Al-Jiftlik
village council in Jericho
Al-Jiftlik (Arabic: الجفتلك) is a Palestinian village in the Jericho Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the West Bank, located 33 kilometers north of Jericho. Al Jiftlik is bordered by the Jordan River to the east. Nearby Palestinian localities include az-Zubaidat to the northeast, Furush Beit Dajan to the northwest, Beit Furik to the west, Aqraba, Majdal Bani Fadil and Duma to the southwest and al-Fasayil to the south. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), al-Jiftlik had a population of 3,100 in the 2017 census.
The village's total area amounts to 185,032 dunams, of which 972 dunams are Palestinian built up areas, 77 are for commercial and industrial transport units, 64,032 are arable lands and 108,606 dunams are open spaces. Israeli settlements, including Masua, Hamra and Argaman and military bases account for 11,293 dunams. The remaining land consists of forests and inland water.
Etymology
The village's name is derived from the Turkish word chiflik, the term for a homestead, farm or estate in the Ottoman Empire, which was applied in this as in many other Ottoman locations. According to ARIJ, the name comes from a Turkish word meaning either farm, estate, or land owned by the Sultan, and was given due to the agricultural nature of the village.
The Palestinian Rural History Project records the site's original name as Qarawa, distinguished as Qarawat al-Mas'udi (قراوة المسعودي), after the local Bedouin tribe.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Al-Jiftlik” is village council in Jericho. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Al-Jiftlik, village and council, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “village council in Jericho” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2895719. Authority coordinates are 32.144, 35.493. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2017.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Al-Jiftlik”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Al-Jiftlik primary sources, Al-Jiftlik archive and Al-Jiftlik research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Al-Jiftlik”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Al-Jiftlik” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.