Kafr Ein
| Kafr Ein | |
|---|---|
| Other transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | كفر عين |
| • Also spelled |
Kafr 'Ayn (official) Kufur Ain (unofficial) |
 | |
  Kafr Ein | |
| Coordinates: 32°02′54″N 35°07′12″E / 32.04833°N 35.12000°ECoordinates: 32°02′54″N 35°07′12″E / 32.04833°N 35.12000°E | |
| Governorate | Ramallah & al-Bireh |
| Government | |
| • Type | Village Council |
| • Head of Municipality | Mohammed Rifa' |
| Area | |
| • Jurisdiction | 25,000 dunams (25 km2 or 10 sq mi) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Jurisdiction | 1,743 |
| Name meaning | "The Village of the Spring"[1] |
Kafr Ein (Arabic: كفر عين) is a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located northwest of Ramallah in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Kafr Ein had a population of 1,743 inhabitants in 2007.[2] Most of the village's population comes from 4 clans: Rifa', Abu Kharma, Daghrah, Barghouti and Rafati.[3]
History
Kafr Ein is transliterated as "spring village". The village contains ten springs and ten reservoirs, one of which was recently damaged.
It is believed that there is an ancient site at the top of a local mountain known as Haraek. Haraek is believed to contain a church and a mosque. According to local legend, the site was destroyed during the Crusades and the single villager who survived its destruction came down to found Kafr Ein.[4]
Kafr Ein was ruled by the Barghouti family throughout the later half of Ottoman rule of Palestine, located within the sheikhdom of Bani Zeid. It produced 52 qintars of olive oil annual, exporting it to Jerusalem or Nablus mainly for traditional soap-making.[5]
The French explorer Victor Guérin passed by the village in 1870, and noted that it "did not seem very considerable."[6] In 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described "Kefr Ain" as a "small hamlet on a hill-slope, supplied by the Ain Matrun, in the valley south-west."[7]
In a census conducted in 1922 by the British Mandate authorities, the village, called Kufr 'Ain, had a population of 376, all Muslims.[8]
In 1945 the population was 550, all Arabs, while the total land area was 7,145 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[9] Of this, 4,928 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 724 for cereals,[10] while 19 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[11]
Economy
Historically, like most Palestinian villages, Kafr Ein's inhabitants worked mostly as farmers and traders. Prior to the Second Intifada, around 10% of the village's residents worked in Israel. Kafr Ein's main cash crop is olives. However, lentils, grains and vegetables are also grown. There are an estimated 200 sheep and goats in the village.[4]
In 1980, electricity was connected to Kafr Ein. There are ten shops and a school in the village, as well another shared with Qarawat Bani Zeid. Many residents receive aid from the Red Cross and the UNRWA.[4]
Government
Kafr Ein is governed by a village council. The council is made up of six residents who represent the four major families. The current mayor, Mohammed Rifa' was appointed by the Palestinian National Authority in 1998.[4]
References
- ↑ Palmer, 1881, p. 230
- ↑ 2007 PCBS Census. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. p.112.
- ↑ Welcome To Kafr 'Ayn: Palestinian families Amban Rifa'. (Arabic)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Kafr Ein Village Profile International Women's Peace Service
- ↑ Singer, Amy. (1994). Cambridge University Press, pp.78-79.
- ↑ Guérin, 1875, p.150
- ↑ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, p. 290
- ↑ J. B. Barron, ed. (1923). Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Government of Palestine. Table VII, Sub-district of Ramallah, p. 16.
- ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in S. Hadawi, Village Statistics, 1945. PLO Research Center, 1970, p. 65
- ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in S. Hadawi, Village Statistics, 1945. PLO Research Center, 1970, p. 112
- ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in S. Hadawi, Village Statistics, 1945. PLO Research Center, 1970, p. 162
Bibliography
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kafr Ein. |
- Conder, Claude Reignier; Kitchener, H. H. (1882). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology 2. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
- Guérin, Victor (1875). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine. Vol 2; Samarie, pt. 2.
- Hadawi, Sami (1970), Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine, Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center
- E. Mills, 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.
External links
- Welcome To Kafr 'Ayn
- 'Ein_vp_en.pdf Kafr 'Ein (Fact Sheet), ARIJ
- '_Ein_vp_en.pdf Kafr 'Ein (Village profile), ARIJ
- 'Ein_ap_en.jpg Kafr 'Ein (Areal photo), ARIJ
