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Anata () is a
Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
town in the
Jerusalem Governorate The Quds Governorate (), also known as Jerusalem Governorate, is one of the 16 governorates of Palestine and located in the central part of the West Bank. The current governor, appointed by the Palestinian National Authority, is Adnan Ghaith s ...
of the
State of Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
, in the central
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, located four kilometers northeast of Jerusalem's Old City. According to the
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS; ) is the official statistical institution of Palestine. Its main task is to provide credible statistical figures at the national and international levels. It is a state institution that provid ...
, 'Anata had a population of 16,919 in 2017. Its total land area is 30,603
dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...
s, of which over half now lies within the Israeli ''Jerusalem municipality'' and 1,654 is Palestinian built-up area.'Anata Town Profile
Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem. 21 July 2004.
Since 1967, 'Anata has been occupied by Israel. Together with Shu'afat refugee camp, the village is almost surrounded by the
Israeli West Bank barrier The West Bank barrier, West Bank wall or the West Bank separation barrier, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line (Israel), Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. Israel describes the wall as a necessary securi ...
, cutting it off from Jerusalem and surrounding villages except for a checkpoint in the west and a road in the north-east that gives access to the rest of the West Bank.


History

'Anata is situated on an ancient site, old stones have been reused in village homes, and
cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...
s dug into rock have been found, together with caves and ancient
agricultural terraces A terrace in agriculture is a flat surface that has been cut into hills or mountains to provide areas for the cultivation for crops, as a method of more effective farming. Terrace agriculture or cultivation is when these platforms are created s ...
.Dauphin, 1998, p. 899


Ancient times

'Anata is identified with the biblical town
Anathoth Anathoth is the name of one of the Levitical cities given to "the children of Aaron" in the tribe of Benjamin (; ). Residents were called Antothites or Anetothites. Name The name of this town may be derived from a Canaanite goddess, `Anat. It ...
and is built on the ancient site.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, p
109
/ref> The
toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...
may be linked to the Canaanite goddess
Anat Anat (, ), Anatu, classically Anath (; ''ʿnt''; ''ʿĂnāṯ''; ; ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:ꜥntjt, ꜥntjt'') was a goddess associated with warfare and hunting, best known from the Ugaritic texts. Most researchers assume tha ...
. Nathan Thrall
'A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: One man’s quest to find his son lays bare the reality of Palestinian life under Israeli rule,'
New York Review of Books New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
19 March 2021:'the town of Anata was once among the most expansive in the West Bank, stretching eastward from the tree-lined mountains of Jerusalem down to the pale yellow hills, rocky canyons, and desert wadis at the edge of the district of Jericho, in the Jordan Valley. Today, Anata is much smaller, the bulk of its lands confiscated to create the Israeli military base of Anatot, four official settlements, and several unauthorized settler outposts.'
Ancient findings from 'Anata include pottery from the
Iron Age II The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
and the
Hellenistic period In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
.


Byzantine period

The modern location of 'Anata matches the three-mile distance of Anatoth from Jerusalem, as described by
Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...
in the 4th century, further affirming the identification of 'Anata with ancient Anatoth. There are ruins of a
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
-era church in the town, proving that it was inhabited prior to the
Muslim conquest of Palestine The Muslim conquest of the Levant (; ), or Arab conquest of Syria, was a 634–638 CE invasion of Byzantine Syria by the Rashidun Caliphate. A part of the wider Arab–Byzantine wars, the Levant was brought under Arab Muslim rule and developed ...
by the
Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate () is a title given for the reigns of first caliphs (lit. "successors") — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali collectively — believed to Political aspects of Islam, represent the perfect Islam and governance who led the ...
in the 7th century.Sharon, 1999, pp
8788
/ref>


Ayyubid period

Ahead of the 1187
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
siege of Jerusalem against the
Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...
,
Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...
, the
Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...
general and sultan, situated his administration in 'Anata before he proceeded towards Jerusalem.


