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 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 13 kilometers (8 miles) south 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 ...
. 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 ...
(PCBS), the town had a population of 2,839 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.
Location
‘Urif is located 7.6km south 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 ...
. It is bordered by
‘Einabus
Einabus ( ar, عينابوس) is a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank, located 12 kilometers (7 miles) south of Nablus and a part of the Nablus Governorate. Nearby towns include Huwara and Beita to the east and Jammain to the south. i ...
to the east,
‘Asira al Qibliya
’Asira al-Qibliya ( ar, عصيرة القبلية) is a Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in the eastern West Bank, located southwest of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the village had a p ...
to the north, and
Jamma’in
Jamma'in ( ar, جمّاعين) is a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank located southwest of Nablus, northwest of Salfit and north of Ramallah. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 6,2 ...
to the west and south.
History
Ceramics from the late
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
have been found here.Dauphin, 1998, p. 803 Dauphin writes that 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 also have been found, but Ellenblum writes that no pottery from that era has been found here.
Crusader period
A woman of Dayr Urif, Sa'ida, was wed to Ahmad ibn Khalid ibn Qudama, a jurist and leader of
Hanbali
The Hanbali school ( ar, ٱلْمَذْهَب ٱلْحَنۢبَلِي, al-maḏhab al-ḥanbalī) is one of the four major traditional Sunni schools (''madhahib'') of Islamic jurisprudence. It is named after the Arab scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal ...
villagers in the Nablus area who fled from Crusader rule to
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
between 1156 and 1173. Ahmad's grandson Diya al-Din (1173-1245) refers to the presence of Muslims in Urif during his lifetime.
Ottoman era
Urif 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 tax registers as 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 Jabal Qubal of the '' liwa'' (district) 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 ...
. It was noted as ''hali'', empty, but a fixed tax rate of 33.3% was paid on various agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and/or beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues"; a total of 2,800
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. 130
In 1838 Urif was noted as a Muslim village, part of the Jurat Merda subdistrict, located south of Nablus. In 1870,
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 ...
found the village to occupy the top of a hill, and having about 450 inhabitants. 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 ...
'' (SWP) described Urif as: "A stone village, on high ground, with a few olives; supplied by wells and with a small spring to the east."
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, Urif had a population of 270 Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table IX, p 25 /ref> increasing in the 1931 census to 403; 402 Muslims and 1 Christian, in 103 houses.
In the 1945 statistics the population was 520, all Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p 19 /ref> while the total land area was 3,965
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.
Of this, 1,107 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land, 1,452 for cereals, while 32 dunams were classified as built-up areas.
Jordanian period
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 710 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, Urif 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 ...
. As of 2014, 3,115 dunams (77%) of Urif land were
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 949 (23%) were Area C. 58 dunums of Urif's land have been confiscated 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
Yitzhar
Yitzhar ( he, יִצְהָר) is an Israeli settlement located in the West Bank, south of the city of Nablus, just off Route 60, north of the Tapuach Junction. The predominantly Orthodox Jewish community falls under the jurisdiction of Shomr ...
.
Chronology of events and disturbances
*On May 19, 2012, about 25 Jewish settlers, some of them carrying guns, set fire to the wheat fields of Urif, and shot one Palestinian man in the stomach.
*On May 26, 2012, settlers from
Yitzhar
Yitzhar ( he, יִצְהָר) is an Israeli settlement located in the West Bank, south of the city of Nablus, just off Route 60, north of the Tapuach Junction. The predominantly Orthodox Jewish community falls under the jurisdiction of Shomr ...
shot a youth from Urif. They then tied him up and proceeded to beat him. Samaria Regional Council head Gershon Mesika said that the shooting was a defensive act against a man who wielded a knife. The clash had started when a group of settlers were thought to have set fire to fields belonging to Urif, although the settlers denied any involvement.
*In 2013, settlers from Yitzhar reportedly smashed the window of a mosque in Urif and tried to burn it down.
*In February, 2015, settlers from
Yitzhar
Yitzhar ( he, יִצְהָר) is an Israeli settlement located in the West Bank, south of the city of Nablus, just off Route 60, north of the Tapuach Junction. The predominantly Orthodox Jewish community falls under the jurisdiction of Shomr ...
defaced the village school with graffiti, with '
Death to Arabs
Death to Arabs ( he, מוות לערבים ) is an anti-Arab slogan which is used by some Israelis and is considered a hateful, genocidal, and racist slogan. It is used in multiple contexts, such as football, graffiti, marches in Jerusalem and ...
' sprayed alongside the
Star 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 ...
in an alleged
price tag attacks
The price tag attack policy ( he, מדיניות תג מחיר), also sometimes referred to as "mutual responsibility" (), is the name originally given to the attacks and acts of vandalism committed primarily in the occupied West Bank by Is ...
.
*In July 2016, 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 ...
confiscated in Urif homemade weapons and ammunition, and lathes used to manufacture weapons, as well as apprehending four local Arab residents of Urif who sold such weapons.
*In 2017, farmers from Urif were prevented from working on their land in Area B.
*In May, 2021, as part of the 2021 demonstrations; Nidal Sael Safadi was killed in Urif by the
Israeli army
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branc ...
, while "trying to confront
Israeli settlers
Israeli may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel
* Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel
* Modern Hebrew, a language
* ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008
* Guni Israeli (b ...
who were storming the area".
File:201805 defenseless against settlers violence photoblog jamileh shhadeh urif.jpg , 81 year old Jamileh Shehadeh, Urif, who had all her olive trees cut down by
Israeli settlers
Israeli may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel
* Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel
* Modern Hebrew, a language
* ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008
* Guni Israeli (b ...
File:201805 defenseless against settlers violence photoblog urif2.jpg , "Fight the enemy.
Price Tag
A price tag is a label declaring the price of an item for sale. It may be a sticker or attached by twist tie or other means.
Some jurisdictions require items (possibly exceptions for bulk good and produce) to be individually marked with the pr ...
." Hebrew Graffiti spray-painted by Israeli settlers
File:Itzhar01.jpg ,
Maqam (shrine)
A Maqām ( ar, مقام) is a shrine built on the site associated with a religious figure or saint, typical to the regions of Palestine and Syria. It is usually a funeral construction, commonly cubic-shaped and topped with a dome.
Maqams are as ...
of
Salman the Persian
Salman the Persian or Salmān al-Fārsī ( ar, سَلْمَان ٱلْفَارِسِيّ), born Rūzbeh Khoshnūdān ( fa, ), was a Persian companion (Sahaba) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was raised as a Zoroastrian in Sasanian Persia, t ...
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 ...