An-Najah Staff

Tubas area is being of one of the significant areas in the West Bank due to its geographic location as a border area and also its agricultural value. In addition, this area faces several problems and constraints resulted from the measures taken by the Israeli occupation including confiscation of land for the purposes of building settlements, constructing bypass roads as well as building the separation wall. Moreover, the area is being neglected by the Palestinian Authority in terms of development projects. This thesis aimed primarily at identifying the current situation and possibilities for sustainable development of local communities in the Tubas area (Tubas, Tammun, Tayasir, Aqaba, Al-Fara). The methodology of the study followed the historical, descriptive and analytical approaches by using some scientific tools such as the questionnaire and interview to provide as much basic information for the study as well as using some other information available from various sources. One of the main findings of the study is that there is no justice in the distribution of public services in the area, which led to distinguish some communities from each other in the study area. The results of the study showed a weakness in medical services, as the region suffers primarily from the lack of any hospital, in addition to a deficit in health centers and a shortage of specialist doctors. Results of the study also pointed to the community's orientation towards the physical expansion in the agricultural land, which threatens the future of agriculture as an important and basic economic resource in the area. The study recommended the need for a justified distribution of public services among the communities in the study area, especially education, health, cultural, and recreational services. Also, the study recommended taking action towards building a hospital in the area aimed at providing the required medical services. Furthermore, the study recommended the need to support agricultural and livestock sector in the area due to their direct and essential role in the development process, in addition to working on reclamation of unused land for increasing the amount of agricultural land and thus increases the chances and possibilities for development.