Azzun

Azzun is located 7–9 km west of Qalqiliya. It is bordered by Kafr Laqif and Wadi Qana to the east, Kafr Thulth to the south, An Nabi Elyas to the west, and Jayyus and Khirbet Sir to the north.[https://web.archive.org/web/20170818221044/http://vprofile.arij.org/qalqiliya/pdfs/vprofile/azzun_vp_en.pdf ‘Azzun Town Profile (including ‘Isla & ‘Izbat at Tabib Localities)], ARIJ, 2013, p. 4

Azzun was established in the 17th or 18th century by the Bani Sa'b tribe.Grossman, D. (1986). "Oscillations in the Rural Settlement of Samaria and Judaea in the Ottoman Period". in Shomron studies. Dar, S., Safrai, S., (eds). Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House. p. 346 The modern village is situated on a strategically advantageous strong point that overlooks a crossroads. Ancient findings from both the Hellenistic and Roman periods were found at the site, including the epitaph of a third-century CE Roman veteran.{{Cite journal |last=Applebaum |first=Shimon |last2=Dar |first2=Shimon |last3=Safrai |first3=Zeev |date=1978-07-01 |title=The Towers of Samaria |url=https://doi.org/10.1179/peq.1978.110.2.91 |journal=Palestine Exploration Quarterly |volume=110 |issue=2 |pages=91–100 |doi=10.1179/peq.1978.110.2.91 |issn=0031-0328|url-access=subscription }}

Several kilometers north of the village are a number of ancient dry stone towers. PEF visited in 1873 and reported six or seven such towers, the best-preserved of them had six courses standing, and part of the roof. The locals stated that they were ancient vineyard towers.Conder and Kitchener, 1882, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/171/mode/1up 171] The towers were surveyed by the Israel Archaeological Survey in 1967–1968, and one of them was excavated in the 1970s on behalf of the Society for the Archaeological Survey of Israel. The excavation uncovered Hellenistic and early Roman period pottery as well as a single ribbed fragment that may date to the Byzantine period.

Azzun was a site of battle - part of Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in Ottoman Syria. An Arab poet, Ibrahim Touqan was quoted as saying, "by means of Azzun, how soaked [in] the blood [of] Franks [in the] mother valley."[http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/_Azzun_2232/Article_7942.html Azzun Past and Present] Abdul Aziz Arar.

When the French army marched into Palestine under the command of Napoleon in February 1799, it faced powerful and unexpected resistance from the inhabitants of Jabal Nablus under the command of their local leaders. They attacked the French army while it was marching towards Acre, especially near the valley of Azzun, taking part in the battle of Tal-Tabur. The participation of the inhabitants and local leaders of Nablus in the struggle against Napoleon reflected a territorial sense in resistance to a foreign army.

Ihsan al-Nimr wrote that “the truth is that [Bonaparte’s] morale was weakened around Jabal Nablus, in the valley of Azzun, Qaqun, and al-Marj ... he headed for Acre with disappointment and without determination”.al-Nimr, 1961, pp. 223-224 Sheikh Yussuf Jarrar wrote a poem asking the inhabitants, especially the prominent families of Jabal Nablus, to march towards Acre in order to fight the French.al-Nimr, 1961, pp. 210-211

In Doumani's words, the poet exposes “the cohesiveness of this reign’s social formation and the shared sense of identity among its inhabitants versus the factionalism of multiple territorially based centers of power... The most striking aspect of this poem is what it does not say. Not once in its twenty-one verses does it mention Ottoman rule, much less the need to protect the empire or the glory and honor of serving the sultan.”Doumani, 1995, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=zry-tpH3rz8C&pg=PA16 16]-17[http://ifpo.revues.org/483] Revues.org Pierre Jacotin called the village Hazoun on his map in 1799 from the same campaign.Karmon, 1960, pp. [http://www.jchp.ucla.edu/Bibliography/Karmon,_Y_1960_Jacotin_Map_(IEJ_10).pdf 156] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222063351/http://jchp.ucla.edu/Bibliography/Karmon,_Y_1960_Jacotin_Map_(IEJ_10).pdf |date=2019-12-22 }}, 170

In 1838, the American scholar Edward Robinson noted Azzun as a village in the Beni Sa'ab district, west of Nablus.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/127/mode/1up 127]

