Sa'ir (, also spelled Saeer, Seir, or Si'ir) is a
Palestinian town in the
Hebron Governorate 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 southern
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 northeast of
Hebron
Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...
. Nearby localities include
Beit Fajjar
Beit Fajjar () is a Palestinian town located eight kilometers south of Bethlehem in the Bethlehem Governorate, in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of over 13,520 in 201 ...
and
al-Arroub to the north,
Beit Ummar to the northwest,
Halhul to the west and
Beit Einun and
ash-Shuyukh to the south. The
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...
is just east of Sa'ir's municipal borders.
[Sa'ir Town Profile](_blank)
Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem. 2008. Retrieved on 2012-03-12. In the 2017 census
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 20,722.
It has municipal jurisdiction over 117,000
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, 6,000 of which is built-up area and 11,715 of which is cultivated. The main economic activities in Sa'ir are agriculture and the
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 labor market, although the latter has been adversely affected as a result of the Israeli restrictions following the
Second Intifada
The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...
in 2000–04.
Olive
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 ...
s are the major cash crop.
History
It is often thought that Si'ir is identical with Zior (or Zi'or),
a biblical town mentioned in the
Book of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile. It tells of the ...
(15:54) among the cities of Judah, near
Hebron
Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...
and others in the
Hebron Hills
The Hebron Hills, also known as Mount Hebron (, ), are a mountain ridge, geographic region, and geologic formation, constituting the southern part of the Judaean Mountains, Judean Mountains. The Hebron Hills are located in the southern West Ban ...
. Yet, not all scholars accepted this identification.
According to
ARIJ, Sa'ir "was established on the town of Saeer () or Saiour ()", and during the Roman era the town was known as "Sior".
An archaeological survey of the village revealed pottery from the
Iron Age
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 ...
II (under the
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelites, Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands to the west of the Dead Sea, the kingdom's capital was Jerusalem. It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries ...
),
Persian,
Roman,
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 ...
(the predominant finds), medieval, and
Ottoman periods.
The village's dense core, located near the spring, is the site of the ancient settlement's
tell. Nearby caves yielded remains from the
Chalcolithic
The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in di ...
and
Early Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
periods.
In 2024,
Talmudic-era menorah engravings were discovered on a doorway slab in the village's
kasbah.
The
PEF's ''
Survey of Western Palestine'' (SWP), wrote that: "The tomb of El 'Ais (
Esau
Esau is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis and by the minor prophet, prophets Obadiah and Malachi. The story of Jacob and Esau reflects the historical relationship between Israel and Edom, aiming ...
), south of the village, is in a chamber 37 feet east and west by 20 feet north and south, th a
Mihrab on the south wall. The tomb is 12 feet long, 3 1/2 feet broad, 5 feet high, covered with a dark green cloth and a canopy above. An
ostrich egg is hung near. North of the chamber is a vaulted room of equal size, and to the east is an open court with a fig-tree, and a second
cenotaph rudely plastered, said to be that of Esau's slave. Rock-cut tombs exist south-west of this place."
A heart-shaped lamp marked with arches framing birds, today on display at the
Flagellation Museum, is marked as coming from Sa'ir. Similar lamps are dated to the
early Islamic period.
Suriano, a 15th century
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
custos, wrote that the House of Isaac, then a mosque where Muslims worship, can be found in ''Syeir''. He mentioned that he had seen Jewish antiquities there and described the area as not being sown but rather untamed, arid, and a habitat for animals and game.
[
]
Ottoman era
In 1596 Sa'ir appeared in the Ottoman tax registers as part of 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 Halil Halil is a common Turkish, Albanian and Bosnian male given name. It is equivalent to the Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken ...
in the Liwa of Quds. It had an entirely 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 ...
population consisting of 72 households. Taxes were paid on wheat
Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
, barley
Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...
, summer crops, olive trees, goats and/or beehives.
The French explorer Victor Guérin visited the village in the 1860s, and found it having about 400 inhabitants. He mentioned a few rock-cut tomb
A rock-cut tomb is a burial chamber that is cut into an existing, naturally occurring rock formation, so a type of rock-cut architecture. They are usually cut into a cliff or sloping rock face, but may go downward in fairly flat ground. It was a ...
s that are still in use; they are locked by a burial stone, and are reopened by locals whenever a new body is buried.
