a bustling modern commercial center with restaurants, and [[shopping mall]]s.<ref name=Assadi>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110622051321/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2009%2F7%2F18%2Fworldupdates%2F2009-07-18T174715Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-411404-1&sec=Worldupdates "Nablus shopping festival brightens up West Bank,"] Mohammed Assadi, July 18, 2009, Malaysia Star.</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=dzgallivanter |date=2021-03-19 |title=A day in the City of Nablus |url=https://dzgallivanter.com/2021/03/19/a-day-in-the-city-of-nablus/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=DZ Gallivanter |language=en}}</ref> Traditional industries
<ref name="NS"/> such as the production of soap, olive oil, and [[Palestinian handicrafts]] continue to operate in Nablus.
<ref name=":2" /> Other industries include furniture production, tile production, stone quarrying, textile manufacturing and [[leather tanning]].<ref name=":2" /> The city is widely known for sweets like kunafah, olive oil, soap and ice-cream.<ref name=":2" />

The Vegetable Oil Industry Co. is a Nablus factory that produces olive oil, and vegetable butter which is exported to [[Jordan]].<ref name="NS"/> In 2000, the al-Huda Textiles factory in Nablus
produced 500 pieces of clothing daily; however, production dropped to 150–200 pieces in 2002. Al-Huda  imports textiles from [[China]] and exports finished products to [[Israel]].<ref name="OCHA"/>  In 2003, there were eight restaurants  and four hotels — the largest being al-Qasr and al-Yasmeen.<ref name=KimLeep354>Kim Lee, 2003, p. 354.</ref> The  soap industry has suffered  from the [[West Bank closures]] and IDF incursions. In 2008, only two soap factories were still open.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/guide/Restaurant.htm |title=Restaurants In Nablus |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725094425/http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/guide/Restaurant.htm |archive-date=2008-07-25 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/guide/Hotels.htm |title=Hotels In Nablus |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Nablus Municipality |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080217044108/http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/guide/Hotels.htm |archive-date=February 17, 2008 }}</ref> 
[[File:سوق في نابلس.jpg|thumb|One of the old markets in Nablus]]
The Al-Arz ice-cream company is the largest of six ice-cream manufacturers in the Palestinian territories. The Nablus business developed from an ice-factory set up by Mohammad Anabtawi in the town centre in 1950. It produces 50 tons a day, and exports to Jordan and Iraq. Most of the ingredients are imported from Israel.<ref name="LevyHaaretz">[[Gideon Levy]], [http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/twilight-zone/palestinian-ice-cream-s-big-comeback.premium-1.455762 'Palestinian ice cream's big comeback,'] at [[Haaretz]], 3 August 2012.'They buy the ingredients mainly from Israeli suppliers .'</ref>

Before 2000, 13.4% of Nablus' residents worked in Israel, with the figure dropping to 4.7% in 2004. The city's manufacturing sector made up 15.7% of the economy in 2004, a drop from 21% in 2000. Since 2000, most of the workforce has been employed in agriculture and local trade.<ref name="OCHA"/> In the wake of the Intifada, unemployment rates rose from 14.2% in 1997 to 60% in 2004. According to an [[OCHA]] report in 2008, one of the reasons for the high unemployment was a ring of checkpoints around the city,<ref name="ocha1">{{cite web |url=http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/OCHA_Body-ASP_Files/Coordination_Sec/OCHA-oPt_FCU_BIOs_PDFs/OCHA-oPt_Nablus-FCU_Bio_Data-22Nov04.pdf |title=Bio Data – Nablus |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=United Nation Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409050228/http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/OCHA_Body-ASP_Files/Coordination_Sec/OCHA-oPt_FCU_BIOs_PDFs/OCHA-oPt_Nablus-FCU_Bio_Data-22Nov04.pdf |archive-date=2008-04-09 }}</ref> leading to the relocation of many businesses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/Commercial%20Crossings%20V5.pdf |title=Increasing Need, Decreasing Access: Tightening Control On Economic Movement |access-date=2014-05-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314071422/http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/commercial%20crossings%20v5.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-14 }}</ref>

