Dura Al-Qar'

Dura al-Qar' () or Dura al-Qari'a is a Palestinian town in the central West Bank, part of the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Dura al-Qar' had a population of 3,032 inhabitants in 2017.

The town's total land area is 4,016 dunams, of which 2,891 dunams have been appropriated by Israel mostly for the purpose of building a by-pass road. According to Dura al-Qar's village council, 142 families have been directly affected by the confiscations and 58% of the town's population depend on those lands as main sources of income.

Geography

Dura el Qar' is located on the Samarian hills, north-east of Ramallah. It is bordered by Ein Yabrud to the east, Ein Siniya to the north, Jifna, Al-Jalazun Camp and Surda to the west, and Al Bireh to the south.

The village is located atop irrigated terraces, constructed within a valley, accompanied by multiple private reservoirs.

History

Potsherds from the Roman and Roman/Byzantine era have been found in the village.Finkelstein et al., 1997, p. 552

Ottoman era

Potsherds from the early Ottoman era have been found here.

In 1838, it was noted as a Muslim village, ''Durah'', in the ''Beni Harit'' district, north of Jerusalem.

In 1863 Victor Guérin found the village to have 250 inhabitants. He further described that old oaks shaded for ancient springs, which were used to irrigate the fields. Several houses in the village were built, at least in part, with ancient stones. An Ottoman village list from about 1870 found that the village had a population of 120, in 22 houses, though the population count only included men.Socin, 1879, p
153
It was also noted that it was in the ''Beni Harit'' District

In 1882, the PEF's ''Survey of Western Palestine'' (SWP) described ''Durah'' as "a small village on the side of a valley, with springs on the south, and olives".
In 1907, it was described as "a small, healthfully located Moslem village. Its inhabitants have a good reputation for peaceful relations with the Jifna Christians. The Durah people raise many vegetables."

In 1896 the population of ''Dura el-kara'' was estimated to be about 246 persons.

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, ''Dura el Qare had a population of 191, all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramallah, p
16
/ref> increasing in the 1931 census to 303, still all Muslims, in a total of 71 houses.Mills, 1932, p
48
/ref>

In the 1945 statistics the population was 370, all Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p
26
/ref> while the total land area was 4,166 dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 1,762 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 1,253 for cereals, while 18 dunams were classified as built-up areas.

Jordanian era

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

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases