| Qarawat Bani Hassan | |
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| Other transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | قراوة بني حسان |
| • Also spelled | Qarawet Bani Hassan (official) Qarawat Bani Hasan (unofficial) |
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Qarawat Bani Hassan
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| Coordinates: | |
| Governorate | Salfit |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Village Council |
| • Head of Municipality | 'Abd al-Majid Mari[1] |
| Area | |
| • Jurisdiction | 9,684 dunams (9.7 km2 / 3.7 sq mi) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Jurisdiction | 3,700 |
| Name meaning | "Hospitality of the Hassan tribe" |
Qarawat Bani Hassan (Arabic: قراوة بني حسان) is a Palestinian town in the Salfit Governorate, located thirty kilometers southwest of Nablus and seven kilometers northwest of Salfit in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of over 3,700 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.[2]
Its total land area is 9,684 dunams, of which 507 dunams is built-up area. Since the 1995 Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, 10.7% of its municipal jurisdiction is under the civil administration of the Palestinian National Authority and the security of Israel, while 89.2% is under complete Israeli control.[3]
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Qarawat Bani Hassan contains the remains of an old Roman castle and Roman and Byzantium tombs. Amr ibn al-A'as, a prominent Arab commander of the Rashidun army, was said to have been injured in the village. According to local tradition, a tree was planted on the spot where his blood was spilled. The story was written up in the village history in the year 1919.[4] Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi in 1226, visited Qarawat Bani Hassan, stating it was "a village in the District of Nablus."[5]
Qarawat Bani Hassan was later founded in 1948, after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Initially, at the beginning of the conflict, some residents of the Arab town of Kafr Bara fled to the further part of Kafr Bara's lands. There they established a new town.[6]
Prior to the Second Intifada, about 50% of the Qarawat Bani Hassan's residents of working age were employed. About 40% worked in Israel and 10% in other work inside the village. Today, 10% of the working population worked in agriculture, 10% in Israeli settlements, and 10% as traders and store merchants.[4]
Primary agricultural products include olives, wheat, almonds, figs. Olive oil is the main product and the village produces an average of 102,000 litres of oil per year. Its inhabitants mostly export to Jordan.[4]
Qarawat Bani Hassan is governed by a village council of nine members. Each three members represent one of the three families of the village: 'Asi, Mar'ai and Rayan. Local elections do not take place, but family heads select their representatives. Israel is in charge of security affairs and the Palestinian National Authority is responsible for civil affairs of the village. However, agricultural land is under the complete control of Israel.[4]
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