Since the removal of the [[Huwara|Hawara]] roadblock, the casbah has become a vibrant marketplace.<ref name="LevyHaaretz"/> Nablus is home to the [[Palestine Securities Exchange]] (PSE) and the al-Quds Financial Index, housed in the al-Qasr building in the Rafidia suburb of the city. The PSE's first trading session took place on 19 February 1997. In 2007, the capitalization of the PSE topped 3.5 million [[Jordanian dinar]]s.<ref name="Semplici"/>

==Education==
[[File:An-Najah University, Nablus 002 - Aug 2011.jpg|thumb|[[An-Najah University]], Nablus]]
According to the [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS), in 1997, 44,926 were enrolled in schools (41.2% in primary school, 36.2% in secondary school, and 22.6% in high school). About 19.8% of high school students received bachelor diplomas or higher diplomas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/nab_t3.aspx |title=Palestinian Population (10 Years and Over) by Locality, Sex and Educational Attainment |access-date=2008-04-24 |year=1997 |publisher=[[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118181819/https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/nab_t3.aspx |archive-date=2008-11-18 }}</ref> In 2006, there were 234 schools and 93,925 students in the [[Nablus Governorate]]; 196 schools are run by the [[Education Minister of the Palestinian National Authority|Education Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority]], 14 by the [[United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East|United Nations Relief and Works Agency]] (UNRWA) and 24 are private schools.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mohe.gov.ps/downloads/pdffiles/statisticE.pdf |title=Statistics About General Education in Palestine |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=[[Education Minister of the Palestinian National Authority]]|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061014122612/http://www.mohe.gov.ps/downloads/pdffiles/statisticE.pdf |archive-date = October 14, 2006}}</ref>

Nablus is also home to [[an-Najah National University]], the largest [[List of Palestinian universities|Palestinian university]] in the West Bank.<ref name=":0" /> Founded in 1918 by the an-Najah Nabulsi School, it became a college in 1941 and a university in 1977.<ref name=":0" /> An-Najah was closed down by Israeli authorities during the [[First Intifada]], but reopened in 1991.<ref name=":0" /> Today, the university has three campuses in Nablus with over 16,500 students and 300 professors.<ref name=":0" /> The university's faculties include seven in the [[humanities]] and nine in the [[sciences]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://www2.najah.edu/nnu_portal/index.php?page=56&lang=en |title=About An-Najah |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=An-Najah National University Official Website |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080416155403/http://www2.najah.edu/nnu_portal/index.php?page=56&lang=en |archive-date = April 16, 2008}}</ref>

Nablus has been ranked as one of the best cities in the Middle East to learn Arabic, with achieving 5th rank in the list.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Jinn |first=Pink |date=2018-01-24 |title=The Best Cities to Study Arabic in the Middle East |url=https://www.pinkjinn.com/2018/01/24/the-best-cities-to-study-arabic-in-the-middle-east/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Pink Jinn |language=en-GB}}</ref> For non-Arabic aspirants, An-Najah University has faculties, providing courses related to Arabic language.<ref name=":1" />

==Healthcare==
[[File:Specialized Arab Hospital, Nablus 001.jpg|thumb|Nablus Speciality Hospital in 2019|left]]
There are six [[hospital]]s in Nablus, the four major ones being al-Ittihad, St. Lukes, al-Watani (the National) and the Rafidia Surgery Hospital. The latter, located in Rafidia, a suburb in western Nablus, is the largest hospital in the city. Al-Watani Hospital specializes in [[oncology]] services.<ref name="OCHA" /> The [[Anglican]] St. Lukes hospital was founded in 1900 by the medical missionary [[Gaskoin Richard Morden Wright|Gaskoin Wright]]; the National Hospital was founded in 1910.<ref name="NS" /><ref name="NMG" /><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/238823142 |title=New faith in ancient lands : Western missions in the Middle East in the nineteenth and early twentienth [i.e. twentieth] centuries |date=2006 |publisher=Brill |author=H. L. Murre-van den Berg | author-link = Heleen Murre-van den Berg |isbn=978-90-474-1140-6 |location=Leiden |oclc=238823142}}</ref> In addition to hospitals, Nablus contains the al-Rahma and at-Tadamon clinics, the al-Razi medical center, the Amal Center for Rehabilitation and 68 pharmacies.<ref name="NMG">[http://www.nablus.org/en/content.php?id_itemcontent=249 Pharmacies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090725044925/http://www.nablus.org/en/content.php?id_itemcontent=249 |date=2009-07-25 }} and [http://www.nablus.org/en/content.php?id_itemcontent=249 Hospitals]   Nablus Municipality Guides.</ref> In addition to that, in 2001, Nablus Speciality Hospital was built, in which it is specialized in [[open heart surgery]], [[angiogram]]s and [[angioplasty|angioplasties]]. [[Rafidia Surgical Hospital]] is located in the city.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

