Tubas (city)

Tubas (Arabic: طوباس, Tûbâs) is a city in the northeast of the West Bank, Palestine, and capital of the Tubas Governorate. A city of over 30,000 inhabitants, it is situated northeast of Nablus, west of the Jordan Valley and is an economic center. 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.

Tubas has been identified as the ancient town of Thebez (/ˈθiːbɛz/), a Canaanite town famous for revolting against King Abimelech. In the late 19th century, during Ottoman rule in Palestine, Arab clans living in the Jordan Valley came to live in Tubas, which became a major town in the District of Nablus, particularly known for its timber and cheese making. It came under the British Mandate of Palestine in 1922, was annexed by Jordan after their capture of the town in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and then occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War. The Palestinian National Authority has had control of Tubas since the city was transferred to its jurisdiction in 1995.