Al-Khader
al-Khader | ||
---|---|---|
Governorate Bethlehem | | |
Government | ||
• Type | Municipality | |
• Head of Municipality | Ahmad Salah | |
Area | ||
• Total | 19,882 dunams (19.9 km2 or 7.7 sq mi) | |
Population (2017)[1] | ||
• Total | 11,960 | |
• Density | 600/km2 (1,600/sq mi) | |
Name meaning | "the [town] of Saint George"[2] |
Al-Khader (
Al-Khader was founded in the late 18th or early 19th century.[4] Its main landmarks are Solomon's Pools, the Murad Fortress (a Turkish Ottoman castle built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1617 to defend Solomon’s Pools, that today houses a Museum for Palestinian Culture and Heritage), the Monastery and Church of St. George, and Al-Hamadiyya Mosque.[5]
Name and St George tradition
Al-Khader, in Arabic literally "The Green One", is the modern name of the village, which was called "Casale S. Georgii" during the Crusader era.[6] It is named after Saint George – who in Arab culture is associated with the Muslim figure of al-Khadr, "the green one". According to local tradition, Saint George was imprisoned at the location the current Monastery and Church of St. George stand. Chains displayed inside the church are said to be the ones that held him while he was imprisoned, and are said to have healing power.[7]
History
Iron Age
In 1953, a hoard of at least twenty-six weapon-heads, either
Crusader period
During the Crusader era, the village, called Casale S. Georgii, was granted by Geoffrey de Tor to the church in Bethlehem, and included in its possessions in 1227 and 1266.[6]
Mamluk period
Around 1421/1422 CE the Church of St. George was mentioned by Western traveler John Poloner as situated on a hill near Bethlehem.[12][13]
Ottoman period
Al-Khader was founded as a subsidiary village of
British Mandate
In the British Mandate 1922 census of Palestine, al-Khader had a population of 697; 694 Muslims and 3 Christians.[20] By the 1931 census of Palestine, the population was 914, mostly Muslim with three Christian inhabitants.[21]
In the 1945 statistics the town had 1,130 Muslim inhabitants[22] and a total land area of 20,100 dunams. It was a part of the Jerusalem District.[23] Of the land, 5,700 dunams were irrigated or used for plantations, 5,889 dunams were for cereals,[24] while 96 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[25]
The Orthodox Christian Church owns several hundreds of dunams made up of vineyards, olive groves and field crops. The lands were entrusted to them since the
Jordanian period
In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, al-Khader came under Jordanian rule. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950.
In 1961, the population of al-Khader was 1,798.[27]
Post 1967
Since the Six-Day War in 1967, al-Khader has been under Israeli occupation. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 2,051.[28]
After the 1995 accords, 9% of al-Khader's land was classified as Area A land, 5.5% as Area B, and the remaining 85.5% as Area C.[29]
Israel has confiscated land from al-Khader in order to construct two
In 1997, the
Since the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier around al-Khader, several thousand dunams of farmland have been separated from the village, with the inhabitants unable to access them without a permit. In 2006, 50 villagers protested the barrier by filling bags with grapes and selling them along Route 60. Israeli soldiers and police attempted to quell protesters resulting in the injuries and detainment of two residents.[33]
In April 2015 villagers blocked work by settlers to create a bypass road for access to an illegal outpost, which, if completed, would alienate a further 400 dunams of village land.[34]
Geography and land
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Al-Khader.jpg/220px-Al-Khader.jpg)
The older part of al-Khader is situated on a saddle-shaped hill facing a steep ridge to the south and open areas to the north, in the central highlands of the West Bank.
Culture
Historical and religious sites
The Orthodox Christian Monastery and Church of St. George and Solomon's Pools are the town's main tourist attractions.[35] Al-Khader's main and oldest mosque is al-Hamadiyya Mosque. According to the International Middle East Media Center, in 2007, it was burned down by Israeli settlers. The mosque is about 700 years old and was restored by the Tourism Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority.[36]
Next to Solomon's Pools stands the town's Convention Palace, amidst restored historic ruins that include the Murad Fortress, a Turkish Ottoman castle built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1617 to defend Solomon’s Pools. The fortress also houses the Murad Castle Museum for Palestinian Culture and Heritage.[5][37]
Cultural festivals
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Al_Khader_stadium_outside.jpg/220px-Al_Khader_stadium_outside.jpg)
Al-Khader is also well known in the area for its peaches, grapes and apples. It hosts its annual
Government
Al-Khader is governed by a municipal council of thirteen members including the mayor. In the 2005 municipal elections, the Hamas-affiliated Reform list won the most seats (five), while the Fatah-affiliated Falasteen al-Ghad list won four seats. Two independent lists — Al-Aqsa and Abnaa al-Balad — each won two seats.[39]
References
- ^ a b Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 (PDF). Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (Report). State of Palestine. February 2018. pp. 64–82. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
- ^ or “The green old man”, Palmer, 1881, pp. 299, 28
- ^ Al-Khader Old Core. The Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation.