==Culture and arts==
Nablus and its culture enjoy a certain renown throughout the Palestinian Territories and the [[Arab world]] with significant and unique contributions to [[Palestinian culture]], [[Palestinian cuisine|cuisine]] and [[Palestinian costumes|costume]]. ''Nabulsi'', meaning "from Nablus", is used to describe items such as [[Palestinian handicrafts|handicrafts]] (e.g. [[Nabulsi soap]]) and food products (e.g. [[Nabulsi cheese]]) that are made in Nablus or in the traditional Nablus style.

===Traditional costume===
{{Main|Palestinian costumes}}
Nablus costume was of a distinctive style that employed colorful combinations of various fabrics. Because of its position as important trade center with a flourishing ''[[souk]]'' ("market"), in the late 19th century, there was a large choice of fabrics available in the city, from [[Damascus]] and [[Aleppo]] [[silk]] to [[Manchester]] [[cotton]]s and [[Calico (fabric)|calico]]s. Similar in construction to the garments worn in the [[Galilee]], both long and short [[Turkish culture|Turkish style]] jackets were worn over the {{Transliteration|ar|thob}} ("robe"). For daily wear, {{Transliteration|ar|thobs}} were often made of white cotton or [[linen]], with a preference for winged sleeves. In the summer, costumes often incorporated interwoven striped bands of red, green and yellow on the front and back, with appliqué and braidwork popularly decorating the ''qabbeh'' ("square chest piece").<ref name=PCA2>{{cite web |title=Palestine costume before 1948: by region |publisher=Palestine Costume Archive |access-date=2008-08-01 |url=http://www.palestinecostumearchive.org/regional.htm|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20020913101705/http%3A//www%2Epalestinecostumearchive%2Eorg/regional%2Ehtm |archive-date= September 13, 2002 }}</ref>

===Cuisine===
[[File:Kinafa.jpg|right|thumb|A ''siniyyeh'' of [[Kanafeh]] ]]
Nablus is one of the Palestinian cities that sustained elite classes, fostering the development of a culture of "high cuisine", such as that of [[Damascus]] or [[Baghdad]]. The city is home to a number of food products well known throughout the Levant, the [[Arab world]] and the former [[provinces of the Ottoman Empire]].

''[[Kanafeh]]'' (or Kunafa) is the best known ''Nabulsi'' sweet.<ref name="NS" /> It is made of several fine shreds of pastry noodles with honey-sweetened cheese in the center. The top layer of the pastry is usually dyed orange with food coloring and sprinkled with crushed pistachios. Now made throughout the Middle East, ''kanafeh Nabulsi'' uses a white-brine cheese called ''[[Nabulsi cheese|jibneh Nabulsi]]''. Boiled sugar is used as a syrup for ''kanafeh''.

