Abu Qash
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Abu Qash () 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 ...
village located in the
Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate The Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate () is one of 16 governorates of Palestine. It covers a large part of the central West Bank, on the northern border of the Jerusalem Governorate. Its district capital or ''muhfaza'' (seat) is the city of ...
in the northern
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 north of
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 south of the
Birzeit University Birzeit University () is a public university in the West Bank, Palestine, registered by the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs as a charitable organization. It is accredited by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Mini ...
. According to the 2017 census conducted by 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 ...
, it had a population of 2,237.


Location

Abu Qash is located north of
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 ...
. It is bordered by Surda and
Jifna Jifna (, ''Jifnâ'') is a State of Palestine, Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank of the State of Palestine, located north of Ramallah and north of Jerusalem. Jifna has retained a Christianity, ...
to the east, Bir Zeit to the north, Al-Zaytouneh 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 ...
to the west, and by Ramallah and Surda to the south.


History

Abu Qash was founded in the Ottoman period by settlers from
Beitunia Beitunia (), also Bitunya, is a Palestinian city located west of Ramallah and north of Jerusalem, in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate of Palestine, in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the ci ...
during the Qays–Yaman war. Earlier remains found at the site include two tombs dating to the
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 ...
period,Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 411 and sherds from both the Byzantine and
Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...
eras.


Ottoman era

Sherds from the early Ottoman era have also been found here. In 1838 it was noted by Edward Robinson 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, ''Abu Kush'', in ''Beni Harith'' district, north of Jerusalem. 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 ...
noted it as "A
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 ...
of about twenty houses, situated on a high hill, the slopes of which are partly covered with vines, olive trees and fig trees." An Ottoman village list of about 1870 indicated that the village had 25 houses and a population of 78, though the population count included men, only. It was further noted that it was located just west of Surda. 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 completed Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) and in 1880 for the soon abandoned Survey of Eastern Palestine. The ...
'' (SWP) described Abu Kush as: "a very 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 ...
, with a
well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
on the north, on an ancient road, with a few olives near." In 1896 the population of ''Abu Kusch'' was estimated to be about 204 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, the population of Abu Qash was 171 Muslims, increasing in the 1931 census to 246 inhabitants, in 49 houses.Mills, 1932,
47
/ref> In the 1945 statistics Abu Qash had a population of 300 Muslims, and a total land area of 4,751
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. 1,166 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land, 1,447 were for cereals, while 42 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. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950. In 1961, the population was 510.


Post-1967

Since 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, Abu Qash 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 ...
. After the 1995
Oslo II The Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, commonly known as Oslo II or Oslo 2, was a key and complex agreement in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. Because it was signed in Taba, Egypt, it is sometimes called the Taba Agr ...
accords, 99.8% of Abu Qash land was classified as Area B land and the remaining 0.2% as
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 ...
. Abu Qash Village profile
ARIJ, p. 17


References


Bibliography

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External links



*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 14
IAAWikimedia commons

Abu Qash Village (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)
Abu Qash Village profile
ARIJ
Abu Qash, aerial photo
ARIJ
Locality Development Priorities and Needs in Abu Qash Village
ARIJ {{Authority control Villages in the West Bank Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate Municipalities of Palestine