Halhul

Halhul
Other transcription(s)
• Arabic	حلحول
Municipal Seal of Halhul
Halhul Location of Halhul within the Palestinian territories
Coordinates: 31°34′44″N 35°05′57″E / 31.57889°N 35.09917°E / 31.57889; 35.09917Coordinates: 31°34′44″N 35°05′57″E / 31.57889°N 35.09917°E / 31.57889; 35.09917
Governorate	Hebron
Government
• Type	City
• Head of Municipality	Wajdi Melhem
Area
• Jurisdiction	37,335 dunams (37.3 km2 or 14.4 sq mi)
Population (2007)
• Jurisdiction	22,128
Website	www.halhul-city.ps

Halhul (Arabic: حلحول‎, transliteration: Halhûl) is a Palestinian city located in the southern West Bank, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of Hebron in the Hebron Governorate. The town is located on the highest peak of the Judean Mountains (1026 m above sea level). According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the city had a population of 22,108 mostly Muslim inhabitants in 2007.^[1]

According to medieval traditions (Jewish, Christian and Muslim), the graves of the biblical prophets Gad and Nathan are in Halhul, as well as a Muslim tradition that Jonah's grave is in this town. The burial sites had been designated in the list of Holy Places under Israeli rule, and now under the Palestinian Authority.

A small Israeli settlement Karmei Tzur is on the outskirts of Halhul, named after the Judean kingdom town Beth Zur, site of a Maccabeean victory, and later defeat. The town is surrounded by ancient burial caves, and is adjacent to the nearby archaeological site of Burgh e-Sur.

History

Ancient antiquity

According to the Bible, Halhul was a city in the tribal territory of Judah, located in the hill country near Beth-zur.^[2] Biblical scholar Edward Robinson identified the modern town with the "Halhul" mentioned in the Book of Joshua.^[3] John Kitto noted that the modern name is identical with the Hebrew given in the Bible, hence "the name has remained unchanged for more than 3,300 years."^[4]

Burgh e-Sur, an archaeological site on the border of the town, is considered the location of the Battle of Beth Zur the first successful battle of the Maccabees against the Selukians, (The Syrian Greek empire). The town of Beth Zur was later demolished by the Greeks, after the Battle of Beth Zechariah.

The archaeological digs at Burgh e-Sur found remnants of an ancient fortress city of the mid Bronze Age, presumably of the Egyptian Hyksos. The city was demolished during an Egyptian raid in the 17th century B.C. and was left in ruins for over 300 years. At the beginning of the Iron Age in the 11th century BC it was resettled by Israelites. The bible mentions Rehoboam refortifying the city. Around 1000 BC the city was abandoned and then slowly resettled until around 650 BC it was a bustling city. The city was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar I during his punitive pass through the Kingdom of Judah and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. The city is mentioned again in chronicles of battles between the Seleucid Empire and the Ptolemaic kingdom. It was fortified by Judah the Maccabee after his victory in the Battle of Beth Zur nearby. Following the removal of the Edomite threat by King Yohanan Hurkanus the town decayed. It was fortified again only 150 years later, during the Bar Kokhba revolt.^[5]

Because the Roman and Arab house foundations were dug deeply into ancient layers, many of the findings have been mixed up, and it is hard to determine and analyze the dig results. Much pottery emerged with Ancient Hebrew alphabet inscriptions most saying "To the king" and mentioning names of locations nearby. Handles with Jewish names inscribed in Greek have been found from the Helenistic period.^[6]

Also found were coins from the Persian period, with the Ancient Hebrew alphabet letters YHD, spelling Yehud, the name of the region (Yehud Medinata), and Yehizkiyahu – the name of the Jewish Peha, the region ruler. The modern New Israeli Shekel shape and inscription are modeled after these coins.^[7]

Middle ages

Chronicler Ali of Herat documented in 1173 CE, that while Halhul was a part of the Kingdom of Jerusalem of the Crusaders, it was a village in which the tomb of Yunis ibn Matta (Jonah son of Amittai) was located.^[8] Under the Ayyubids in 1226, a mosque with a minaret was constructed in the town.^[9] That same year, Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi visited Halhul, reporting that it lay between Hebron and Jerusalem and contained the tomb of Jonah.^[10] In the 14th-century, Jews were living in Halhul^[11] and Jewish traveler Isaac Chelo (1334) noted that the tomb of Gad the Seer was located there.^[3] For a time, the village served as a place of Jewish pilgrimage.^[4]