SWP described Sa'ir in 1883 as "a village of moderate size, in a valley surrounded with cultivated ground." A maqam (shrine)
A maqām () is a Muslims, Muslim shrine constructed at a site linked to a religious figure or Wali, saint, commonly found in the Levant (or ''al-Shām),'' which comprises the present-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Israel. It is ...
located in Sa'ir was believed by the local 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 to house the tomb of Esau who they referred to as "Aisa." The SWP stated this identification was false and that Esau's tomb was in the Biblical Mount Seir.
Under the name ''Sa'in'', an Ottoman village list of about 1870 indicated 84 houses and a population of 186, though it is proposed that the population count included men, only.
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, Sa'ir had a population of 1,477 inhabitants, all Muslim. In the 1931 census the population of Si'ir was a total of 1,967, still entirely Muslim, in 388 inhabited houses.[Mills, 1932, p]
33
/ref>
In the 1945 statistics the population of Si'ir was 2,710, all Muslims,[Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p]
23
/ref> who owned 92,423 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. 2,483 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 10,671 for cereals, while 76 dunams were built-up (urban) land.
Jordanian period
In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Sa'ir came under Jordanian rule.
In 1961, the population of ''Si'ir'' was 2,511.
1967 war and aftermath
Sa'ir has been under Israeli occupation since the 1967 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 ...
. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 4,172.
Following the 1993 Oslo Accords Sa'ir was designated within " Area B" giving the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) control over the town's civil affairs while Israel maintained its control over security. In 1997, an elected 13-member municipal council was established by the PNA to administer Sa'ir. Its municipal borders include a number of small villages, including al-Uddeisa, ad-Duwwara, Irqan Turad, Kuziba, Wadi ar-Rum and Ras at-Tawil. Principal families include Shlaldah, Froukh, Al-Lahaleeh, Jaradat, Mtur, al-Jabarin, al-Kawazbeh, Arameen and al-Turweh. Hakim Shlaldah was elected mayor in the 2005 municipal elections.
In January, 2013, Rafat Jaradat, 30 years old, from Sa'ir, died in jail five days after he was arrested by the Israelis. Israeli sources said his death was caused by "sudden heart attack while under interrogation", while Palestinian officials said that Jaradat had been tortured while in Israeli detention. His body had bruises and broken ribs, which the Israelis said came from attempts to revive him, while his brother said it looked as if Jaradat had been severely beaten.
Hamas
The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
candidates have won election to the town council, which is described in the Israeli press as "Hamas affiliated," and as "having close ties to Hamas."
Between October 2015 and mid January 2016 eleven Sair residents were shot dead by the Israeli army in alleged attacks on Israeli soldiers. Almost half of them were killed at Beit Einun Junction where the IDF controls access to the town.
On 13 June 2025, the village was reportedly hit by a ballistic missile launched by the Yemen-based Houthi movement.
2025 Israel-Iran war
On June 13 it was reported that following an interception of a missile fired from Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
by Houthis
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydism, Zaydi Shia Islamism, Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadersh ...
, fragments fell in the village injuring three children.
Demography
Sa'ir is home to several families, such as Al Froukh, Al Jabareen, Al Jaradat, Al Kawazbeh, Al Mtur, Al Shlaldah, Al Turweh, and others.
References
Bibliography
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External links
Welcome To Sa'eer
Sa’ir
Welcome to Palestine
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 21:
IAA
Wikimedia commons
Sa'ir Town (Fact Sheet)
Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem (ARIJ)
Sa'ir Town Profile
ARIJ
Aerial Photo
ARIJ
Needs for development in Sa'ir town based on the community and local authorities’ assessment
ARIJ
Israeli Colonists set Olive Trees on Fire in Sa'ir Town
04, June, 2010, POICA
Israeli Colonists Plough 20 Dunums of the Town of Sa’ir in Hebron Governorate.
01, January, 2011, ARIJ
Israeli Colonists Level Tens of Dunums of Palestinian lands in Sa'ir town- Hebron Governorate
19, August, 2011, POICA
Military Demolition Orders in Sa’ir Village northeast of Hebron City at the Southern parts of the West Bank
20, August, 2011, POICA
{{Authority control
Cities in the West Bank
Hebron Governorate
Municipalities of Palestine