| Kafr Qasim | |
|---|---|
| Hebrew transcription(s) | |
| • Hebrew | כַּפְר קָסִם, כפר קאסם |
| • ISO 259 | Kpar Qásim, Kpar Qáˀsem |
| • Also spelled | Kafar Qasem (official) Kufur Kassem (unofficial) |
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | كفر قاسم |
| Monument in Kafr Qasim to the victims of the massacre in 1956. | |
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Kafr Qasim
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| Coordinates: | |
| District | Center |
| Founded | 19th century |
| Government | |
| • Type | City (from 2008) |
| • Mayor | Sami Issa |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9,154 dunams (9.2 km2 / 3.5 sq mi) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 18,700 |
Kafr Qasim (Arabic: كفر قاسم, also known as Kafr Qassem, Kufur Kassem, Kfar Kassem and Kafar Kassem), is a hill-top Israeli Arab city located about twenty kilometers east of Tel Aviv, near the Green Line separating Israel and the West Bank, on the southern portion of the "Little Triangle" of Arab-Israeli towns and villages. The town became notorious for the Kafr Qasim massacre, in which the Israel Border Police killed 48 civilians on October 29, 1956. On February 12, 2008, the Israeli Minister of the Interior declared Kafr Qasim a city in a ceremony held at the town.
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The town's area was populated in ancient times, with archaeological ruins dating back to Roman times. The modern town was founded in the 17th century by inhabitants of the nearby village Mes'ha. In 1917, during World War I, Kafr Qasim (together with the rest of the area) was captured from the ruling Ottoman Empire by the British Army and was later placed under the British Mandate of Palestine. Kafr Qasim is known as the village where the Israeli military advances came to a halt in the central part of Palestine during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. In 1949, Israel annexed the town in accordance with the armistice agreements, which ended the war.
Kafr Qasim became known because of the massacre that was committed by the Israel border police (MAGAV) on October 29, 1956, during which 49 civilians were shot dead. This massacre remains an open wound between the villagers and rest of the Israeli society. In 1959, the town was granted local council status by the Israeli Interior Ministry.
In recent years, the town became known as the place where Sheikh Abdullah Nimar Darwish started the Islamic Movement. Israeli parliamentarian Sheikh Ibrahim Sarsur, a native of Kafr Qasim, served for a decade on the town council and heads the southern faction of the Islamic Movement of Israel since 1999. In 2008, it was announced that Kafr Qasim could soon become a city.[1]
At the time of the 1931 census, Kafr Qasim had 241 occupied houses and a population of 989 Muslims.[2]
According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had 18,100 mostly Muslim inhabitants at the end of 2007.[3] There are 936 females for every 1,000 males. The population increases at an annual rate of 2.7%.
The social-economic rank of the town is relatively low (3 out of 10). Only 50.2% of 12th graders were eligible for graduation (Bagrut) certificates in 2000. The average monthly wage in 2000 was 3,633 NIS, as opposed to the national average of 6,835 NIS at that time.
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