Qana

Qana, also spelled Cana or Kana, ( ar, قانا) is a town in southern Lebanon located southeast of the city of Tyre and north of the border with Israel, in an area historically known as Upper Galilee.

The 10,000 residents of Qana are primarily Shia although there is also a Melkite (Greek Catholic) Christian community in the village.

Biblical controversy

In the Gospel of John, Jesus is said to have performed his first miracle of turning water into wine at Cana in Galilee. Some Christians, especially Lebanese Christians, believe Qana to have been the actual location of this event. Eusebius of the 4th century share this view in his Onomasticon. However, traditions dating back to the 8th century identify Cana with the modern village of Kafr Kanna, about northeast of Nazareth, Israel, or nearby Khirbet Kana, and are supported by the majority of scholars.

In 1994, Nabih Berri, Lebanon's Parliament Speaker and leader of the secular Shia Amal Movement, wanted to establish a Christian shrine at a cave in Qana to attract tourists and pilgrims. The government sent a 100-man company of troops to Qana to prevent potential religious conflict. This proposal was revived in 1999.

History

There are many ancient ruins around the village.

In 1596, it was named as a village, ''Qana'', in the Ottoman ''nahiya'' (subdistrict) of Tibnin under the '' liwa''' (district) of Safad, with a population of 47 households and five bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid a taxes on agricultural products, such as goats and beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues", a press for olive oil or grape syrup, and a fixed sum; a total of 3,916 akçe.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 180

In 1875 Victor Guérin visited: "This great village, the population of which is at least a thousand, is divided into three quartiers. The highest, called Kana el Foka, occupies the summit of the hill. It is considered the most ancient of the three. It is now entirely abandoned, except by about thirty Metawileh, and the stones of its overthrown houses are continually being removed to build new houses in the two other quarters. In the second quarter are about 600 Metawileh in the third, 400 United Greeks.'

In 1881, the PEF's ''Survey of Western Palestine'' (SWP) described it: "A large village of well-built houses, whose inhabitants are partly Christians, partly Moslems. There are about 400 Christians to 500 Moslems. The ground is cultivated, and planted with olives and figs. The village is divided into two parts, with a birket between. There is a Christian church. It is situated on high ground, and is well supplied with water from the two springs, 'Ain el Gharbiyeh and 'Ain el Kussis.

Modern era

Qana is known internationally for two separate incidents in which the Israeli Defense Forces caused civilian deaths during military operations in Lebanon.

* 1996 shelling of Qana: On 18 April 1996, amid heavy fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah fighters during Operation Grapes of Wrath, a Fijian UNIFIL compound in the village was shelled by Israeli artillery, killing 106 civilians and injuring around 116 others who had taken refuge there to escape the fighting. Four UNIFIL soldiers were also seriously injured.

* 2006 Qana airstrike

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