Teqoa
Teqoa (Arabic: تقوع, also spelled Tuquʿ) is a Palestinian town in the Bethlehem Governorate, located 12 km (7.5 mi) southeast of Bethlehem in the West Bank. The town is built adjacent to the biblical site of Tekoa (Thecoe), now Khirbet Tuqu’, from which it takes its name. Today's town includes three other localities: Khirbet Ad Deir, Al Halkoom, and Khirbet Teqoa. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Teqoa had a population of 8,767 in 2017.
Teqoa | |
|---|---|
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | تقوع |
| • Latin | Taqua (official) Teqoa (unofficial) Tuqu' (historical) |
A sketch of "Tekoa - Fureidis, Palestine" | |
Teqoa Location of Teqoa within Palestine | |
| Coordinates: 31°38′11″N 35°12′52″E | |
| Palestine grid | 170/115 |
| State | State of Palestine |
| Governorate | Bethlehem |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality (from 1997) |
| • Head of Municipality | Khaled Ahmad Hamida |
| Area (built-up) | |
| • Total | 590 dunams (0.6 km2 or 0.2 sq mi) |
| Population (2017) | |
| • Total | 8,767 |
| • Density | 15,000/km2 (38,000/sq mi) |
| Name meaning | "The ruin of Tekua", or "the place for pitching tents" |
- Khirbet ad-Deir, part of Teqoa, should not be confused with Khirbet ad-Deir in Hebron Governorate.
The town is a part of the 'Arab al-Ta'amira village cluster, along with Za'atara, Beit Ta'mir, Hindaza, Khirbet al-Deir and al-Asakra. Tuqu has a municipal jurisdiction of over 191,262 dunams, but its built-up area consists of 590 dunams, as 98.5% of the village's land was classified as Area C, and 1.5% as Area B in the 1995 accords. Situated in the immediate vicinity is the modern Israeli settlement of Tekoa, established in 1975 as a military outpost. Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are illegal under international law.