Kafr Laqif () is a Palestinian village in the Qalqilya Governorate in the western West Bank, located 22 kilometers southwest of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 1,039 inhabitants in 2017.
Location
Kafr Laqif is located (horizontally) east of
Qalqiliya. It is bordered by Hajja to the east,
Wadi Qana to the south, ‘
Azzun to the west, and
Jayyous and
Baqat al-Hatab to the north.
[
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History
Byzantine-period ceramics have been found there.[Dauphin (1998), p. 801.]
Ottoman period
Kafr Laqif, like all of Palestine, was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517, and in the 1596 Defter it was part of the nahiya ("subdistrict") of Bani Sa'b, itself part of the larger Sanjak of Nablus. It had a population of 15 households, all . The inhabitants paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues and a fixed tax for people of Nablus area; a total of 10,740 akçe. 37.5% of the revenue went to a Waqf.[Hütteroth and Abdulfattah (1977), p. 140.]
In 1838, Robinson noted Kefr Lakif as a Muslim village in the Beni Sa'ab district, west of Nablus.[Robinson and Smith (1841), vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 127.]
In 1870/71 (Anno Hegirae 1288), an Ottoman census listed the village in the nahiya (sub-district) of Bani Sa'b.
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Kefr Lekif as resembling Kafr Jammal, that is: "a small stone village on a knoll, with cisterns."[Conder and Kitchener (1882), p. 165.]
British Mandate
In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Kufr Laqef had a population of 95 ,[Barron (1923), Table IX, Sub-district of Nablus, p. 25.] increasing in the 1931 census to 141 Muslims, in 27 houses.[Mills (1931), p. 62.]
In the 1945 statistics the population of Kafr Laqif was 210 Muslims,[Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 18.] while the total land area was 2,854 , according to an official land and population survey.[Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi (1970), p. 60.] Of this, 477 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 840 for cereals,[Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi (1970), p. 106.] while 19 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.[Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi (1970), p. 156.]
Jordanian period
In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Kafr Laqif came under Jordanian rule.
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 304 inhabitants.[Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 26.]
Post 1967
During the Six-Day War in 1967, Kafr Laqif came under Israeli occupation.
After the 1995 accords, 28.2% of village land is classified as Area B land, while the remaining 71.8% is classified as Area C land. The Israelis have expropriated land in Kafr Laqif for its settlements, most notably Karne Shomron and its environs. In addition, according to the plans, (as of 2007) the Israeli West Bank barrier will isolate 657 dunums (22.8% of the village's total area) on the western Israeli side of the wall.[ARIJ (2013), Kafr Laqif Village Profile, pp. 17-18.]
Archaeology
Remains of a classical-era structure known locally as el-Burj are located on the northeastern heights of Kafr Laqif. The surviving portion includes a wall approximately 10 meters long and up to 4–5 meters high, built with drafted masonry indicative of a sizable and prominent building. Adjacent to the structure is a vaulted cellar constructed from dressed stone.[Dar (1986), p. 223.] Second Temple-period Rock-cut tomb have been identified on the same hill slope. Archaeological findings from the site include remains from the Early Iron Age, Hellenistic, and Herodian kingdom periods.
Bibliography
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