| Umm ar-Rihan | |
|---|---|
| Other transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | أم الريحان |
| • Also spelled | Khirbet Umm ar-Rihan (official) |
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Umm ar-Rihan
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| Coordinates: | |
| Governorate | Jenin |
| Government | |
| • Type | Village Council |
| Population (2007)[1] | |
| • Jurisdiction | 370 |
| Name meaning | "Mother of Basil" |
Umm ar-Rihan (Arabic: أم الريحان, meaning "Mother of Basil"; also transliterated Umm Rihan or Um al-Rehan) is a Palestinian village of 370 inhabitants located high on the northwestern hills of the Jenin Governorate, 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) from Jenin.[2] It is one of a number of Palestinian villages that are now located within enclaves in the Seam Zone[2]
Umm ar-Rihan is one of seven villages that form part of the Barta'a enclave,[3] which is named for the enclave's largest town: eastern Barta'a (pop. 3,500).[4]
In Roman times, the town of Umm ar-Rihan covered an area of 36-40 hectares, consisting of approximately a hundred houses, a road system, and a Roman bathhouse.[5] Archaeological artifacts dating back to Byzantine times have also been uncovered there.[6]
The wood near the village is site of a memorial to early Palestinian militant leader Izz ad-Din al-Qassam of the Black Hand, killed in a gunfight with the British Palestine Police Force.[7]
Under the 1947 United Nations partition plan for Palestine, Umm ar-Rihan was to form part of an Arab Palestinian state. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Umm ar-Rihan fell under de facto Jordanian occupation like other towns and villages in the West Bank, and after the 1967 Six-Day War, under Israeli occupation.
On August 27, 1998, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) used bulldozers to uproot thousands of fruits trees on tens of dunums of land belonging to Umm ar-Rehan and az-Zawiya villages to prepare the ground for the construction of two new settlements.[8] On October 10, 2000, more land belonging to Umm ar-Rehan was bulldozed to expand the Shaked and Hinnanit settlements.[8][9]
In the months following the outbreak of the Second Intifada, Israeli checkpoints were erected on the eastern and southern roads to nearby Tura al-Gharbiya and Ya'bad, limiting access to the rest of the West Bank; the checkpoints were preserved as crossings in the Israeli West Bank barrier. Umm ar-Rihan's location in area east of the Green Line and west of the Israeli West Bank barrier is often referred to as the "Seam Zone".[2]
Umm ar-Rihan is under the Palestinian National Authority's civil administration as per the Oslo Accords. There is one primary school run by the PNA, but no secondary school, clinic or other medical facilities.[2] Um ar-Rehan residents can access the clinic in Barta'a Sharqiyya by way of an unpaved road.[4] The 4,700 people who live in the Barta'a area enclave depend on this government clinic which has a pharmacy and also offers counseling on health awareness, but lacks medical specialists, laboratory testing and family planning services.[4]
The main terminal to enter and exit the Barta'a Sharqiya-Um ar-Rehan enclave is Imreiha (Reikhan).[10] In November 2004, it was open between 6am and 10am to Palestinians with green permits only.[10] In August 2006, it was open between 7am and 9am between which times Israeli goods and produce enter the enclave area.[11] Produce from the village for export to Israel is sent out only with prior coordination with the Israeli authorities.[11]
On 30 April 2004, armed Israeli settlers entered the village and fired shots in the air before briefly taking over the primary school.[12] They threatened to "expel" the Palestinians, urging them to go to nearby Ya'bad on the other side of the separation barrier.[12] An official from the Education Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority and villager Faruat Zaid said they tried to contact the IDF about the raid, but there had been no response.[12] Both the IDF and police said they had been unaware of the incident.[12]
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