Kafr Qaddum's total land area consists of nearly 19,000 dunams (about 8,000 under Palestinian civil administration and 11,000 under complete Israeli control).[4] Its built-up area consists of 529 dunams. Olive groves make up 80% of the remaining land, 15% is used for vegetation purposes, and 5% are planted crops.[5] Israel has expropriated roughly 2,500 dunams (618 acres) for the use of settlements nearby[6]
Since 2011, residents have regularly protested the Israeli blockade of their village, and through to 2020, 100 members of the community, including 6 minors, have been shot and wounded by Israeli troops.[6] 170 villagers have been arrested by the IDF and constrained by military courts to pay fines collectively amounting to US$74,200.[6]
According to archaeological evidence, Kafr Qaddum has been inhabited since the Early Bronze Age. On the hill south of the village is the archeological site of Khirbet 'Asafeh which was part of one settlement that spread over several hills in the area. In 1979, an archaeological excavation was conducted at the site and remains from the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Persian and Hellenistic periods were discovered. Moreover, remains from the Roman period were discovered at the site, including several structures and a kokhim-style tomb.[8]
In the second century, a large Samaritan settlement was built on the site, which existed for centuries. It was mainly stone-built dwellings, according to Roman building tradition. Its inhabitants engaged in agriculture, mainly growing olives for oil. Three ancient olive presses were discovered near the village. A destruction layer found in a number of buildings from the end of the fifth century is probably related to the Samaritan revolts.[9] According to Benyamim Tsedaka, a Samaritan village called Kiriat 'Asfeh existed on village lands, and was home to the Surek and Naakon clans.[10]
Two menorah reliefs were also found at Kafr Qaddum.[11]
The settlement continued to prosper until the early Islamic period, and it seems that its Samaritan residents were forced to convert to Islam, and in part the settlement has survived continuously since.[12]
Ottoman era
Kafr Qaddum appeared in 1596 Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Jabal Qubal of the Liwa of Nablus. It had a population of 19 households and 2 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid taxes on wheat, barley, summer crops, olives, and goats or beehives, and a press for olives or grapes; a total of 4,700 Akçe.[13]
In 1838, Kefr Kaddum was noted as a village located in the District of Jurat 'Amra, south of Nablus.[14]
In 1852, it was by noted Biblical scholar Edward Robinson on his travels in the region,[1]
In 1870/1871 (1288 AH), an Ottoman census listed the village with a large population of 198 households in the nahiya (sub-district) of Jamma'in al-Awwal, subordinate to Nablus[15] and in 1882 the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) the village (called Kefr Kaddum) was described as "A good-sized village on low ground, with wells and olives; it has a watch-tower on the side of the chalk hill rising over it on the east, and is supplied by wells; the houses are of stone."[16]
In the 1945 statistics the population was 1,240, all Muslims,[19] with 18,931 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[20] Of this, 2,945 dunams were for plantations or irrigated land, 7,184 for cereals,[21] while 69 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[22]
Since 2003, the road between Kafr Qaddum and Nablus is blocked thus elongating the travel distance by 14 km. Since July 2011, weekly demonstrations have been held in a demand to re-open the road.
Land issues
In the Mitzpe Yishai neighborhood of Kedumim, there are accusations that the Israelis have improperly taken control of private Palestinian land. The Israeli Civil Administration calls it "theft", though it occurred in an "orderly manner", but without any official authorization.[25]
Main entrance
In 2003, the Israeli military closed the main entrance of the village that connects it to Nablus with a permanent roadblock, in addition, a dirt mound was put one kilometer before the roadblock, isolating one family house which made it unreachable by vehicles. In 2010, after waiting for five years for an Israeli court decision, it was ruled that the roadblock is illegal, but the court also stated that the road is "too dangerous to travel" so the road remained blocked.
