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Kafr Qaddum () is a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank, located 13 kilometers west of Nablus and 17 kilometers east of Qalqilya in the Qalqilya Governorate. Surrounding towns include Jit to the east and Hajjah to the south. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 3,280 inhabitants in 2017.
Kafr Qaddum's total land area consists of nearly 19,000 (about 8,000 under Palestinian civil administration and 11,000 under complete control). New Israeli military road on lands of Kafr Qaddum village Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem 2007-05-11 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. Closing of agricultural roads in Kafr Qaddum village Land Research Center 2007-02-07 Israel has expropriated roughly 2,500 dunams (618 acres) for the use of settlements nearby
'Israel’s Message to Troops Placing Explosives at Village: Don’t Worry, It’s Combat,' Haaretz 29 August 2020.
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. 170 villagers have been arrested by the IDF and constrained by military courts to pay fines collectively amounting to US$74,200.
In the second century, a large Samaritans 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. According to Benyamim Tsedaka, a Samaritan village called Kiriat 'Asfeh existed on village lands , and was home to the Surek and Naakon clans.
Two Temple menorah reliefs were also found at Kafr Qaddum.
The settlement continued to prosper until the Bilad al-Sham, and it seems that its Samaritan residents were forced to convert to Islam, and in part the settlement has survived continuously since.
In 1838, Kefr Kaddum was noted as a village located in the District of Jurat 'Amra, south of Nablus.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 127
In 1852, it was by noted Biblical scholar Edward Robinson on his travels in the region,
In 1870/1871 (1288 Anno Hegirae), an Ottoman census listed the village with a large population of 198 in the Nahiyah (sub-district) of Jamma'in al-Awwal, subordinate to Nablus 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 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."Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 163
In the 1945 statistics the population was 1,240, all Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 18 with 18,931 of land, 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, 2,945 dunams were for plantations or irrigated land, 7,184 for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 106 while 69 dunams were built-up (urban) land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 156
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 1,701 inhabitants.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 26
After the 1995 accords, 44.6% of village land was classified as Area B, while the remaining 55.4% was classified as Area C. Up until 2013 Israel had confiscated 2,031 dunums of village land for the Israeli settlements of Kedumim Zefon, Jit (Mitzpe Yishai), and Giv'at HaMerkaziz; presently all part of Kedumim. Kafr Qaddum Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 15
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.
People with origins in Kafr Qaddum have established or settled in communities in various locations, including Jab'a, Tammun, Iksal, Immatain, Kafr Zibad, Rafidiya, 'Attil, and Nablus.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
British Mandate period
In a 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Kufr Qaddum had a population of 874 inhabitants, all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Nablus, p. 24 increasing in the 1931 census to 963, again all Muslim, in 234 houses.Mills, 1932, p. 63
Jordanian era
In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Kafr Qaddum came under Jordanian rule.
1967–present
Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Kafr Qaddum has been under Israeli occupation.
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. 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.
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.
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.
Events
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.
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 Abraham Circumcision 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.
Demography
The inhabitants of Kafr Qaddum belong to various families, such as the Shteiwi, Jum'a, 'Obeid, Barham, Ali and 'Amer families.
Bibliography
(1977). 9783920405414, Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. . ISBN 9783920405414
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