Qadum

Kafr Qaddum ( ar, كفر قدّوم) is a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank, located 13 kilometers west of Nablus and 17 kilometers east of Qalqilya in the Qalqilya Governorate. Surrounding towns include Jit to the east and Hajjah to the south. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of approximately 3,500 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

Kafr Qaddum's total land area consists of nearly 19,000 dunams (about 8,000 under Palestinian civil administration and 11,000 under complete Israeli control). Its built-up area consists of 529 dunams. Olive groves make up 80% of the remaining land, 15% is used for vegetation purposes, and 5% are planted crops.Closing of agricultural roads in Kafr Qaddum village
Land Research Center 2007-02-07 Israel has expropriated roughly 2,500 dunams (618 acres) for the use of settlements nearbyAmira Hass, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-s-message-to-troops-placing-explosives-at-village-don-t-worry-it-s-combat-1.9110135 'Israel’s Message to Troops Placing Explosives at Village: Don’t Worry, It’s Combat,' Haaretz 29 August 2020.

Since 2011, residents have regularly protested the Israeli blockade of their village, and through to 2020, 100 members of the community, including 6 minors, have been shot and wounded by Israeli troops. 170 villagers have been arrested by the IDF and constrained by military courts to pay fines collectively amounting to US$74,200.

Location

Kafr Qaddum is located 17.32 km north-east of Qalqiliya. It is bordered by Jit village to the east, Immatain to the south, Kur and Hajja village to the west, and Beit Lid, Qusin and Deir Sharaf to the north.

History

Ancient period

According to archaeological evidence, Kafr Qaddum has been inhabited since the Early Bronze Age. On the hill south of the village is the archeological site of Khirbet 'Asafeh, which was part of one settlement that spread over several hills in the area. In 1979, an archaeological excavation was conducted at the site and remains from the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Persian and Hellenistic periods were discovered. Moreover, remains from the Roman period were discovered at the site, including several structures and a kokhim-style tomb.

In the second century, a large Samaritan settlement was built on the site, which existed for centuries. It was mainly stone-built dwellings, according to Roman building tradition. Its inhabitants engaged in agriculture, mainly growing olives for oil. Three ancient olive presses were discovered near the village. A destruction layer found in a number of buildings from the end of the fifth century is probably related to the Samaritan revolts. The settlement continued to prosper until the early Islamic period, and it seems that its Samaritan residents were forced to convert to Islam, and in part the settlement has survived continuously since.

Ottoman era

Kafr Qaddum appeared in 1596 Ottoman tax registers as being in the ''Nahiya'' of Jabal Qubal of the '' Liwa'' of Nablus. It had a population of 19 households and 2 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid taxes on wheat, barley, summer crops, olives, and goats or beehives, and a press for olives or grapes; a total of 4,700 Akçe.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 133.

In 1838, ''Kefr Kaddum'' was noted as a village located in the District of ''Jurat 'Amra'', south of Nablus.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p.
127
/ref>

In 1852, it was by noted Biblical scholar Edward Robinson on his travels in the region, and in 1882 the PEF's ''Survey of Western Palestine'' (SWP) the village (called ''Kefr Kaddum'') was described as "A good-sized village on low ground, with wells and olives; it has a watch-tower on the side of the chalk hill rising over it on the east, and is supplied by wells; the houses are of stone."

British Mandate period

In a 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Kufr Qaddum had a population of 874 inhabitants, all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Nablus, p
24
/ref> increasing in the 1931 census to 963, again all Muslim, in 234 houses.

In the 1945 statistics the population was 1,240, all Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p
18
/ref> with 18,931 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 2,945 dunams were for plantations or irrigated land, 7,184 for cereals, while 69 dunams were built-up (urban) land.

Jordanian era

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements

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