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
Nablus Governorate
The Nablus Governorate ( ar, محافظة نابلس ') is an administrative district of State of Palestine, Palestine located in the Central Highlands of the West Bank, 53 km north of Jerusalem. It covers the area around the city of Nablus ...
in the northern
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, located east of
Nablus
Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
, near the neighbouring villages of Salem and Azmout. The village land extends over 12,000 dunams, of which 330 are built-up.
Amira Hass
Amira Hass ( he, עמירה הס; born 28 June 1956) is an Israeli journalist and author, mostly known for her columns in the daily newspaper ''Haaretz'' covering Palestinian affairs in the West Bank and Gaza, where she has lived for almost th ...
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 ...
, 26 October 2014.
The
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 ...
of
Elon Moreh
Elon Moreh ( he, אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה) is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located northeast of the State of Palestine, Palestinian city of Nablus, on the slopes of the Mount Kabir ridge, it falls u ...
was illegally established within Deir al-Hatab's jurisdiction, taking up nearly 2,000 dunams of the village's land.Deir al Hatab Village Profile ARIJ
In June, 2016, Deir al-Hatab and other towns and villages in the area had to go without running water for weeks, as the Israeli
Mekorot
Mekorot ( he, מקורות, lit. "Sources") is the national water company of Israel and the country's top agency for water management. Founded in 1937, it supplies Israel with 90% of its drinking water and operates a cross-country water supply ne ...
reduced the amount of water it sold to the Palestinians.
Location
Deir al Hatab is located east of
Nablus
Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
Azmut
’Azmut ( ar, عزموط) is a Palestinian people, Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in the eastern West Bank, located five kilometers northeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the village h ...
to the north, ‘Azmut and Nablus to the west, and
Salim
Salim, Saleem or Selim may refer to:
People
*Salim (name), or Saleem or Salem or Selim, a name of Arabic origin
* Salim (poet) (1800–1866)
* Saleem (playwright) (fl. 1996)
*Selim I, Selim II and Selim III, Ottoman Sultans
* Selim people, an e ...
to the south.
History
There was a human habitation here during the
Iron Age II
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
time.
Ceramics 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. Much pottery from the
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
era have been found around the
maqam
MAQAM is a US-based production company specializing in Arabic and Middle Eastern media. The company was established by a small group of Arabic music and culture lovers, later becoming a division of 3B Media Inc. "MAQAM" is an Arabic word meaning a ...
of Sheikh Ahmed.
Ottoman era
In 1838, in the Ottoman era, Edward Robinson noted Deir al-Hatab as a village in the same area as the villages
Azmut
’Azmut ( ar, عزموط) is a Palestinian people, Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in the eastern West Bank, located five kilometers northeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the village h ...
and
Salim
Salim, Saleem or Selim may refer to:
People
*Salim (name), or Saleem or Salem or Selim, a name of Arabic origin
* Salim (poet) (1800–1866)
* Saleem (playwright) (fl. 1996)
*Selim I, Selim II and Selim III, Ottoman Sultans
* Selim people, an e ...
, 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 ...
villages that were part of the ''El-Beitawy'' district, east of Nablus.
When
Victor Guérin
Victor Guérin (15 September 1821 – 21 Septembe 1890) was a French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included Greece, Asia Mino ...
visited in 1870, he found that Deir al-Hatab had at most 100 inhabitants. He further noted that the many dilapidated houses showed that the village had formerly been more important. The ancient
cistern
A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...
s dug into the rock were dry, so the women fetched water at ''A'ïn Salem''.
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 it as a "small village, with olives and a
well
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
to the south, standing on a hill slope."
British Mandate era
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 authorities, Deir al-Hatab had a population of 234, all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Nablus, p 24 /ref> increasing in the 1931 census to 277, still all Muslim, in total of 51 houses.Mills, 1932, p 60 /ref>
In the 1945 statistics, ''Deir el Hatab'' had a population of 370, all Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p 18 /ref> with 11,532
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 of land, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 4 dunams were for citrus and bananas, 679 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 5,172 used for cereals, while 33 dunams were built-up (urban) land.
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 481 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, Deir al-Hatab 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 ...
