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 ...
City in the
Hebron Governorate
The Hebron Governorate ( ar, محافظة الخليل, Muḥāfaẓat al-Ḫalīl) is an administrative district of Palestine in the southern West Bank.
The governorate's land area is and its population according to the Palestinian Central B ...
located 25 km northwest of the city of
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...
. 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 ...
census, Surif had a population of 17,650 in 2016. The population is entirely Muslim.
Most of the town's 15,000 dunams is used for agriculture, in particular, olives, wheat and barley. There are seven mosques and four schools located in its vicinity.
Ahmad Lafi is the mayor.
History
In 1838 Surif was noted as a Muslim village, located between Hebron and Gaza, but subjected to the government of
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...
.
In 1863
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 Min ...
found Surif to be a village with 700 inhabitants. He further noted that beside a ''birket'' in the rock, a few cisterns and an ancient column shaft which was placed near a small mosque, all of Surif's constructions seemed more or less modern.
An official Ottoman village list from about 1870 showed 87 houses and a population of 265, counting men only.
In 1883, 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 Surif as "A small village on a low hill, with olives to the south."
In 1896 the population of Surif was estimated to be about 1164 persons.
British Mandate Era
According to the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Surif had a population of 1,265 inhabitants, all Muslims,Barron, 1923, p 10 /ref> increasing in the 1931 census to 1,640, in 344 inhabited houses.Mills, 1932, p 33 /ref>
In the 1945 statistics the population of Surif was 2,190, all Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p 23 /ref> with a total of 38,876 dunams of land according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 3,493 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 11.325 for cereals, while 54 dunams were built-up (urban) land.
File:Surif 1944.jpg, Surif, British Mandate map, 1:20,000
File:Surif 1945.jpg, Surif 1945 1:250,000
File:Surif from Judean hills.jpg, View of Surif
File:Surif cross-stitch.jpg, Example of traditional Palestinian cross-stitch from Surif (2006)
1949 Armistice Agreements
The 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt,Jordanian rule.
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 2,827 inhabitants in Surif.
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 states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...
in 1967, Surif 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 ...
.
Israel has confiscated approximately 1,213 dunams of land from Surif since 2000, and approximately 1,300 dunums of Surif lands will be behind the
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. It is a contentious element of the Israeli–Palestinian ...
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 proje ...