Other sweets made in Nablus include ''[[baklawa]]'', "Tamriya", ''mabrumeh'' and ''ghuraybeh'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atlastours.net/holyland/nablus.html |title=Nablus, Holy Land |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Atlas Travel and Tourist Agency}}</ref> a plain pastry made of butter, flour and sugar in an "S"-shape, or shaped as fingers or bracelets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nablusculture.ps/nablus,sweets.htm |title=Nabulsi Sweets |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Nablus the Culture |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304070245/http://nablusculture.ps/nablus,sweets.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Cultural centers===
[[File:Dabkeh.png|thumb|[[Dabke]] dance group on [[Mount Gerizim]]]]
[[File:Old city of Nablus.JPG|thumb|left|Alley in the Old City leading to and from the [[souk]], 2008]]There are three cultural centers in Nablus. The Child Cultural Center (CCC), founded in 1998 and built in a renovated historic building, operates an art and drawing workshop, a stage for play performances, a music room, a children's library and a multimedia lab.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/cult_centers/child_cult_center.htm |title=Child Cultural Center |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Nablus Municipality }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The Children Happiness Center (CHC) was also established in 1998. Its main activities include promoting Palestinian culture through social events, ''[[dabke]]'' classes and field trips. In addition to national culture, the CHC has a [[football (soccer)|football]] and [[chess]] team.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/cult_centers/child_happienies_center.htm |title=Children Happiness Center |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Nablus Municipality |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070328210701/http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/cult_centers/child_happienies_center.htm |archive-date = March 28, 2007}}</ref> The Nablus municipal government established its own cultural center in 2003, called the Nablus Municipality Cultural Center (NMCC) aimed at establishing and developing educational facilities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/cult_centers/hamdy_manko.htm |title=Nablus Municipality Cultural Center "Future Kids" |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Nablus Municipality }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

===Soap production===
{{Main|Nabulsi soap}}
Nabulsi soap or ''sabon nabulsi'' is a type of [[castile soap]] produced only in Nablus<ref name=Piefza>{{cite web|title=Palestinian Industries |url=http://www.piefza.org/a_pal_industries.htm |publisher=Piefza.com |access-date=2008-03-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614000406/http://www.piefza.org/a_pal_industries.htm |archive-date=June 14, 2007 }}</ref> and made of three primary ingredients: virgin [[olive oil]], water, and a sodium<ref>{{cite web|author=TravelZone |url=http://najissoap.blogspot.com |title=NajisSoap |publisher=Najissoap.blogspot.com |date=2010-07-12 |access-date=2010-07-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708054349/http://najissoap.blogspot.com/ |archive-date=July 8, 2011 }}</ref> compound.<ref name=IMEU>{{cite web |title=Nablus' olive oil soap: a Palestinian tradition lives on |author=Michael Phillips |publisher=[[Institute for Middle East Understanding]] (IMEU) |date=March 11, 2008 |access-date=2008-03-27 |url=http://imeu.net/news/article008132.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720073112/http://imeu.net/news/article008132.shtml |archive-date=July 20, 2008 }}</ref> Since the 10th century, Nabulsi soap has enjoyed a reputation for being a fine product,<ref name=SEMP>{{cite web |title=Nablus Soap: Cleaning Middle Eastern Ears for Centuries |publisher=Suburban Emergency Management Project |date=20 September 2006 |access-date=2008-03-27 |url=http://www.semp.us/publications/biot_reader.php?BiotID=402 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111095241/http://www.semp.us/publications/biot_reader.php?BiotID=402 |archive-date=11 January 2008 }}</ref> and has been exported across the Arab world and to Europe.<ref name=IMEU/> Though the number of soap factories decreased from a peak of thirty in the 19th century to only two today, efforts to preserve this important part of Palestinian and Nabulsi cultural heritage continue.<ref name=IMEU/><ref name=SEMP/>

Made in a cube-like shape about {{convert|1.5|in|cm}} tall and {{convert|2.25|by|2.25|in|cm}} wide, the color of Nabulsi soap is like that of "the page of an old book."<ref name=SEMP/> The cubes are stamped on the top with the seal of the factory that produces it.<ref name=Shakaa>{{cite web |title=Natural ... Traditional ... Chunky! |author=Rawan Shakaa |date=March 2007 |url=http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=2078&ed=138&edid=138 |work=This Week in Palestine |access-date=2008-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407080859/http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=2078&ed=138&edid=138 |archive-date=2014-04-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The soap's sodium compound came from the [[barilla]] plant. Prior to the 1860s, in the summertime, the barilla would be placed in towering stacks, burned, and then the ashes and coals would be gathered into sacks, and transported to Nablus from the area of modern-day [[Jordan]] in large [[Camel train|caravans]]. In the city, the ashes and coals were pounded into a fine natural [[alkaline]] soda powder called {{Transliteration|ar|qilw}}.<ref name=SEMP/> Today, {{Transliteration|ar|qilw}} is still used in combination with lime.