Ottoman era

Edward Robinson visited Halhul in 1838, describing its surroundings as "thrifty", with numerous fields, vineyards, cattle, and goats. He reported that it was the "head of its district" and that the old mosque was in poor condition and had a tall minaret from which many other villages could be seen.^[12]

British rule

In July 1939, during the Arab Revolt, the village was the site of an atrocity committed by the British Black Watch Regiment. In an attempt to force the villagers to give up weapons they were suspected of hiding, all the men in the village were imprisoned in a wire cage in the sun with little water.^[13] According to the British official Keith-Roach, after permission had been obtained, the officers

… instructed that they be kept there [in an open cage] and he gave them half a pint of water per diem. I saw the original order. The weather was very hot for it was summer. According to Indian Army Medical standards, four pints of water a day is the minimum that a man can live upon exposed to hot weather. After 48 hours treatment most of the men were very ill and eleven old and enfeebled ones died. I was instructed that no civil inquest should be held. Finally, the High Commissioner, MacMichael, decided compensation should be paid, and my Assistant and I assessed the damage at the highest rate allowed by the law, and paid out over three thousand pounds to the bereft families.^[13]

Some witnesses mentioned a second cage, either for women or a 'good' cage with adequate water for men who cooperated.^[13] A man who was driven by thirst to falsely claim to have hidden a gun down a well was killed when he failed to retrieve it.^[13]

Jordanian and Israeli rule

In 1948 after the founding of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and following the truce Israel, Halhul came under Jordanian rule, although Jordan had never officially annexed the west bank.

On 21 December 1953, the Israeli reparation Unit 101 (headed by Ariel Sharon) passed through Halhul's main street lead by Meir Har-Zion, reached Hebron and demolished a house, killing several soldiers from the national Jordanian guard. It was thought of as the unit's most daring mission.

In June 1967 during The Six Day War, Halhul was captured together with the rest of the West Bank.

In March 1979, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) enforced a curfew in Halhul lasting sixteen days. Two youths, one a young girl, were shot and killed by Jewish settlers while protesting during the curfew.^[14]

Palestinian control

In the Second Intifada, in February 2002, the IDF raided Halhul destroying its police station, several houses, and a machine shop suspected of manufacturing weapons for Palestinian militants.^[15]

The same month, a Palestinian Security Guards member was killed, during a shootout following an Israeli raid in Halhul, to arrest Islamic Jihad leader Murad Jelid and an assistant, Haled Zbarra, suspected of participating in sniper attacks on civilians.^[16]

In August 2003 Israeli police uncovered a large workhouse for fabricating forged drivers license and Israeli ID cards.^[17]

According to a Tel Aviv University report, from June 2005 a four man Jewish terrorist cell (who allegedly killed over 10 Palestinians) lead by a former Jewish Defense League senior member, had totally burnt down the mayor of Halhul's house. No one was injured in that incident.^[18]

On 24 March 2007 Israeli authorities demolished a house that did not have proper permits. The case was fought and reached the Israeli high courts, which kept the verdict. Demonstrations ensued.^[19]

On 11 November 2007 the Arab chief of police at Halhul was shot and fatally wounded by Hamas attackers, who escaped. The chief of police was treated at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem.

The town reached headlines again in October 2010 when Israeli police found a stash of large tractors stolen from southern Israeli villages near Beer Sheva.

Oמ 23 September 2011 a Asher Palmer, a Jewish man and his baby son Jonathan were killed by stones thrown at their car, at the entrance to Halhul, while driving on the main road.^[20] For several days the police and media claimed it was a car accident, while the family and Jewish settlers claimed the police was doing a cover-up for political reasons. But on 6 October the Shabak revealed that the murderers, two residents of Halhul, were found.^[21]

On December 2011 the UNDP decided to assist in establishing a mental health center in Halhul.^[22]

On 9 June 2012 members of a Halhul based music band played at the Hennebont cultural center in an attempt to receive a stance as Twin city with it.^[23]

On the last day of Operation Pillar of Defence, on 20 November 2012, a Halhul resident was killed during protests, according to the IDF in an attempt to attack soldiers.^[24]

Geography

It is built atop Mount Nabi Yunis, the highest peak in the West Bank at 1,030 meters above sea level. The city has a land area of 37,335 dunams.^[25]

Demographics

In 1922, Halhul had a population of 1,927, rising to 2,523 in a 1931 British Mandate census.^[26] According to Sami Hadawi's 1945 land and population survey, Halhul had a recorded population of 3,380 Arabs.^[27] While a part of Jordan, in 1961, there were 5,387 residents. Under the Israelis, in censuses taken in 1982 and 1987, Halhul had a population of 6,040 and 9,800, respectively.^[26]