Protest march in Kafr Qaddum against road block, August 2022
The roadblock makes it difficult for people to reach their farmlands because they are prohibited from driving, so they must walk on foot and carry their equipment and harvest. It also delays the fifteen minute journey to Nablus to forty minutes.[26][27]
Events
In 2012, an Israeli soldier was under investigation for the theft of a large sum of money and gold from during a raid against a resident of Kafr Qaddum.[28]
On 2 January 2014, 85-year-old Saeed Jaser Alim became the "first Palestinian casualty of conflict with Israel in 2014; he died following a clash with Israeli soldiers at Kafr Qaddum near Nablus". Villagers say Israeli soldiers fired teargas canisters at them, one of which entered his home, and he subsequently died.[29]
In January 2014, a large force of Israeli soldiers entered the village in the middle of the night, seeking "two wanted men", who turned out to be two boys, aged 11 and 13. As they were leaving, they threw stun grenades into the yards of the homes they passed.[30]
In December 2014, Bashar Saleh was shot in the leg while standing with his camera in a group of journalists.[6]
In October 2015 Ahmed Tala’at, a photographer, was shot in the backside while standing with a group of journalists, armed only with his cameras and a gasmask.[6]
Muayyed Shteiwi, a nurse, who brandishes a Palestinian flag at demonstrations, was shot near the groin and in the back when, hearing noises of confrontation, he left the yard of a mosque to observe what was happening.[6]
In March 2016 an Israeli border policeman shot Khaled Shteiwi/Shatawi (11) in the leg. When an adult villager came to assist him, he too was shot by another soldier.[6]
On 12 July 2019, Abd el-Rahman Shatawi, aged 9, was shot in the head with a live bullet by an Israeli sniper posted 100 metres away while watching a demonstration that was taking place 200 metres from his friend's home. He has since been confined to a wheelchair.[6][31][32]
30 January 2020 No demonstrations took place that day when Mohammed Shteiwi/Shatawi (14), hiding in a grove when soldiers arrived, took a head shot from a soldier firing a plastic-coated metal bullet at close range. He had peeked out to check out what was going on, and now lies in a vegetative state.[6][32]
In August 2020, Israeli placed three boxes containing explosive devices in the village.[33] One of them was found by a child and lightly injured an adult when he shook it.[33] An army source said that the boxes were placed "for deterrence".[33]
Economy
Prior to the Second Intifada, about 50% of the Kafr Qaddum's economy depended on work in Israel as the primary source of income, 20% depended on agriculture and animal raising, while 30% depended on jobs in private and public sectors. After 2002, over 75% of the population became jobless as business became the only other alternative for income generation. Emigration has registered a record level during the past two years, ranging between 10-15% of the total population.[5]
Maqam al-Khalil
In the old core of the village, located in its western part near the ancient mosque, stands a sacred structure named Maqam al-Khalil. Inside this site is a cave that leads further down to a lower cave below. The structure also features a raised platform. According to local tradition, this place is believed to be the very place where the prophet Abrahamcircumcised himself. It is said that the name of the village itself, Qaddum, derives from the Arabic word for "axe" - referring to the tool used for Abraham's circumcision at this spot.[34]
Demography
The inhabitants of Kafr Qaddum belong to various families, such as the Shteiwi, Jum'a, 'Obeid, Barham, Ali and 'Amer families.[7]
^שטרן, אפרים; מגן, יצחק (1982). "מכלול של כלי-חרס מן התקופה הפרסית מקדום שבשומרון" [Pottery from the Persian Period from Qaddum, Samaria]. ארץ-ישראל - מחקרים בידיעת הארץ ועתיקותיה (in Hebrew). ספר ט"ז: 182–197.
^מגן, יצחק (1984). "קדום - אתר שומרוני מן התקופה הרומית-ביזאנטית" [Qaddum, a Samaritan site of the Roman-Byzantine period]. קדמוניות (in Hebrew). טז (168): 62–63.
^דר, שמעון (2002). "עדויות ארכאולוגיות למרידות השומרונים בתקופה הביזנטית" [Archaeological evidence of the Samaritan revolts in the Byzantine period]. In שטרן, אפרים; אשל, חנן (eds.). ספר השומרונים [Book of Samaritans] (in Hebrew). ירושלים: יד יצחק בן-צבי, רשות העתיקות. p. 431. ISBN9789652172020.
^Ha'aretz 17 March 2008 Court case reveals how settlers illegally grab West Bank lands By Meron Rapoport Zeev Mushinsky, the "land coordinator" at the Kedumim local council, testified as to how it works: Council employees, Mushinsky in this case, would map the "abandoned lands" around the settlements, even if they were outside the council's jurisdiction, with the aim of taking them over. The council would "allocate" the lands to settlers, who would sign an official form stating that they have no ownership claim on them, and that the council is entitled to evict them whenever it sees fit, in return for compensating them solely for their investment in cultivating the land. Kedumim's former security chief, Michael Bar-Neder, testified that the land "allocation" was followed by an effort to expand the settlement. Bar-Neder said that once the settlers seized the lands, an application would be made to the military commander to declare them state-owned, since under the law covering the West Bank, anyone who does not cultivate his land for three years forfeits ownership of it.
^Tal, Uri (2023). Muslim Shrines in Eretz Israel: History, Religion, Traditions, Folklore. Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi. pp. 125–6. ISBN978-965-217-452-9.
^Grossman, D. (1986). "Oscillations in the Rural Settlement of Samaria and Judaea in the Ottoman Period". in Shomron studies. Dar, S., Safrai, S., (eds). Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House. p. 353