==Local government==
The city of Nablus is the ''muhfaza'' (seat) of the [[Nablus Governorate]], and is governed by a municipal council made up of fifteen elected members, including the mayor.<ref name="NMMC">{{cite web|url=http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/aboutus/municipal_council.htm |title=Nablus Municipal Council |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Nablus Municipality }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

The two primary political parties in the municipal council are [[Hamas]] and [[Fatah]]. In the 2005 Palestinian municipal elections, the Reform and Change list representing the Hamas faction won 73.4% of the vote, gaining the majority of the municipal seats (13). Palestine Tomorrow, representing Fatah, gained the remaining two seats with 13.0% of the vote. Other political parties, such as the [[Palestinian People's Party]] and the [[Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine]] failed to gain any seats in the council, though they each received over 1,000 votes.<ref name="Results">{{cite web |url=http://www.elections.ps/admin/pdf/Municipal_Elections_Results_EN_(4).pdf |title=2005 Palestinian Local Elections, round 4 |access-date=2010-08-21 |publisher=Higher Commission for Local Elections }}{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Yaish's four-year term legally expired in December 2009. While elections in the West Bank were scheduled for 17 July 2010, they were canceled because of Fatah's lack of agreement on list of candidates. Nablus was one of the most important municipalities where Fatah failed to resolve internal conflicts that resulted in two competing Fatah lists: one headed by former mayor [[Ghassan Shakaa]] and one headed by Amin Makboul.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=5&article_id=117616#axzz0xEaOeWPj |title=A Palestinian election is aborted, again |publisher=Daily Star |access-date=2010-08-21 }}</ref>

In the October 2012 municipal elections, Hamas boycotted the polls, protesting the holding of elections while reconciliation efforts with Fatah were at a standstill. Former mayor Ghassan Shakaa, a former local Fatah leader, won the vote as an independent against Fatah member Amin Makboul and another independent candidate.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ben |last=Lynfield |title=Hamas election boycott leaves West Bank Palestinians with only one choice |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/1006/Hamas-election-boycott-leaves-West-Bank-Palestinians-with-only-one-choice |publisher=The Christian Science Monitor |date=2012-10-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Whatmough |url=http://nablus.dannywhatmough.com/2012/10/21/west-bank-elections-demonstrate-extent-of-political-divide/ |title=West Bank elections demonstrate extent of political divide |date=2012-10-21 |access-date=25 March 2014 |archive-date=25 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325052749/http://nablus.dannywhatmough.com/2012/10/21/west-bank-elections-demonstrate-extent-of-political-divide/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Mayors===
{{Main|List of mayors of Nablus}}
Modern mayorship in Nablus began in 1869 with the appointment of Sheikh Mohammad Tuffaha by the Ottoman governor of Syria/Palestine. On 2 July 1980, [[Bassam Shakaa]], then mayor of Nablus, lost both of his legs as a result of a [[car bombing]] carried out by Israeli militants affiliated with the [[Gush Emunim Underground]] movement.<ref name="haaretz">{{cite web |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=600596 |first=Danny |last=Rubenstein |author-link=Danny Rubenstein |title=Fighting words/Far from the madding crowd |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Haaretz}}</ref>

The current mayor, [[Adly Yaish]], a Hamas member, was arrested by the Israel Defense Forces in May 2007, during [[Operation Summer Rains]], launched in retaliation for the kidnapping of Israeli soldier [[Gilad Shalit]] by Hamas.<ref name="ynet">{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3403756,00.html |title=Palestinians report IDF forces raid Nablus overnight in arrest operation, taking 33 Hamas leaders into custody, including PA minister of education, mayors of Nablus, Qalqiliya |access-date=2008-04-24 |last=Waked |first=Ali |date=24 May 2007 |work=Ynet News |publisher=Yedioth Internet}}</ref> Municipal council members Abdel Jabbar Adel Musa "Dweikat", Majida Fadda, Khulood El-Masri, and Mahdi Hanbali were also arrested.<ref name="NMMC"/> He spent 15 months in prison without being charged.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cicweb.ca/scene/2009/07/globe-mails-patrick-martin-on-the-booming-west-bank/ |title=CIC Scene » Globe & Mail's Patrick Martin on the Booming West Bank |publisher=www.cicweb.ca |access-date=2010-02-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706173636/http://www.cicweb.ca/scene/2009/07/globe-mails-patrick-martin-on-the-booming-west-bank/ |archive-date=2011-07-06 }}</ref>