- ^ a b 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. 366
- ^ a b "Al Khader". Welcome To Palestine. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
- ^ a b Röhricht, 1893, RRH, pp. 258-260, No 983; cited in Pringle, 1993, pp. 295-296
- ].
- ISSN 0147-9342. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ S2CID 222445150.
- ^ )
- ISBN 0-691-02591-6.
- ^ Poloner, 1894, p. 18
- ^ a b c d Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 26
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, p. 325
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 123
- ^ Guérin, 1869, pp. 310-312
- ^ Socin, 1879, p. 149
- ^ Hartmann, 1883, p. 148
- ^ Schick, 1896, p. 125
- ^ Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Bethlehem, p. 18
- ^ Mills, 1932, p. 36
- ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 25
- ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 57 Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 103 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 153 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 0-8143-2909-8.
- ^ Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 23
- ^ Perlmann, Joel (November 2011 – February 2012). "The 1967 Census of the West Bank and Gaza Strip: A Digitized Version" (PDF). Levy Economics Institute. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
- ^ a b c Al Khader Town Profile, p. 20, ARIJ
- ^ Palestinian Population by Locality, Sex and Age Groups in Years Archived 2012-01-11 at the Wayback Machine Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).
- ^ Palestinian Population by Locality and Refugee Status Archived 2008-11-18 at the Wayback Machine Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).
- ^ 2017 PCBS Census Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
- ^ Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals `armed` with grapes arrested and beaten near Bethlehem Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine International Solidarity Movement. 2006-08-10.
- ^ 'Land threatened by settler outpost near Bethlehem,' Ma'an News Agency 11 April 2015.
- ^ al-Khader[permanent dead link] Centre of Cultural Heritage of Preservation.
- ^ Mosque near Bethlehem burned down by Israeli settlers Bannoura, Said, International Middle East Media Center. 2008-01-02. Archived January 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Sieger, Heiko (2015-02-03). "Murad Castle Museum for Palestinian Heritage". The Israel Guide. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
- ^ The Grape Festival[permanent dead link] Centre of Cultural Heritage of Preservation.
- ^ Local Elections (Round Three)- Successful lists by local authority and No. of votes obtained Archived 2008-10-31 at the Wayback Machine Central Elections Commission - Palestine, p.9.
Bibliography
- Barron, J.B., ed. (1923). Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Government of Palestine.
- Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
- Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics (1964). First Census of Population and Housing. Volume I: Final Tables; General Characteristics of the Population (PDF).
- Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics (1945). Village Statistics, April, 1945.
- Guérin, V. (1869). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). Vol. 1: Judee, pt. 3. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale.
- Hadawi, S. (1970). Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine. Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center. Archived from the original on 2018-12-08. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- Hartmann, M. (1883). "Die Ortschaftenliste des Liwa Jerusalem in dem türkischen Staatskalender für Syrien auf das Jahr 1288 der Flucht (1871)". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 6: 102–149.
- Mills, E., ed. (1932). Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine.
- Palmer, E.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
- Poloner, John (1894). John Poloner's description of the Holy Land (ca. A.D. 1421). Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society.
- ISBN 0-521-39036-2.
- Robinson, E.; Smith, E (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 2. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
- Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
- Röhricht, R. (1893). (RRH) Regesta regni Hierosolymitani (MXCVII-MCCXCI) (in Latin). Berlin: Libraria Academica Wageriana.
- Schick, C. (1896). "Zur Einwohnerzahl des Bezirks Jerusalem". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 19: 120–127.
- Socin, A. (1879). "Alphabetisches Verzeichniss von Ortschaften des Paschalik Jerusalem". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 2: 135–163.
External links
- Welcome To al-Khadr
- Al-Khader, Welcome to Palestine
- Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17: IAA, Wikimedia commons
- El-Khader - Bethlehem This Week in Palestine. 2008-12-05.
- Al Khader Town (Fact Sheet), Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem (ARIJ)
- Al Khader Town Profile, ARIJ
- Al Khader aerial photo, ARIJ
- The priorities and needs for development in Al Khader town based on the community and local authorities’ assessment, ARIJ