Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
village in the
Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate
The Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate ( ar, محافظة رام الله والبيرة ') is one of 16 governorates of Palestine. It covers a large part of the central West Bank, on the northern border of the Jerusalem Governorate. Its district ...
.
In 2005 it merged with the village of
Abu Shukheidim
Abu Shukheidim was a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate.
In 2005 it merged with the village of Al-Mazra'a al-Qibliya to form the town of Al-Zaitounah. History
Pottery sherds from the Hellenistic/Roman, Byzantine, Cru ...
to form the town of
Al-Zaitounah
Al-Zaitounah ( ar, الزيتونة, meaning "the Olive") is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate. It was formed in 2005 as the result of a merger of the villages of Abu Shukheidim and al-Mazra'a al-Qibliya. In 2007, al-Za ...
.
History
Pottery
sherd
In archaeology, a sherd, or more precisely, potsherd, is commonly a historic or prehistoric fragment of pottery, although the term is occasionally used to refer to fragments of stone and glass vessels, as well.
Occasionally, a piece of broken p ...
s from the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
era have been found here.Finkelstein et al, 1997, p.392
Ottoman era
The village was incorporated into the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
in 1517 with all of
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
, and in 1596 it appeared in the Ottoman tax registers as ''Qibliyya'', being in the ''
nahiya
A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...
'' (subdistrict) of Quds, part of the '' liwa'' (district) of Quds. It had a population of 8 households, all
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33.3% on various agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops,
olive
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...
trees, goats and/or beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues"; a total of 2,190
akçe
The ''akçe'' or ''akça'' (also spelled ''akche'', ''akcheh''; ota, آقچه; ) refers to a silver coin which was the chief monetary unit of the Ottoman Empire. The word itself evolved from the word "silver or silver money", this word is deri ...
.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 112 Pottery sherds from the early Ottoman era have also been found here.
In 1838, it was noted as a Muslim village, ''el-Mezra'ah'', in the Bani Harith district, north of Jerusalem.
An Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed that ''Mezra'a'' had 111 houses and a population of 428, though the population count included men, only.
In 1882, the PEF's ''
Survey of Western Palestine
The PEF Survey of Palestine was a series of surveys carried out by the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) between 1872 and 1877 for the Survey of Western Palestine and in 1880 for the Survey of Eastern Palestine. The survey was carried out after the ...
'' described ''Mezeirat el Kibliyeh'' as: "a good sized village on low ground, among olives".
In 1896 the population of Mezraa'' in Bani Harit was estimated to be about 1,569 persons.
British Mandate
In the
1922 census of Palestine
The 1922 census of Palestine was the first census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine, on 23 October 1922.
The reported population was 757,182, including the military and persons of foreign nationality. The divisi ...
, conducted by the
British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to:
* Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan.
* Mandatory P ...
, there were 492 people living in ''Al Mizra'a al-Qibliyeh'', all Muslims, rising to 799 Muslims in the 1931 census, in a total of 162 houses.Mills, 1932, p 50
In 1945 statistics the population was 860, all Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p 26 /ref> while the total land area was 13,240
dunam
A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; tr, dönüm; he, דונם), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area equivalent to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amount ...
s, according to an official land and population survey.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p 65 /ref> Of this, 6,483 were plantations and irrigable land, 1,847 for cereals, while 34 dunams were classified as built-up areas.
Jordanian era
In the wake of the
1948 Arab–Israeli War
The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...
, and after the
1949 Armistice Agreements
The 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt,Jordanian rule.
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 1,349 inhabitants.
Post-1967
Since the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
in 1967, Al-Mazra'a al-Qibliya has been under
Israeli occupation
Israeli-occupied territories are the lands that were captured and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. While the term is currently applied to the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights, it has also been used to refer to a ...
Al-Zaitounah
Al-Zaitounah ( ar, الزيتونة, meaning "the Olive") is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate. It was formed in 2005 as the result of a merger of the villages of Abu Shukheidim and al-Mazra'a al-Qibliya. In 2007, al-Za ...
land was defined as
Area B
The Palestinian enclaves are areas in the West Bank designated for Palestinians under a variety of Israeli–Palestinian peace process, U.S. and Israeli-led proposals to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The enclaves are Israel and aparthe ...
, while the remaining 45.8% was defined as Area C. Israel has confiscated 308 dunams of land from Al-Zaitounah in order to construct two
Israeli settlement
Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
s,
Talmon
Talmon ( he, טַלְמוֹן) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the West Binyamin at an elevation of nearly 600 metres and 18 km east of Modiin, it is organised as a community settlement and falls under the jurisdictio ...
and
Nahl'iel
Nahliel ( he, נַחֲלִיאֵל) is a Haredi Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located close to the Palestinian villages of Beitillu and Deir 'Ammar, and some from Modi'in, it is organised as a community settlement and falls under the ju ...
.
Israeli settler
Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
s have started encroaching on Al-Mazra'a al-Qibliya land, especially the hilltop named ''Khirbet Na’alan''. In October 15, 2018, the settlers entered the village in the night and damaged 28 cars, drawing
Stars of David
The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles.
A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...
on them and writing “Death to the Arabs.” On October 26, 2018, in an altercation between villagers and Israeli settlers, the
Israel Border Police
The Israel Border Police ( he, מִשְׁמַר הַגְּבוּל, Mišmar Ha-Gvul) is the gendarmerie and border security branch of the Israel National Police. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Magav (), meaning border gua ...
Gideon Levy
Gideon Levy ( he, גדעון לוי; born 2 June 1953) is an Israeli journalist and author. Levy writes opinion pieces and a weekly column for the newspaper ''Haaretz'' that often focus on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. ...
, November 29, 2018,
Haaretz
''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem
The Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ; ar, معهد الابحاث التطبيقية - القدس) is a Palestinian NGO founded in 1990 with its main office in Bethlehem in the West Bank. ARIJ is actively working on research project ...