==Municipal services==
[[File:Nablus street.JPG|thumb|right|A street in Nablus leading to the Old City. [[Minaret]] of An-Nasr Mosque in the background]]
In 1997, 99.7% of Nablus' 18,003 households were connected to electricity through a public network. Prior to its establishment in 1957, electricity came from private generators. Today, the majority of the inhabitants of 18 nearby towns, in addition to the city's inhabitants, are connected to the Nablus network.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nablus.org/en/content.php?id_itemcontent=245 |title=Electricity Department Statistics |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Nablus Municipality |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090725051139/http://www.nablus.org/en/content.php?id_itemcontent=245 |archive-date=2009-07-25 }}</ref>

The majority of households are connected to a public sewage system (93%), with the remaining 7% connected through [[cesspit]]s.<ref name="PCBS4">[http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/nab_t10.aspx Occupied Housing Units by Locality and Connection to Electricity Network in Housing Unit] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118181751/https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/nab_t10.aspx |date=2008-11-18 }} <br />
[http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/nab_t11.aspx Occupied Housing Units by Locality and Connection to Sewage System in Housing Unit] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118181657/https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/nab_t11.aspx |date=2008-11-18 }} <br />
[http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/nab_t9.aspx Occupied Housing Units by Locality and Connection to Water Network in Housing Unit] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118181915/https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/nab_t9.aspx |date=2008-11-18 }} [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]]. Statistic from a 1997 census.</ref> The sewage system, established n the early 1950s, also connects the refugee camps of Balata, Askar and Ein Beit al-Ma'.<ref name="WWWD">{{cite web |url=http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/services/water_depart/water_introduction.htm#Statistics_ |title=Water and Waste Water Department |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Nablus Municipality |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071025013846/http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/services/water_depart/water_introduction.htm#Statistics_ |archive-date = October 25, 2007}}</ref> Pipe water is provided for 100% of the city's households, primarily through a public network (99.3%), but some residents receive water through a private system (0.7%).<ref name="PCBS4"/> The water network was established in 1932 by the British authorities and is fed by water from four nearby wells: [[Deir Sharaf]], [[Far'a]], [[al-Badan]] and [[Audala]].<ref name="WWWD"/>

===Fire department===
Nablus is one of the few cities in the West Bank to have a fire department, which was founded in 1958. At that time, the "fire brigade" (as it was called) was composed of five members and one extinguishing vehicle. In 2007, the department had seventy members and over twenty vehicles. Until 1986, it was responsible for all of the northern West Bank, but today it only covers the Nablus and [[Tubas Governorate]]s. From 1997 to 2006, Nablus' fire department extinguished 15,346 fires.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nablus.org/en/content.php?id_itemcontent=256&id_csub=279 |title=Fire Brigade |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Nablus Municipality |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090728173315/http://www.nablus.org/en/content.php?id_itemcontent=256&id_csub=279 |archive-date=2009-07-28 }}</ref>

==Transportation==
In the early 20th century, Nablus was the southernmost station of a spur from the [[Jezreel Valley railway]]'s [[Afula]] station, itself a spur from the [[Hejaz railway]]. The extension of the railway to Nablus was built in 1911–12.<ref>[http://nabataea.net/hejazbk3.html The Hejaz Railroad] Nabataea.</ref> During the beginning of the British Mandate, one weekly train was operated from Haifa to Nablus via Afula and [[Jenin]]. The railway was destroyed during the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], and the route of the line was bisected by the [[Green Line (Israel)|Green Line]].

