Tubas

Tubas is also the plural form of Tuba, a musical instrument.

Tubas or Toubas (, Tûbâs) is a small Palestinian city in the northeastern West Bank, located northeast of Nablus, a few kilometers west of the Jordan River. A city of over 16,000 inhabitants, it serves as the economic and administrative center of the Tubas Governorate. Its urban area consists of 2,271 dunams (227 hectares). It is governed by a municipal council of 15 members and most of its working inhabitants are employed in agriculture or public services. Jamal Abu Mohsin has been the mayor of Tubas since being elected in 2005.

Tubas has been identified as the ancient town of Thebez—a Canaanite town famous for revolting against King Abimelech. However, the modern town was founded in the late 19th century—during the Ottoman rule of Palestine—by Arab clans living in the Jordan Valley region and became major town in the District of Nablus, particularly known for its timber and cheese-making. It came under the British Mandate of Palestine in 1917, annexed by Jordan after their capture of the town in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and then occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Palestinian National Authority has had complete control of Tubas since it was transferred to them in 1995.

History

Biblical period

The city's name Tubas derives from the Canaanite word Tuba Syoys or "illuminating star". Tubas was identified by Edward Robinson to be the Canaanite...
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