Bani Zeid - Geography

Geography

Bani Zeid is situated in the central highlands of the West Bank, off the southwestern cliffs of the mountainous spine that runs from the Hebron Hills to Jenin and has an average elevation of 510 meters (1,670 ft). The northern part of the town (Deir Ghassaneh) is built on a hilltop, with an elevation of roughly 450 meters above sea level, that overlooks the Wadi al-Saredah stream one kilometer to the north. Bani Zeid is located 17.5 kilometers north of Ramallah and less than 45 kilometers northwest of Jerusalem. Nearby localities include Kafr ad-Dik and Bruqin to the north, Qarawat Bani Zeid to the northeast, Kafr Ein to the east, Nabi Salih to the southeast, Deir Nidham and the Israeli settlement of Halamish to the south, Aboud to the southwest, al-Lubban al-Gharbi and the settlement of Beit Aryeh to the west and the settlement of Peduel to the northwest.

Bani Zeid had a total land area of 22,249 dunams in 1945, of which 90 dunams were classified as built-up areas (Deir Ghassaneh was larger than Beit Rima) and 8,400 dunams were planted with olive or fig groves. Today Bani Zeid municipality has jurisdiction over 21,979 dunams, of which 80.6% is cultivable land. The built-up areas of the town constitute 918 dunams, 832 of which is geared towards residential areas while the remaining 86 is used for commercial, industrial and transportation purposes. The town is surrounded by olive groves, which Bani Zeid is well known for, and 14,505 dunams are planted with olive trees. The old village center of Deir Ghassaneh consisted of three quarters: Harat al-Barghouti (Harat al-Fauqa), Harat al-Shu'aibi and Harat al-Tahtani.

The average annual rainfall in the town is 592.9 millimeters (23.34 in) and average annual humidity is roughly 62%. Average temperature is 17.4 °C (63.3 °F).

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