The main [[Highway 60 (Israel–Palestine)|Beersheba–Nazareth road]] running through the middle of the West Bank ends in Nablus, although the thoroughfare of local Arabs is severely restricted. The city was connected to [[Tulkarm]], [[Qalqilya]] and [[Jenin]] by roads which are now blocked by the [[Israeli West Bank barrier]]. From 2000 until 2011, Israel maintained [[Israel Defense Forces checkpoint|checkpoint]]s such as [[Huwwara checkpoint]] which effectively cut off the city, severely curtailing social and economic travel.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4027584,00.html |title=Palestinians: More barriers to be removed |newspaper=Ynetnews |publisher=Ynetnews.com |date=1995-06-20 |access-date=2014-05-12|last1=Altman |first1=Yair }}</ref> From January 2002, buses, taxis, trucks and private citizens required a permit from the Israeli military authorities to leave and enter Nablus.<ref name="OCHA"/> Since 2011, there has been a relaxation of travel restrictions and the dismantlement of some checkpoints.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-to-remove-major-west-bank-checkpoint-to-enable-palestinian-movement-1.342612 IDF to remove major West Bank checkpoint to enable Palestinian movement]. Haaretz. Feb.11, 2011</ref>

The nearest airport is the [[Ben Gurion International Airport]] in [[Lod]], [[Israel]], but because of restrictions governing the entry of [[Palestinians]] to Israel, and their lack of access to foreign Embassies to get travel visas, many residents must travel to [[Amman]], [[Jordan]] to use the [[Queen Alia International Airport]], which requires passage through a number of checkpoints and the Jordanian border. Taxis are the main form of public transportation within Nablus and the city contains 28 taxi offices and garages.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/guide/Taxi.htm |title=Taxi offices |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Nablus Municipality |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080217044118/http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/guide/Taxi.htm |archive-date = February 17, 2008}}</ref>

==Sports==
[[File:Stadium8351.JPG|thumb|Nablus municipal stadium and surroundings]]
The Nablus [[football (soccer)|football]] stadium has a capacity of 8,000.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4727291.stm |title=Hamas holds mass wedding ceremony |access-date=2008-06-10 |date=29 July 2005 |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=BBC MMVIII}}</ref> The stadium is home to the city's football club [[al-Ittihad (Nablus)|al-Ittihad]], which is in the main league of the Palestinian Territories.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/club.php?id=3144 |title=Ittihad Nablus |access-date=2008-06-04 |publisher=National Football Teams}}</ref> The club participated in the Middle East Mediterranean Scholar Athlete Games in 2000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.internationalsport.com/sa-hist/2000med.cfm |title=2000 Middle East/Mediterranean Scholar-Athlete Games |date=6 June 2000 |access-date=2008-06-04 |publisher=Institute for International Sport c/o International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517120702/http://www.internationalsport.com/sa-hist/2000med.cfm <!--Added by H3llBot--> |archive-date=2008-05-17}}</ref>

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in the State of Palestine}}

===Twin towns and sister cities===
Nablus is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]], or has [[sister city]] relationships with:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.twinningwithpalestine.net/groupsinternational.html |title=Twinning with Palestine |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Britain – Palestine Twinning Network |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628210624/http://www.twinningwithpalestine.net/groupsinternational.html |archive-date=2012-06-28 }}</ref>

