Arabic Arīḥā
Town (pop., 1997: 14,674), West Bank territory.
Inhabited since с 9000 BC, it is famous in biblical tradition as the first town attacked by the Israelites under Joshua after they crossed the Jordan River . It was abandoned or destroyed several times and rebuilt in the same area. Captured by the British in 1918, it became part of the British mandate of Palestine . Incorporated into Jordan in 1950, it became the site of two huge camps of Arab refugees following the first Six-Day War (1967), the town was occupied by Israel, and much of the refugee population was dispersed. In 1994 it was turned over to the Palestinian Authority under an Israeli-Palestinian self-rule agreement.