In 1852 Robinson visited the village, which he described as having 290 males, all Muslim except for one family of Christians.Robinson and Smith, 1856, pp.[https://archive.org/stream/laterbiblicalre01smitgoog#page/n184/mode/1up 135]-136 In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Azzun as a "small village lying low on the hill-side, with several wells and olives on every side."Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/164/mode/1up 164]

In the 1860s, the Ottoman authorities granted the village an agricultural plot of land called Ghabat 'Azzun in the former confines of the Forest of Arsur (Ar. Al-Ghaba) in the coastal plain, west of the village. This detached parcel of woodland became the nucleus for Tabsur (Khirbat 'Azzun), founded by 'Azzuni families.Marom, Roy, "The Contribution of Conder's Tent Work in Palestine for the Understanding of Shifting Geographical, Social and Legal Realities in the Sharon during the Late Ottoman Period", in Gurevich D. and Kidron, A. (eds.), Exploring the Holy Land: 150 Years of the Palestine Exploration Fund, Sheffield, UK, Equinox (2019), pp. 212-231{{Cite web |last=Marom |first=Roy |year=2022 |title=The Oak Forest of the Sharon (al-Ghaba) in the Ottoman Period: New Insights from Historical- Geographical Studies, Muse 5, |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2pc5867s |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=escholarship.org}}

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Azzun had a population of 700; 691 Muslims and 9 Christians,Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Tulkarem, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n30/mode/1up 28] increasing in the 1931 census to 994: 980 Muslim and 14 Christians in a total of 218 houses.Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 53]

In the 1945 statistics, the population of Azzun together with Nabi Ilyas and Islah was 1,190; 1,170 Muslims and 20 Christians.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p20.jpg 20] Residents owned 23,496 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Tulkarm/Page-074.jpg 74] Of this, 5,494 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land and 1,420 were used for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Tulkarm/Page-124.jpg 124] while 55 dunams were built-up (urban) land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Tulkarm/Page-174.jpg 174]

File:Azzun 1943.jpg|Azzun 1943 1:20,000

File:Azzun 1945.jpg|Azzun 1945 1:250,000

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Azzun came under Jordanian rule. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 2,096 inhabitants in Azzun.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/JordanCensusPages/JordanCensus1961-p15.pdf 15]

Since the Six-Day War, Azzun has been under Israeli occupation. After the 1995 accords, about 24.7% of the land was classified as Area B, the remaining 75.3% as Area C. Israel has expropriated 268 dunums of village land for the construction of the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Shomron.[https://web.archive.org/web/20170818221044/http://vprofile.arij.org/qalqiliya/pdfs/vprofile/azzun_vp_en.pdf ‘Azzun Town Profile (including ‘Isla & ‘Izbat at Tabib Localities)], ARIJ, 2013, pp. 18-19

In 1996 a municipal council was established to administer Azzun's civil affairs. The council has eleven members appointed by the Palestinian government. In 2012, the villages of Islah and Izbat al-Tabib were merged into the municipality of Azzun upon decree of the Palestinian Ministry of Local Government.[https://web.archive.org/web/20170818221044/http://vprofile.arij.org/qalqiliya/pdfs/vprofile/azzun_vp_en.pdf ‘Azzun Town Profile (including ‘Isla & ‘Izbat at Tabib Localities)], ARIJ, 2013.

In 2008, the town's unemployment rate was 19%.[http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=1288 Israeli Occupation Forces closes the Northern Entrance of the Azzun Al Shamaliyya town] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214165342/http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=1288 |date=February 14, 2012 }} Land Research Center 2008-02-20 In 2012, it had increased sharply to 39%.

Today, the town consists of 9,130 dunams of which 1,209 dunams is built-up area. There are four mosques located in the town. Most of the population works in agriculture and herding (40%) or trade and handicrafts (41%), while the 19% work in public sectors.

As of 2018, Azzun was reported to be the village "with highest number of child arrests in the West Bank per capita."[https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/azzoun-palestinian-village-filling-israeli-jails-children-181214404 Azzoun: The Palestinian village filling Israeli jails with children], Tessa Fox, 10 August 2018, Middle East Eye

The major families of Azzun are the ‘Adwan, Badwan, Radwan, Salim, Hussein, Sweidan, Zamari (or Zummary), Abu Hanniya, Odah, Hawashah, Tabib, Suleiman, Radi, Mas’ud and Abu Dayyah.