Ottoman period

The village was incorporated into the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
in 1516 with all of Palestine, and in 1596 'Anata appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the ''
Nahiya A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, 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 divisi ...
'' of Quds of the '' Liwa'' of Quds. It had a population of 10
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
households. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 40% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, fruit trees, goats and/or bee hives; a total of 9,300
Akçe The ''akçe'' or ''akça'' (anglicized as ''akche'', ''akcheh'' or ''aqcha''; ; , , in Europe known as '' asper'') was a silver coin mainly known for being the chief monetary unit of the Ottoman Empire. It was also used in other states includi ...
. All of the revenue went to a
Waqf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an Alienation (property law), inalienable charitable financial endowment, endowment under Sharia, Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot ...
. The village was destroyed by Ibrahim Pasha in
1834 Events January–March * January 1 – Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states. * January 3 – The government of Mexico imprisons Stephen F. Austin in Mexico City. * January – The W ...
following a pro-Ottoman Arab revolt against Egyptian rule. In 1838 ''Anata'' was noted as a
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
village, located north of Jerusalem. When W. M. Thomson visited it in the 1850s, he described it as a "small, half-ruined
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
, but it was once much larger, and appears to have had a wall around it, a few fragments of which are still to be seen." In 1863
Victor Guérin Victor Guérin (; 15 September 1821 – 21 September 1890) was a French people, French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included ...
visited the village and described it as being a small, situated on a hill, and with 200 inhabitants. Socin found from an official Ottoman village list from about 1870 that 'Anata had 25 houses and a population of 70, though the population count included men, only. According to information received by Clermont-Ganneau in 1874, the village was settled by Arab families from Khirbet 'Almit, a mile to the northeast. 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 completed Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) and in 1880 for the soon abandoned Survey of Eastern Palestine. The ...
'' described it as a "village of moderate size, the houses of stone; it stands on a ridge commanding a fine view to the north and east. ...There are a few
olives The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...
round the village, and a well on the west and another on the south-east."Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, pp
7
8
In 1896 the population of 'Anata was estimated to be about 180 persons.


British Mandate period

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 divis ...
conducted by the British Mandate authorities, 'Anata had a population of 285, all Muslim,Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jerusalem, p.
14
/ref> increasing in the 1931 census to 438, still all Muslim, in 98 houses. In the 1945 statistics 'Anata had a population of 540 Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p
24
/ref> with 18,496
dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...
s of land, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 353 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 2,645 used for cereals, while 35 dunams were built-up land.


Jordanian period (1948–1967)

In the wake of the
1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...
, 'Anata came under Jordanian rule. The Jordanian census of 1961 found 852 inhabitants in 'Anata.


Israeli and PA period (1967–present)

After the
Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 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, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...
in 1967, 'Anata has been under
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
i occupation. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 1,260, 121 of whom originated from the Israeli territory. At the time of the conquest Anata was one of the most expansive towns in the West Bank, extending from Jerusalem to the
wadi Wadi ( ; ) is a river valley or a wet (ephemerality, ephemeral) Stream bed, riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portion ...
s near Jericho. Most of its land was confiscated to create the Israeli military base at Anatot, 4
Israeli settlements Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Jewish identity or ethnicity, and hav ...
and several illegal
Israeli outposts In Israeli law, an outpost (, ''Ma'ahaz'' lit. "a handhold") is an unauthorized or illegal Israeli settlement within the West Bank, constructed without the required authorization from the Israeli government in contravention of Israeli statutes re ...
. After the 1995 accords, about 3.8% of the land (or 918 dunams) is classified as being Area B, while the remaining 96.2% (or 23,108 dunams) is
Area C Area C (; ) is the fully Israeli-controlled territory in the West Bank, defined as the whole area outside the Palestinian enclaves (Areas A and B). Area C constitutes about 61 percent of the West Bank territory, containing most Israeli settle ...
. Most of the lands of 'Anata have been confiscated by Israel. Of the 1877 dunums which remain in residents' hands, after creation of the
Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a c ...
in 1994, 957 dunums became part of Area B, 220 dunums part of
Area C Area C (; ) is the fully Israeli-controlled territory in the West Bank, defined as the whole area outside the Palestinian enclaves (Areas A and B). Area C constitutes about 61 percent of the West Bank territory, containing most Israeli settle ...
, and 700 dunums have been declared a closed military zone by the Israeli authorities. The Dahyat as-Salam neighbourhood has been annexed by Israel as part of the
Jerusalem municipality The Jerusalem Municipality (), the seat of the Israeli municipal administration, consists of a number of buildings located on Jaffa Road in the city of Jerusalem. History British Mandate town hall (1930) Jerusalem's old town hall was bui ...
. The village boundaries are far-reaching and stretch from 'Anata itself to just east of the Israeli settlement of Alon. Most of the land is undeveloped open space with little or no vegetation. According to ARIJ, Israel has confiscated land from 'Anata for the construction of 4
Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...
s: * 328 dunams for Alon,'Anata Town Profile
ARIJ, p. 19
* 717 dunams for Nofei Prat, * 820 dunams for Kfar Adumim, * 783 dunams for Almon. Ayn Fara, the Palestinian village's natural pool and spring, was absorbed into the Israeli Ein Prat Nature Reserve. In 2007, Abir Aramin was shot and killed by the IDF in 'Anata.


