Kafr 'Aqab () is the northernmost Palestinian Arab neighborhood in

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

. It is part of the area annexed and included in municipal Jerusalem following its occupation by Israel in 1967. This area includes an additional approximate of the West Bank, including territory which previously included 28 villages and areas of the

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

and Beit Jala municipalities. Although the

Jerusalem Law Jerusalem Law (, ) is a common name of Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel passed by the Knesset on 30 July 1980. Although the law did not use the term, the Israeli Supreme Court interpreted the law as an effective annexation of East Jeru ...

did not use the term, the

Israeli Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...

interpreted the law as an effective annexation of East Jerusalem. The

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

condemned the attempted change in status to Jerusalem and ruled the law "null and void" in

United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 United Nations List of the UN resolutions concerning Israel, Security Council Resolution 478, adopted on 20 August 1980, is the last of seven UNSC resolutions condemning Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem. UNSC res 478 notes Israel's non-com ...

. Due to the Separation Wall effectively cutting the neighborhood off from the rest of Jerusalem, while no such barrier exists between this neighborhood and

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...

and Al-Bireh, this neighborhood is practically part of the metropolitan area of

Location

Kafr 'Aqab is located north of Central

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and southeast of

. It is bordered by

Burqa A burqa or burka (; ) is an enveloping outer garment worn by some Muslim women which fully covers the body and the face. Also known as a chadaree (; ) or chaadar (Dari: چادر) in Afghanistan, or a ''paranja'' (; ; ) in Central Asia, the Ara ...

lands to the east,

Al Bireh Al-Bireh, al-Birah, or el-Bira (; also known historically as Castrum Mahomeria, Magna Mahomeria, Mahomeria Major, Birra, or Beirothah) is a city in the central West Bank, north of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the Ramallah and al-Bireh Gove ...

to the north, Rafat and

Qalandiya Qalandia or Qalandiya (), also known as Kalandia (), is a Palestinian village located in the West Bank, between Jerusalem and Ramallah, just west from the Jerusalem municipality boundary. The village had a population of 572 residents in 2017. ...

to the west, and

Ar Ram Al-Ram (), also transcribed as Al-Ramm, El-Ram, Er-Ram, and A-Ram, is a Palestinian town which lies northeast of Jerusalem, just outside the city's municipal border. The village is part of the built-up urban area of Jerusalem, the Atarot industri ...

, Qalandiya and Qalandiya Camp to the south.Kafr 'Aqab village profile
ARIJ, p. 4

History

The

Palestine Exploration Fund The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem by Royal Engineers of the War Department. The Fund is the oldest known organization i ...

's '' Survey of Western Palestine'' (SWP) suggested that Kafr 'Aqab was the Crusader village ''Kefreachab'', which was one of 21 villages given by King Godfrey as a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

to the

Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchat ...

.Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p
11
/ref>

Ottoman era

In 1517, the village was included in 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 ...

with the rest 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 ...

and in the 1596 tax-records it appeared as ''Kafr 'Aqba'', located 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 Jabal Quds of the '' Liwa'' of

Al-Quds Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, and is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Jud ...

. The population was 47 households, all

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 ...

s. They paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, olive trees, vineyards, fruit trees, goats and beehives in addition to "occasional revenues"; a total of 3,100

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 ...

. In 1838, Edward Robinson noted Kafr 'Aqab during his travels in the region, as a Muslim village, part of '' El-Kuds'' district. An official Ottoman village list sometime around 1870 listed ''Kefr 'Akab'' as having 15 houses and a population of 65, though the population count included men, only. In 1883, SWP described it as "a small

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 ...

on the slope of a hillside, with a few olives." In 1896 the population of ''Kefr 'akab'' was estimated to be about 135 persons.

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 divis ...

conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Kafr 'Aqab had a population of 189 Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jerusalem, p
14
/ref> increasing in the 1931 census to 250 Muslims, in 59 houses.Mills, 1932, p
37
/ref> In the 1945 statistics the population of Kafr 'Aqab consisted of 290 MuslimsGovernment of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p
25
/ref> and the land area was 5,472

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, according to an official land and population survey.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p
57
/ref> Of this, 829 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land, 2,736 for cereals, while 10 dunams were built-up areas.