Residents of Azzun originally came from the south Hebron Mountain and from Ramallah.

{{reflist|25em}}

{{refbegin}}

• al-Nimr, Ihsan, (1938–1975): Tarikh Jabal Nablus wa-l-Balqaʼ [History of Mount Nablus and al-Balqa’] (Nablus: Matbaʻat jamiʻat ʻummal al-matabiʻ al-taʻawuniyya),
• {{cite book | editor =Barron, J.B. | title =Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922 | url =https://archive.org/details/PalestineCensus1922 | publisher =Government of Palestine | year =1923 }}
• {{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H.H.|author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1882|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp02conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund|volume=2}}
• {{cite book|url=http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=ft896nb5pc&chunk.id=s2.1.3&toc.depth=1&toc.id=s1.1.6&brand=eschol|title=Rediscovering Palestine, Merchants and Peasants in Jabal Nablus, 1700–1900|last=Doumani|first=B.|author-link=Beshara Doumani|year=1995|publisher=University of California Press}}
• {{cite book | title = First Census of Population and Housing. Volume I: Final Tables; General Characteristics of the Population | author = Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics | year = 1964 | url = http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/JordanCensus1961bits.pdf }}
• {{cite book|title=Village Statistics, April, 1945|url=http://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/Hebrew/library/Pages/BookReader.aspx?pid=856390|author=Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics|year=1945}}
• {{cite book|title=Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine|url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|first=S.|last=Hadawi|author-link=Sami Hadawi|year=1970|publisher=Palestine Liberation Organization Research Centre}}
• {{cite book |last1=Hütteroth |first1=W.-D.|author-link1=Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth |first2=K. | last2=Abdulfattah |author-link2=Kamal Abdulfattah|title=Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan, and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqULAAAAIAAJ |year=1977 |publisher=Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft |isbn=3-920405-41-2 }}
• {{cite journal | author = Karmon, Y. | title = An Analysis of Jacotin's Map of Palestine | url = http://www.jchp.ucla.edu/Bibliography/Karmon,_Y_1960_Jacotin_Map_(IEJ_10).pdf | journal = Israel Exploration Journal | volume = 10 | issue = 3,4 | year = 1960 | pages = 155–173; 244–253 | access-date = 2015-04-10 | archive-date = 2019-12-22 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191222063351/http://jchp.ucla.edu/Bibliography/Karmon,_Y_1960_Jacotin_Map_(IEJ_10).pdf | url-status = dead }}
• {{cite book | editor = Mills, E. | title = Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas | url = https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas | publisher = Government of Palestine | location = Jerusalem | year = 1932 }}
• {{cite book|last=Palmer|first=E.H.|author-link=Edward Henry Palmer|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft|title=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|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund}}
• {{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft|title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai, and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the Year 1838|location=Boston|publisher=Crocker & Brewster|volume=3}}
• {{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1856|url=https://archive.org/details/laterbiblicalre01smitgoog|title=Later Biblical Researches in Palestine and Adjacent Regions: A Journal of Travels in the Year 1852|location=London|publisher=John Murray}}

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• [http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/_Azzun_2232/index.html Welcome To 'Azzun]
• Survey of Western Palestine, Map 11: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8373 IAA], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.11.jpg Wikimedia commons]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170818221316/http://vprofile.arij.org/qalqiliya/pdfs/factsheet/azzun_fs_en.pdf 'Azzun (Fact Sheet)], Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem (ARIJ)
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170818221044/http://vprofile.arij.org/qalqiliya/pdfs/vprofile/azzun_vp_en.pdf ‘Azzun Town Profile (including ‘Isla & ‘Izbat at Tabib Localities)], ARIJ,
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304192214/http://vprofile.arij.org/qalqiliya/images/english/'Azzun_ap_en.jpg Azzun (aerial photo)], ARIJ
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170818221445/http://vprofile.arij.org/qalqiliya/pdfs/needsfordevelopment/azzun_n_en.pdf Development Priorities and Needs in ‘Azzun (including ‘Isla & ‘Izbat at Tabib Localities)], ARIJ

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Category:Qalqilya Governorate

Category:Towns in the West Bank

Category:Municipalities of Palestine