Qusra Village Profile
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Qusra Village Profile Prepared by The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem Funded by Spanish Cooperation 2014 Palestinian Localities Study Nablus Governorate Acknowledgments ARIJ hereby expresses its deep gratitude to the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID) for their funding of this project. ARIJ is grateful to the Palestinian officials in the ministries, municipalities, joint services councils, village committees and councils, and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) for their assistance and cooperation with the project team members during the data collection process. ARIJ also thanks all the staff who worked throughout the past couple of years towards the accomplishment of this work. Background 1 Palestinian Localities Study Nablus Governorate This report is part of a series of booklets which contain compiled information about each city, town, and village in the Nablus Governorate. These booklets came about as a result of a comprehensive study of all localities in the Nablus Governorate, and aim to depict the overall living conditions in the governorate and present development plans to assist in improving the livelihood of the population in the area. It was accomplished through the "Village Profiles and Needs Assessment" project funded by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID). The "Village Profiles and Needs Assessment" was designed to study, investigate, analyze and document the socio-economic conditions and the programs and activities needed to mitigate the impact of the current insecure political, economic and social conditions in the Nablus Governorate. The project's objectives are to survey, analyze and document the available natural, human, socioeconomic and environmental resources, and the existing limitations and needs assessment for the development of the rural and marginalized areas in the Nablus Governorate. In addition, the project aims to prepare strategic developmental programs and activities to mitigate the impact of the current political, social, and economic instability with a focus on the agricultural sector. All locality profiles in Arabic and English are available online at http://vprofile.arij.org. 2 Palestinian Localities Study Nablus Governorate Table of Contents Location and Physical Characteristics ____________________________________ 4 History _____________________________________________________________ 5 Religious and Archaeological Sites ______________________________________ 6 Population __________________________________________________________ 6 Education __________________________________________________________ 7 Health Status ________________________________________________________ 8 Economic Activities ___________________________________________________ 8 Agricultural Sector __________________________________________________ 10 Institutions and Services ______________________________________________ 12 Infrastructure and Natural Resources ___________________________________ 12 Geopolitical Status in Qusra village _____________________________________ 14 Development Plans and Projects _______________________________________ 17 Implemented Projects ________________________________________________ 17 Locality Development Priorities and Needs _______________________________ 18 References: ________________________________________________________ 19 3 Palestinian Localities Study Nablus Governorate Qusra Village Profile Location and Physical Characteristics Qusra is a Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate, located 16.3km south east of Nablus City. It is bordered by Majdal Bani Fadil and Duma to the east, Jurish to the north, Talfit to the west, and Jalud to the south (ARIJ-GIS, 2014) (See Map 1). Map 1: Qusra location and borders Source: ARIJ - GIS Unit, 2014. Qusra is located at an altitude of 741m above sea level with a mean annual rainfall of 434.7mm. The average annual temperature is 19oC whilst the average annual humidity is approximately 58% (ARIJ- GIS, 2014). The total area of Qusra village consists of approximately 8,887 dunums. The bordesr of this locality were set according to the new local councils’ borders which were defined by the Palestinian Ministry of Local Government. The new borders of the Palestinian localities were set by the Palestinian National Authority, represented by the Ministry of Local Government, the Central Elections Commission, the Ministry of Planning and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in the year 2011. These governmental institutions reset the borders of the localities for the purpose of the Palestinian elections that took place in 2011. Accordingly, ARIJ adopted these new borders in this report since it finds that the newly adopted borders, to a certain extent, better suit the demographic, 4 Palestinian Localities Study Nablus Governorate environmental and agricultural variables and facts on the ground. Also, ARIJ used these defined borders only for the sake of this research and study. It is worth noting that these borders do not represent the areas and borders of the private properties at the locality level and are not included in the PNA files of the private land holdings. Since 1994, Qusra has been governed by a Village Council which is currently made up of 9 members appointed by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). There are also 5 employees working for the council, which owns its permanent headquarters. Qusra is located within the Southeast Joint Services Council of Nablus. The Council does not have a vehicle to collect waste, but owns a tractor used for this purpose (Qusra Village Council, 2013). It is the responsibility of the Village Council to provide a number of services to the residents of Qusra, including: The establishment and maintenance of the drinking water and electricity networks Street cleaning, collecting waste and public services, road rehabilitation, construction and paving Implementation of projects and studies for the village Provision of public markets Provision of a kindergarten (Qusra Village Council, 2013) History Qusra was named after discovering many short snakes in the area. It was also named after the King of Persia, who was named Qisra. The village was established and has been around for more than 1,800 years. The origin of some residents is Saudi Arabia (Yasid Village Council, 2013) (See photo 1). Photo of Qusra 5 Palestinian Localities Study Nablus Governorate Religious and Archaeological Sites There are four mosques in the village: Al Noreen, Al Sahaba, Al Kabeer, and Al Shohada’ Mosques. The village has several sites of archaeological interest including: Nabooh Prison, Al Karak, and Al Qa’da area. All of these sites are in need of restoration in order to serve as a tourist destination (Qusra Village Council, 2013) (See Map 2). Map 2: Main locations in Qusra Village Source: ARIJ - GIS Unit, 2014. Population According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the total population of Qusra in 2007 was 4,310, of whom 2,197 were male and 2,113 female. There were 674 households registered as living in 777 housing units. Age Groups and Gender The General Census of Population and Housing carried out by PCBS in 2007 showed the distribution of age groups in Qusra as follows: 44.5% were less than 15 years of age, 52.6% were between 15 and 64 years of age, and 2.9% were 65 years of age or older. Data also showed that the sex ratio of males 6 Palestinian Localities Study Nablus Governorate to females in the village is 100:104, meaning that males and females constitute 51% and 49% of the population, respectively. Families Qusra residents are from several families, including Abo Reda, ‘Oda, Hassan, and Kan’an families (Qusra Village Council, 2013). Education According to the results of the PCBS Population, Housing and Establishment Census-2007, the illiteracy rate among Qusra population is approximately 6.2%, of which 82.2% are females. Of the literate population, 15.8% could only read and write, with no formal education, 30.2% had elementary education, 25.7% had preparatory education, 15.5% had secondary education, and 6.5% completed higher education. Table 1 shows the educational level in the village of Qusra by sex and educational attainment in 2007. Table 1: Qusra population (10 years and above) by sex and educational attainment S Can Illite- Element- Preparat- Second- Associate Higher Un- E read & Bachelor Master PhD Total rate ary ory ary Diploma Diploma known x write M 34 261 459 405 270 30 81 2 11 3 0 1,556 F 158 222 475 388 210 16 58 0 1 0 0 1,534 T 192 489 934 793 480 46 139 2 12 3 0 3.090 Source: PCBS, 2009. There are four public schools in the village of Qusra run by the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education (see Table 2). Table 2: Schools in Qusra by name, stage, sex, and supervising authority (2011/2012) School Name Supervising Authority Sex Qusra Co-educated Elementary School Government Mixed Al Shahid Yasser Arafat Co-educated Secondary School Government Mixed Qusra Boys Elementary School Government Male Qusra Girls Secondary School Government Female Source: Directorate of Education in Nablus, 2012 In the village there are 1,481 students, 84 teachers, and 50 classes. The average number of students per teacher in the school is nearly 18, whilst the average number of students per class is approximately 30 (Directorate of Education in Nablus, 2012). There are also two kindergartens in Qusra village (See Table 3). Table 3: Distribution of Kindergarten by name and supervising authority Number