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Lille]], France<ref name=Lille.fr>{{cite web | url=http://www.mairie-lille.fr/sections/site-en/Menu_horizontal_haut/discovering-lille/lille-facts-figures/lille-facts-figures| archive-url=https://archive.today/20090210192016/http://www.mairie-lille.fr/sections/site-en/Menu_horizontal_haut/discovering-lille/lille-facts-figures/lille-facts-figures| url-status=dead| archive-date=2009-02-10|title=Lile Facts & Figures|work=Mairie-Lille.fr|access-date=2007-12-17}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|ISR}} [[Nazareth]], Israel
*{{flagicon|IRL}} [[Dublin]], Ireland
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Como]], Italy
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Metropolitan City of Florence]], Italy
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Naples]], Italy<ref name="Naples twinnings">{{cite web|url=http://www.comune.napoli.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/5931|title= Comune di Napoli -Gemellaggi|access-date=2013-08-08|last=Vacca|first=Maria Luisa|work=Comune di Napoli|trans-title=Naples - Twin Towns|language= it|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722204102/http://www.comune.napoli.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/5931|archive-date=2013-07-22 }}</ref>
*{{flagicon|POL}} [[Poznań]], Poland<ref name="Poznań twinnings">{{cite web|url=http://www.poznan.pl/mim/publikacje/pages.html?co=list&id=19&ch=20&instance=1017&lang=pl | title = Poznań - Miasta partnerskie | access-date = 2013-12-11 | work = 1998–2013 Urząd Miasta Poznania | publisher= City of [[Poznań]] | language = pl | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130923062530/http://www.poznan.pl/mim/publikacje/pages.html?co=list&id=19&ch=20&instance=1017&lang=pl | archive-date = 2013-09-23}}</ref><ref name="PoznańTwinning">{{cite web|url=http://www.poznan.pl/mim/public/publikacje/pages.html?co=list&id=19&ch=20&instance=1017&lang=pl|title=Poznań Official Website – Twin Towns|access-date=2008-11-29|publisher=City of [[Poznań]]|language=pl}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|MAR}} [[Rabat]], Morocco
*{{flagicon|NOR}} [[Stavanger]], Norway
*{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Khasavyurt]], Russia
*{{flagicon|UK}} [[Dundee]], United Kingdom<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/International_cooporation/twin_cities.htm |title=Twinned Cities|access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Nablus Municipality |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080103103930/http://www.nablus.org/en/htm/International_cooporation/twin_cities.htm |archive-date = January 3, 2008}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Boulder, Colorado]], United States<ref>[https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-years-of-contention-boulder-makes-nablus-a-sister-city/ After years of contention, Boulder makes Nablus a sister city], 23.12 2016; Times of Israel</ref>
{{div col end}}

==See also==
* [[List of cities administered by the Palestinian National Authority]]
* [[List of people from Nablus]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
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| publisher = Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft
|isbn= 3-920405-41-2}}
*{{cite book | editor = Mills, E. | title = Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas |url=https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas | publisher = Government of Palestine | location = Jerusalem | year = 1932}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{wikivoyage|Nablus}}
* {{Official website|http://www.Nablus.org/ }}
* [http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/Nablus_1447/index.html Welcome To The City of Nablus]
* [https://www.welcometopalestine.com/destinations/nablus/nablus-city/ Nablus City], Welcome to Palestine
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051023194849/http://mepc.org/public_asp/journal_vol7/0010_denoeux.asp A site explaining the reasons for the devastated Palestinian economy]
* [http://www.nablusculture.ps Nablus the Culture, reviving cultural life in Nablus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415155442/http://nablusculture.ps/ |date=15 April 2022 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080409050230/http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/OCHAoPt_NblsRprt05_En.pdf Nablus after Five Years of Conflict] December 2005 report by [[Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs|OCHA]] (PDF).
* [http://english.wafa.ps/?action=detail&id=12074 Archaeological Remains Found in Nablus]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110725041836/http://www.balata-albalad.org/Panorama/PanoramaNablusEast.jpg Picture showing Nablus from east (Panorama)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110725034533/http://balata-albalad.org/Panorama/PanoramaNablusFromAskar1.jpg Picture showing east region of Nablus (Panorama) – The picture taken from Askar]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100601171122/http://www.najah.edu/researches/446.pdf Bahjat Sabri, "Urban Aspects in the City of Nablus in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century" ''An-Najah University Journal for Research - Humanities'', Volume 6 (1992)]

{{Nablus Governorate}}
{{Cities in the West Bank}}
{{Roman colonies in ancient Levant}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Nablus| ]]
[[Category:Cities in the West Bank]]
[[Category:History of Palestine (region)]]
[[Category:Historic Jewish communities]]
[[Category:Levant]]
[[Category:Canaanite cities]]
[[Category:Municipalities of Palestine]]
[[Category:Palestinian Christian communities]]