According to the first census by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) in 1997, of the total 15,663 residents, 1,686 (10.8%) were Palestinian refugees.^[28] The gender makeup was 51.4% male and 48.6% female. About 54.7% of the inhabitants were below the age of 20, 41.2% were between the ages of 20 and 64, and 0.4% were over the age of 64.^[29]

Government

In the latest municipal elections in Halhul in 2004, held by Palestinian National Authority, 13 council members were elected to replace the very long-serving council headed by Mohammed Milhim. The newly elected council members elected engineer Raed al-Atrash who, managed to restructure the municipality and introduce new faces to the serving staff. After Atrash's resignation, the council elected deputy Ziad Abu Yousef as the new mayor. The council has two women in the female seats.^[30]

Notable People

• Ali Abu Awwad, peace activist and pacifist.

References

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Halhul.

External links

• www.halhul-city.ps
• Halhul Town (Fact Sheet)
• Halhul Town Profile
• Halhul Town Areal Photo
• Nebbi Yunas photo (black and white) by Nissim Krispil
• The priorities and needs for development in Halhul town based on the community and local authorities’ assessment
• images of Halhul town in the 1920's
• Fi Filastin: Madinat Halhul. A video showing the ancient remnants and beautiful nature surrounding Halhul, and complaining against the remains of past Israeli presence. (Arabic)
• Driving through Halhul video on YouTube
• Halhul panoramic video including a bit on recent history. From a house in Halhul you can see The Dead Sea, Hebron, Kiryat Arba, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv Jaffa and Gaza.
• Israeli rubbish sold at Halhul flea market. About the financial situation in the Middle East as seen in Halhul (YouTube, Israel TV, Arabic with Hebrew narration and subtitles)
• April 2009 activities of Taayush for tilling land near Karmei Tzur.

v t e Cities in Palestinian National Authority areas West Bank Abu Dis Arraba Bani Na'im Beit Sahour Beit Jala Beit Ummar Beitunia Bethlehem al-Bireh ad-Dhahiriya Dura al-Eizariya Halhul Hebron Idhna Jenin Jericho Nablus Qabatiya Qalqilyah al-Ram Ramallah Sa'ir Salfit as-Samu Tarqumiya Tubas Tulkarm Ya'bad al-Yamun Yatta *Gaza Strip Abasan al-Kabera Bani Suheila Beit Hanoun Beit Lahia Deir al-Balah Gaza Jabalia Khan Yunis Rafah az-Zawayda *Since June 2007, the Gaza Strip has been under de facto Hamas governance.

v t e Hebron Governorate Cities Bani Na'im ad-Dhahiriya Dura Halhul Hebron (al-Khalil) Idhna Sa'ir as-Samu Tarqumiyah Yatta Towns Beit Awwa Beit Kahil Beit Ula Beit Ummar Deir Sammit Kharas Nuba ash-Shuyukh Surif Taffuh Villages Anab al-Kabir Arab al-Fureijat Arab al-Ka'abneh Beit 'Amra Beit Einun Beit Maqdum Beit Mirsim Beit ar-Rush al-Fauqa Beit ar-Rush al-Tahta al-Baqa al-Bowereh al-Burj al-Buweib Deir al-'Asal al-Fauqa Deir al-'Asal al-Tahta Deir Razih ad-Deirat ad-Duwwara Fuqeiqis Hadab al-Alaqa Hadab al-Fawwar Hamrush al-Heila Hitta Hureiz Imneizil Imreish Jala Karma al-Karmil Khallet Edar Khallet al-Aqed Khalet al-Maiyya Khallet al-Masafer Khashem al-Daraj Khallet Salih Kheroshewesh Wal Hadedeyah Khirbet ad-Deir Khirbet Safa Khirbet Salama Khirbat al-Simia Khirbet Tawil ash-Shih Khirbet Zanuta Khursa al-Kum Kurza Kuseis Ma'in al-Majd Marah al-Baqqar Masafer Yatta an-Najada Qalqas Qla'a Zeta Qila Rabud al-Ramadin ar-Rihiya Sahel Wadi Elma Sikka Shuyukh al-Arrub as-Sura at-Tabaqa Tarrama at-Tuwani al-Uddeisa Umm Ashoqan Umm al-Butm Umm al-Khair, Hebron Umm Lasafa Wadi al-Amayer Wadi al-Kilab Wadi ash-Shajina Wadi Ubeid Zif Refugee camps al-Arroub Fawwar