. The population of ''Deir el Hatab'' in the 1967 census conducted by Israel was 543, of whom 4 originated from Israeli territory. In 1987, 1,120 people were living in Deir al-Hatab.
After the 1995 accords, 42% of village land was classified as
Area B
The Palestinian enclaves are areas in the West Bank designated for Palestinians under a variety of U.S. and Israeli-led proposals to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The enclaves are often compared to the nominally self-governing black ...
, while the remaining 58% was classified as Area C.
Since the Israeli occupation, the Israelis have confiscated 659 dunams of the village's land for the
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 ...
of
Elon Moreh
Elon Moreh ( he, אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה) is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located northeast of the State of Palestine, Palestinian city of Nablus, on the slopes of the Mount Kabir ridge, it falls u ...
.Spatial and Socioeconomic analysis at microlevel: Villages and Hamlets (Class E). Local Government Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority. Chapter 4.
According to the
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS; ar, الجهاز المركزي للإحصاء الفلسطيني) is the official
statistical institution of the State of Palestine. Its main task is to provide credible statistical figures a ...
, Deir al-Hatab had a population of over 2,213 inhabitants in 2007.2007 PCBS Census .
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS; ar, الجهاز المركزي للإحصاء الفلسطيني) is the official
statistical institution of the State of Palestine. Its main task is to provide credible statistical figures a ...
. p.110. Around 33% of households in the village have 1-5 members, 51% have 6-10 members and 17% have over 10 members. About 10% of the population over ten years of age is illiterate, women making up 78% of this statistic. In addition, 43% of the student population are females.
Agriculture forms 24% of Deir al-Hatab's economy while small business, work in the government and construction form the remainder. Over half of the population is of working age (15-64) and women made-up half of the labor force in 1999. Deir al-Hatab's village council claims unemployment has dramatically increased from 30% in 1999 to 90% in 2001. Because
Elon Moreh
Elon Moreh ( he, אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה) is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located northeast of the State of Palestine, Palestinian city of Nablus, on the slopes of the Mount Kabir ridge, it falls u ...
and its outposts overlooks and is in proximity to half of the land, Palestinian farmers have in the last decade been allowed only a few days each year to tend their fields, after coordinating with the Israeli occupation army.
From 2002 to 2007 the
IDF
IDF or idf may refer to:
Defence forces
* Irish Defence Forces
* Israel Defense Forces
*Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006
* Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917
Organizations
* Israeli Diving Federation
* Interac ...
banned the villagers from working their land, and settlers began to plant new olive trees and grapevines on private lots. A 'disruptive use' injunction was issued in January 2007 by Major General
Yair Naveh
Yair Naveh ( he, יאיר נוה, born 5 September 1957) is a major general in the Israel Defense Forces and a former Deputy Chief of the General Staff. In 1975, he was drafted into the IDF where he served in all positions in the Golani Infantr ...
, allowing Palestinian authorities to remove settlers who had engaged in illegal cultivation of local lands in the preceding 3 years. The ordinance has not deterred settler appropriation of Deir al-Hatab's land, according to
Amira Hass
Amira Hass ( he, עמירה הס; born 28 June 1956) is an Israeli journalist and author, mostly known for her columns in the daily newspaper ''Haaretz'' covering Palestinian affairs in the West Bank and Gaza, where she has lived for almost th ...
, and injunctions are often not implemented.
In 2007, Israeli settlers from Elon Moreh put a plastic swimming pool by the spring which supplies Deir al-Hatab with 40% of its drinking water. They diverted the water from the spring to their pool. The contaminated waste water from this swimming pool then reentered into the drinking water of Deir al-Hatab.
In November, 2021, the child Mohammad Da’das (age given variously as 13 or 15 years old), was shot in the abdomen and killed by an Israeli soldier in Deir al-Hatab. Palestinian PM
Mohammad Shtayyeh
Mohammad Ibrahim Shtayyeh ( ar, محمد اشتية) (born 17 January 1958) is a Palestinian politician, academic and economist who became prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority in March 2019. He is a member of Fatah who was elect ...
condemned the killing as "
state terrorism
State terrorism refers to acts of terrorism which a state conducts against another state or against its own citizens.Martin, 2006: p. 111.
Definition
There is neither an academic nor an international legal consensus regarding the proper def ...
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 ...