Main families

The families are Shiha, Abd al-Latif, Ibrahim, Alayan, Hilwa, Salama, Hamdan, Abu Haniya Musah and al-Kiswani. The latter family fled to 'Anata during the
1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
.


Sanctuaries


Saleh and Rumia

'Anata contains two sanctuaries, dedicated to Saleh and possibly Jeremiah. The former is a
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
dedicated to the prophet Saleh (Biblical
Shelah Shelah may refer to: * Shelah (son of Judah), a son of Judah according to the Bible * Shelah (name), a Hebrew personal name * Shlach, the 37th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading * Salih, a prophet described i ...
), but Saleh's tomb is believed to be in the village of Nabi Salih to the northwest. The latter sanctuary is a cave dedicated to a "Rumia" which according to
Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau (19 February 1846 – 15 February 1923) was a noted French Orientalist and archaeologist. Biography Clermont-Ganneau was born in Paris, the son of Simon Ganneau, a sculptor and mystic who died in 1851 when Clerm ...
, "looks as if it had been connected by the folklore with the name Jeremiah, the initial 'je' being removed by aphaeresis as so frequently happens in Arabic." This signifies that it is very possible that "Rumia" is an Arabicized form of "Jeremiah".Clermont-Ganneau, 1896, vol 2, pp
276-7
/ref>


'Abd es-Sallam

Northeast of 'Anata lies a shrine dedicated to Seikh 'Abd es-Sallam a-Rifa'i, locally known as Abu 'Anata. He is believed to be the same as the saint named es-Sallam ibn a-Sid el-Amir Muhammad Qaraja e-Rifa'i, who served as the governor of
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
. According to one tradition, he arrived in Palestine from
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
and acquired lands in 'Anata, subsequently becoming the village's founding father, with all its residents considered his descendants. Another account suggests that 'Abd es-Sallam a-Rifa'i was a renowned Islamic scholar who studied at
Al-Azhar Al-Azhar Mosque (), known in Egypt simply as al-Azhar, is a mosque in Cairo, Egypt in the historic Islamic core of the city. Commissioned as the new capital of the Fatimid Caliphate in 970, it was the first mosque established in a city that ...
. Upon arriving at the governor's palace in Syria, he requested a piece of land in Jerusalem where he could live and eventually die. The governor granted him 'Anata and its surroundings, totaling 33 thousand acres. 'Abd es-Sallam engaged in religious studies there and at the
Al-Aqsa Mosque The Aqsa Mosque, also known as the Qibli Mosque or Qibli Chapel is the main congregational mosque or Musalla, prayer hall in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City of Jerusalem. In some sources the building is also n ...
, and from that time onward, his descendants multiplied in this village. Several legends have become linked to the tomb. In one tale, it is recounted that a descendant of the seikh engaged in a conflict with an individual from Hizma who, in a fit of anger, cursed both the man and the sheikh. Seeking resolution, the cursed man went to the sheikh's tomb and implored for intervention. Remarkably, the saint appeared that very night before the man from Hizma, rendering him paralyzed and ultimately leading to his death a few days later. Additionally, the site historically served as a venue for elaborate
circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...
ceremonies. Reconstructed in the early 20th century, it continues to be a visited site by locals to this day.


Local administration

Before 1996, 'Anata was governed by a ''
mukhtar A mukhtar (; ) is a village chief in the Levant: "an old institution that goes back to the time of the Ottoman rule". According to Amir S. Cheshin, Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed, the mukhtar "for centuries were the central figures". They "were ...
''. Since then a village council was established to govern the town.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Welcome To 'Anata Anata
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17
IAAWikimedia commons'Anata Town (Fact Sheet)
Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem The Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ; ) is a Palestinian NGO founded in 1990 with its main office in Bethlehem in the West Bank. ARIJ is actively working on research projects in the fields of management of natural resources, water m ...
(ARIJ)
'Anata Town Profile
ARIJ
'Anata aerial photo
ARIJ
Locality Development Priorities and Needs in 'Anata
ARIJ {{DEFAULTSORT:Anata, ' Villages in the West Bank Ancient Jewish settlements of Judaea 13 Kohanic cities Municipalities of Palestine Anat