Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
village located in the
Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate
The Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate ( ar, محافظة رام الله والبيرة ') 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 distr ...
in the northern
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
Birzeit University
Birzeit University (BZU; ar, جامعة بيرزيت) is a public university in the West Bank, in the State of Palestine, registered by the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs as charitable organization. It is accredited by the Ministry of Hi ...
. According to the
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS; ar, الجهاز المركزي للإحصاء الفلسطيني) is the official
statistical institution of the State of Palestine. Its main task is to provide credible statistical figures a ...
, it had a population of approximately 1,404 in 2007.
Location
Abu Qash is located north of Ramallah. It is bordered by
Surda
Surda ( ar, سرده) is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located northeast of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 1,031 in ...
and
Jifna
Jifna ( ar, جفنا, ''Jifnâ'') is a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank, located north of Ramallah and north of Jerusalem. A village of about 1,400 people, Jifna has retained a Christian ...
to the east,
Bir Zeit
Birzeit ( ar, بيرزيت), also Bir Zeit, is a Palestinian Christian town north of Ramallah, in the central West Bank. Its population in the 2007 census was 4,529. Birzeit is the home to Birzeit University and to the Birzeit Brewery.
Locatio ...
to the north, Al-Zaytouneh and Ramallah to the west, and by Ramallah and Surda to the south.
History
Two tombs, dating to the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...
era have been located here.Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 411Sherds from the Byzantine and
Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') i ...
eras have been found here.
Ottoman era
Sherds from the early Ottoman era have also been found here. In 1838 it was noted by Edward Robinson as a Muslim village, ''Abu Kush'', in ''Beni Harith'' district, north of Jerusalem.
In 1863
Victor Guérin
Victor Guérin (15 September 1821 – 21 Septembe 1890) was a French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included Greece, Asia Min ...
noted it as "A
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...
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
Surda ( ar, سرده) is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located northeast of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 1,031 in ...
.
In 1882 the
PEF PEF, PeF, or Pef may stand for the following abbreviations:
* Palestine Exploration Fund
* Peak expiratory flow
* PEF Private University of Management Vienna
* Pentax raw file (see Raw image format)
* Perpetual Education Fund
* Perpetual Emigratio ...
'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 Survey of Western Palestine and in 1880 for the Survey of Eastern Palestine. The survey was carried out after th ...
'' (SWP) described Abu Kush as: "a very small
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...
, with a
well
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground 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. T ...
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 dunams. 1,166 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land, 1,447 were for cereals, while 42 dunams were built-up areas.
1949 Armistice Agreements
The 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt,Jordanian 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 (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 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, S ...
in 1967, Abu Qash has been under
Israeli occupation
Israeli-occupied territories are the lands that were captured and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. While the term is currently applied to the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights, it has also been used to refer ...
.
After the 1995 Oslo II accords, 99.8% of Abu Qash land was classified as
Area B
The Palestinian enclaves are areas in the West Bank designated for Palestinians under a variety of U.S. and Israeli-led proposals to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The enclaves are often compared to the nominally self-governing black ...
Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem
The Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ; ar, معهد الابحاث التطبيقية - القدس) is a Palestinian NGO founded in 1990 with its main office in Bethlehem in the West Bank. ARIJ is actively working on research proje ...