Jericho lies on the West Bank, a Middle Eastern territory inhabited chiefly by Palestinians. The ancient city of Jericho was surrounded by a great wall. There was a war between the people of Jericho and the Hebrews. The Hebrews leader was Joshua. He placed 2 spies in the city. These spies made it possible for the Hebrews to defeat the people of Jericho. Jericho fell after its walls were leveled miraculously by seven trumpet blowing Hebrew priests. After that the city was cursed by Joshua and then destroyed.

The ancient city was destroyed by the Romans under Caesar Vespasian during his campaign against the Jews. Its site was later occupied and settled by the Muslims. British forces captured the modern village in February 1918 during World War I; in 1920 Jericho became part of the British mandate of Palestine. Jericho was allocated to Arab control following the Arab Israeli war (1948-1949). In 1967, Israel defeated Jordan, Egypt, and Syria in a war and occupied the West Bank and other Arab territories. Israeli troops were then pulled out of Jericho in 1994, and the city was ruled by Palestinians.