Jordanian era

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 ...

, and after the

1949 Armistice Agreements The 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt,Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

ian rule, and was annexed in 1950. In 1961, the population was 410 persons.

Post-1967

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, Kafr 'Aqab has been under

Israeli occupation Israel has occupied the Golan Heights of Syria and the Palestinian territories since the Six-Day War of 1967. It has previously occupied the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and southern Lebanon as well. Prior to 1967, control of the Palestinian terr ...

. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 287, of whom 8 originated from the Israeli territory. Israel has confiscated 2,037

s of land from Kafr 'Aqab in order to construct the

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 ...

of Kokhav Ya'acov.Kafr 'Aqab village profile
ARIJ, p. 15 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 ...

, in 2006, Kafr 'Aqab had a population of 10,411. Primary health care for Kafr 'Aqab is obtained in

Al-Ram Al-Ram (), also transcribed as Al-Ramm, El-Ram, Er-Ram, and A-Ram, is a Palestinian town which lies northeast of Jerusalem, just outside the city's municipal border. The village is part of the built-up urban area of Jerusalem, the Atarot industr ...

. In 2007, Kfar 'Aqab was described as a middle class suburb.Palestinians back caliphate over politics
The Telegraph While Kafr 'Aqab was unilaterally annexed by

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 ...

with the rest of East Jerusalem and falls under its full jurisdiction, it is separated from Jerusalem 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 ...

. Municipal inspectors never inspect the area beyond the barrier. This creates "a planning nightmare and developer's dream".Israeli, Palestinian boys soccer tournament exposes reality of Jerusalem life
Haaretz The al-Faruq mosque in Kafr 'Aqab offers weekly classes in the Islamic teachings of

Hizb ut-Tahrir Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT; ) is an international pan-Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist political organization whose stated aim is the re-establishment of the Islamic caliphate to unite the Muslim community (called ''ummah'') and implement sharia glo ...

2020s

The Israeli Construction and Housing Ministry began preparing the master plan for a new Israeli neighborhood to be located at the northern edge of Jerusalem on land near the former Atarot airport currently inhabited by some 15 Palestinian families and will stretch up to the separation barrier, which will be the border between the new neighborhood and the Palestinian Kafr Aqab neighborhood. The land has been slated to become part of the Palestinian state under U.S. President Donald Trump's peace plan. Though Kafr Aqab is considered to be part of Jerusalem, it is on the other side of the barrier wall.

Gallery

File:KafrAqabAreaJan292023 02.jpg, Kafr 'Aqab neighborhood near the Jerusalem International Airport and the

File:KafrAqabAreaJan292023 07.jpg, Kafr 'Aqab, the

, Semiramis neighborhood and Beyond - Ramalla File:KafrAqabAreaJan292023 21.jpg, southern Kafr 'Aqab and Qalandia Refugee Camp

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * (p
80
* * * * (Röhricht, 1893, RRH, pp
16
17, No 74) * * *

External links

Pockets of Lawlessness in the "Oasis of Justice"
, Candace Graff, 2014, ''Jerusalem Quarterly'',

Institute for Palestine Studies The Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) is the oldest independent nonprofit public service research institute in the Arab world. It was established and incorporated in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1963 and has since served as a model for other such ins ...

Border Homes, in Jerusalem but Not, Face an Existential Deadline
By David M. Halbfinger, Nov. 22, 2017,

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

In highly rare move, Israel to demolish five Palestinian residential buildings behind separation barrier
Nir Hasson, Oct. 28, 2017,

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

Welcome to Kafr 'Aqab
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17
IAA

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Kafr 'Aqab village (fact sheet)
Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem, ARIJ
Kafr 'Aqab village profile
ARIJ
Kafr 'Aqab aerial photo
ARIJ
Locality Development Priorities and Needs in Kafr 'Aqab
ARIJ {{Authority control Towns in the West Bank Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem Municipalities of Palestine