This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.Jifna (Arabic: جفنا, Jifnâ) is a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank of the State of Palestine, located 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) north of Ramallah and 23 kilometers (14 mi) north of Jerusalem.

Jifna was known as Gophnah (Hebrew: גופנה; Ancient Greek: Γοφνα, Gophna)[5] at the time of the First Jewish-Roman War, and after its conquest became a Roman regional capital, though remaining predominantly Jewish.

Later, the town grew less significant politically, but nevertheless prospered as a Christian locality under Byzantine and later Arab rule due to its location on a trade route.

[6] During the period of Ottoman control in Palestine the tower of an ancient Roman structure in Jifna became the location of a jail house.

The town is depicted as Gophna in the Map of Madaba, situated north of Gibeon (al-Jib),[9] and is also mentioned in rabbinic literature as Beit Gūfnīn, literally meaning a "house of vineyards".

[11] The earliest mention of Jifna, then Gophna, in the historical record is in Josephus' account of the escape of Judah Maccabee from Antiochus V during the Maccabean revolt, circa 164 BCE.

[6] Jifna was within the area under John b. Hananiah's command in 66 CE,[13] during the First Jewish-Roman War, and was the headquarters of one of the twelve toparchies (administrative districts) of Judea.

The Roman emperor Vespasian occupied the town in the year 68, established an army garrison there, and concentrated within the city Jewish priests and other local notables who had surrendered to him.

[17] A number of ossuaries and sarcophagi from the classical period with inscriptions in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek were also discovered at the vicinity of Jifna.

[18] The last evidence for Jewish presence in Gophna is a Greek-written marriage document that was found in a cave at Wadi Murabba'at in the Judaean Desert, and dates to 124 CE.

[17] It was suggested by Edward Robinson that Jifna was Ophni of Benjamin, mentioned in the Book of Joshua as one of the "twelve cities",[20][21] later scholars, however, argue that Gophna was only founded during the Second Temple period.

[22] The building of a church dedicated to Saint George during the 6th century indicates that by this time Jifna, now under Byzantine rule, had become a Christian town.

[24] The town became less politically significant under the Arab dynasties of the Umayyads, Abbasids and Fatimids, but remained a major regional center for trade and commerce, due to its location along the Jerusalem–Nazareth road.

[6] Sources are vague, but it is likely that St. George's Church fell into disrepair during the early decades of Islamic rule, and that unfavorable circumstances for the Christian population prevented them from rebuilding it.

[6][26] According to the American biblical scholar Edward Robinson, there are remains of massive walls in the center of the village, now filled by houses.

[32] St. George's Church has continued to serve as a place of worship into the modern era and has been the site of archaeological excavation since the mid-19th century.

[35] However, after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War the whole West Bank region, including Jifna, was annexed by Transjordan to form the Kingdom of Jordan, and the Arab state was stillborn.

[36] In 1995 the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip between the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Israel, Jifna was placed in "Area B".

[37] Throughout the Second Intifada, Jifna did not experience violence to the same extent as other parts of the West Bank, such as in nearby Ramallah, although its residents did face travel restrictions and economic hardship.

[41][42] Today Jifna has a total jurisdiction over 6,015 dunams, 420 of which are designated as built-up and roughly 2,000 planted with olive, apricot and other fruit trees.

Other nearby localities include Abu Qash to the southwest, Beitin to the southeast, Ein Yabrud to the east, 'Atara to the north and Bir Zeit to the northwest.

[54] The first census carried out by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) shows that Jifna had a population of 961, of whom 623 (64.8%) were classified as refugees in 1997.

The names of Christian inhabitants from Jifna appeared in a 10th-century inscription on a stone above the gate of St. George's Monastery in the Wadi Qelt.

Apart from local Christians there was also a Frankish settlement, as is attested by the ruins of a maison forte (manor) built in the lower part of the village.

[59] Although most of Jifna's cultivable land is covered with olive groves as well as fig, walnut and apricot trees and grape vines, agriculture is no longer the village's main source of income.

With international funding, the local youth club restored the area, adding bright accents to the stone masonry.

According to Palestinian researcher Tawfiq Canaan, "In Jifna the priest has to go on such an occasions to the dry spring to repeat prayers and burn incense, and thus reconcile the djinniye or force her to let the water flow".

[72] Preparing burbara, a sweet pudding-like dish made from whole grain wheat, on the Feast of Saint Barbara has been a tradition in Jifna for several centuries.

During the festival, dozens of artists from all over the world collaborated on several projects, including stone sculptures, metalwork, photography, mural paintings and installation pieces.

[75] Jabi Na'im Kamil was elected as the chairman in 2005 and the Badil (Alternative) list—which represents a leftist alliance of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Palestinian People's Party—won most of the council seats.