Aqraba

Aqraba (Arabic: عقربة‎) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate, located eighteen kilometers southeast of Nablus in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Aqraba had a population of approximately 8,180 inhabitants in 2007.

Nearby hamlets surrounding Aqraba for natural extensions of the town; they are the khirbets of al-Arama, al-Kroom, Abu al-Reisa, al-Rujman, Firas al-Din and Tel al-Khashaba. The total population of these hamlets is estimated to be 500. The prominent families of Aqraba are Al Dayriyeh, Bani Jaber, Al-Mayadima, Bani Jame', and Bani Fadel.

History and archeology

Aqraba Arabic translation is "scorpion".

Cisterns dug into rock have been found here. Pottery sherds from Iron Age II, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Byzantine/Umayyad and Crusader/Ayyubid era have also been found.

The town has a mosque built of ancient stones with Greek inscriptions and contained a cross. According to local tradition and a number of British scholars believe the mosque was originally a Byzantine-era church. To the north of the village there is a fort called Qal'at al-Hosn consisting of a block of buildings put on the hill. The masonry is drafted with a rustic boss. A cistern exists within the enclosure which still holds water. A birkeh ("pool") stands in the middle of Aqraba, while on the hillside nearby are some kokhim, tombs carved from the rock.