Houla, Lebanon
{{about|a town in Lebanon|the region in Syria|Houla|the valley in Israel|Hula Valley}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Houla
| native_name = حولا
| settlement_type = Municipality
| pushpin_map = Lebanon
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_map_alt = Map showing the location of Houla within Lebanon
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within Lebanon
| coordinates = {{coord|33|12|36|N|35|31|01|E|region:LB_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| grid_position = 198/290 PAL
| coordinates_footnotes =
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flagcountry|Lebanon}}
| subdivision_type1 = Governorate
| subdivision_name1 = Nabatieh Governorate
| subdivision_type2 = District
| subdivision_name2 = Marjayoun District
| established_title =
| established_date =
| founder =
| leader_party =
| leader_title =
| leader_name =
| area_footnotes =
| area_total_km2 =
| area_note =
| elevation_footnotes = [http://www.localiban.org/article4320.html Houla], Localiban
| elevation_m = 900
| elevation_min_m = 650
| elevation_max_m = 920
| population_footnotes =
| population_total =
| population_as_of =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_note =
| timezone1 = EET
| utc_offset1 = +2
| timezone1_DST = EEST
| utc_offset1_DST = +3
| postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code =
| area_code_type = Dialing code
| area_code = +961-7
| footnotes =
}}
Houla ({{langx|ar|حولا}})Meaning: "properly dark green herbage", according to Palmer, 1881, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/21/mode/1up 21] is a municipality in Southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel,{{Cite news |date=2022-06-13 |title=Back to the land: Lebanese family turns to farming to survive crises |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/back-land-lebanese-family-turns-farming-survive-crises-2022-06-12/ |work=Reuters}} located on the southern side of the Litani river.
File:Grandmother teaching her granddaughter how to bake bread.jpg
The village maintains its cultural traditions to the present day, and holds village festivals.
Houla, historically identified with Ulay Rabta, a place from rabbinic texts. The area's antiquity is shown by discoveries of lintels and an olive-press. In the Ottoman era, Hula was a village inhabited by Shiites, described in 1881 as having stone buildings, cisterns, and a central mosque amidst olive and vineyards. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war two officers from the IDF carried out the Hula massacre in the village, killing over 80 civilians of ages 15–60.Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. VII, no. 4 (summer 1978), no. 28, pp. 143-145 Throughout subsequent conflicts, Hula suffered from military engagements and airstrikes.
History
Houla is identified with Ulay Rabta ({{langx|he|אולי רבתה}}), a place referenced in the Baraita on the "Boundaries of the Land of Israel" as part of the delineation of the northwestern border of Jewish resettlement following the return from Babylonian exile. Scholarly analysis suggests that this text likely describes a later era, possibly the Hasmonean or Herodian periods, during the 2nd or 1st century BCE.{{Cite journal |last=Frankel |first=Raphael |last2=Finkelstein |first2=Israel |last3= |first3= |last4= |first4= |date=1983 |title=The Northwest Corner of Eretz-Israel in the Baraita 'Boundaries of Eretz-Israel |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23398920 |journal=Cathedra: For the History of Eretz Israel and Its Yishuv |language=he |issue=27 |pages=39–46 |issn=0334-4657}}
The Survey of Western Palestine (1881) mentions several ancient lintels and one olive-press having been found at Hula.Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/116/mode/1up 116]
=Ottoman period=
In 1875 Victor Guérin explores the geographical location of Hula and other Southern villages of Lebanon bordering Palestine, and found that Hula had 300 Shia Muslim inhabitants.Guerin, 1880, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr00gugoog#page/n422/mode/1up 382]-383
In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as: "A village, built of stone, containing about 500 Metawileh, one of the most prominent objects in which is a Sheikh's tomb. It is situated on the hill-top, and is surrounded by olives, vines, and arable land. There are several cisterns, two birkets (one rock-cut), and a spring."Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/87/mode/1up 87] It also mentions that a small central mosque is situated on top of one of the hills in the village.
=Modern era=
{{see also|Hula massacre}}
On October 24, 1948, the city fell under Israeli occupation without resistance, children and women were expelled, and men aging from 15 to 60 were gathered in a house. On 1 November, the house was blown up with the prisoners still inside. This incident is known as the Hula massacre.{{cite book |last1=Morris |first1=Benny |title=1948: a history of the first Arab-Israeli war |date=2008 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven [Conn.] |isbn=978-0-300-12696-9 |pages=344-5}}
Following the 1982 invasion Hula became part of the Israeli Security Zone.
On 6 April 1992 an Israeli Army convoy was ambushed in Hula. Two soldiers were killed and 5 wounded. Islamic Jihad Organization, based in Baalbek, claimed responsibility. The target had been Major-General Yitzhak Mordechai, head of Israel's Northern Command. But he had left the convoy earlier. Three of the attackers were killed.Middle East International No 423, 17 April 1992, Publishers Lord Mayhew, Dennis Walters MP; Gerald Butt pp.11,12
During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, on July 15, two young women were killed by an Israeli airstrike at the village.HRW, 2007, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=8P9-VqpNRv4C&pg=PA91 91] On August 7, 2006, an Israeli airstrike on Hula killed another civilian.HRW, 2007, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=8P9-VqpNRv4C&pg=PA136 136]
{{Cite web
| url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article602332.ece
| title = Israel threatens to widen offensive in Lebanon
| first = Jenny
| last = Booth
|author2=agencies
| date = August 7, 2006
| work = The Times
}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
During the Israel–Lebanon border clashes, the IDF conducted a drone strike that destroyed a Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile squad in Houla after they launched a missile against the nearby Israeli community of Margaliot.{{Cite web |last=Fabian |first=Emanuel |title=IDF drones hit Hezbollah terror squads amid uptick in attacks; soldier seriously hurt |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/2-thai-workers-wounded-in-hezbollah-missile-attack-idf-drones-hit-terror-squads/ |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}
On 2 June 2024, two shepherds were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the village.{{Cite web |title= Two shepherds killed in Israeli raid on Lebanon’s Hula village|url=https://aje.io/b10cc5?update=2943852}}thumb
Demographics
In 2014 Muslims made up 99.48% of registered voters in Houla. 98.74% of the voters were Shiite Muslims.{{cite web | url=https://lub-anan.com/المحافظات/النبطية/مرجعيون/حولا/المذاهب/ | title=التوزيع حسب المذاهب للناخبين/ناخبات في بلدة حولا، قضاء مرجعيون محافظة النبطية في لبنان }}
References
{{Reflist|25em}}
Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
- {{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=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp01conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund|volume=1}}
- {{cite book|last=Guérin|first=V.|author-link=Victor Guérin|title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptiongogr00gugoog|volume=3: Galilee, pt. 2|year=1880|publisher= L'Imprimerie Nationale|location=Paris|language=fr}}
- {{cite book|author= HRW|author-link= Human Rights Watch|title=Why They Died: Civilian Casualties in Lebanon During the 2006 War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8P9-VqpNRv4C |year=2007|publisher=Human Rights Watch }}
- {{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}}
{{refend}}
External links
- Survey of Western Palestine, Map 2: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8365 IAA], Wikimedia commons
- [http://www.localiban.org/article4320.html Houla], Localiban
{{Marjayoun District}}
Category:Populated places in the Israeli security zone 1985–2000