Hunin

The first settlement at the site dates back to Iron Age I (1200-1000 BCE), followed by renewed habitation from the Persian period (586-332 BCE) until the latter part of the Byzantine period (5th-6th centuries CE).{{cite web |last= Freundlich |first= Amir |title= Hunin Fortress: Preliminary plan for conservation and development |date= September 2007 |publisher=Israel Antiquities Authority |website= Conservation Department: Heritage Preservation in Israel |url= http://www.iaa-conservation.org.il/Projects_Item_eng.asp?site_id=50&subject_id=8 |access-date= 28 February 2021}}

File:Chateau Neuf Fortress in Upper Galilee, Israel.jpg over Crusader ruins]]

The castle named in Frankish chronicles as Chastel Neuf (in medieval French) or Castellum Novum (in Latin), and known as Qal'at Hunin in Arabic, and as (Horvat) Mezudat Hunin in Modern Hebrew, was built in two phases by the Crusaders during the 12th and 13th centuries (1105–7, 1178 and 1240) and refortified by Mamluk sultan Baibars in 1266.Pringle (1997), p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=-_NbE5obqRMC&pg=PA79 79] The moat is the only well-visible Crusader feature left, with very little of the medieval structures being preserved.

The castle was rebuilt in the 18th century by Zahir al-Umar, the local Arab ruler of the Galilee between the 1730s until 1775. The castle's 18th-century vaulted gatehouse is the most conspicuous structure still standing. This is the time when the Shi'a village of Hunin began developing near the castle. In 1752, a mosque was constructed in Hunin. The dedicatory inscription has been tentatively read as saying that the prayer house was consecrated to Ja'far al-Sadiq, the sixth Shia Imam.Sharon, 2007, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=1d8xHcor0psC&pg=PA108 108]-[https://books.google.com/books?id=1d8xHcor0psC&pg=PA112 112]Sharon, 2013, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=X1uNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA289 289]

The village was badly damaged in the earthquake of 1837, according to Edward Robinson who visited in 1856.Robinson, 1856, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/laterbiblicalre01smitgoog#page/n417/mode/1up 370]-371 In 1875, Victor Guérin visited Hunin.Guérin, 1880, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr00gugoog#page/n410/mode/1up 370]-372 In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Hunin as "[a] village, built of stone, joining on to ruined Crusading castle [..], and containing about 100 Moslems. The situation is on a low ridge just before the hills drop down to the east to the Huleh Valley; the hills round are uncultivated, covered with low scrub, but in the valleys there is some arable land. Water is obtained from numerous cisterns; a birket [pool, reservoirWiktionary, [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A9#Etymology_2 Etymology: بركة]] and spring to the south-east."Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/87/mode/1up 87]Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/123/mode/1up 123]-125

The Syria-Lebanon-Palestine boundary was a product of the post-World War I Anglo-French partition of Ottoman Syria.Fromkin, 1989, p. ?MacMillan, 2001, pp. 392–420 British forces had advanced to a position at Tel Hazor against Turkish troops in 1918 and wished to incorporate all the sources of the River Jordan within British-controlled Palestine. Following the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, and the unratified and later annulled Treaty of Sèvres, stemming from the San Remo conference, the 1920 boundary extended the British-controlled area to north of the Sykes-Picot line, a straight line between the midpoint of the Sea of Galilee and Nahariya. The international boundary between Palestine and Lebanon was finally agreed upon by Great Britain and France in 1923, in conjunction with the Treaty of Lausanne, after Britain had been given a League of Nations mandate for Palestine in 1922.[http://untreaty.un.org/unts/60001_120000/20/29/00039450.pdf Exchange of Notes] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080909201308/http://untreaty.un.org/unts/60001_120000/20/29/00039450.pdf |date=2008-09-09 }} Constituting an Agreement respecting the boundary line between Syria and Palestine from the Mediterranean to El Hammé. Paris, March 7, 1923.

In April 1924, Hunin and six other Shiite villages, and an estimated 20 other settlements, were transferred from the French Mandate of Lebanon to the British Mandate of Palestine by France.Sindawi, Khalid (2008). Are there any Shi'te Muslims in Israel?", Holy Land Studies, Vol. 7, No. 2, 183–199.{{cite journal |author= Asher Kaufman |title= Between Palestine and Lebanon: Seven Shi'i Villages as a Case Study of Boundaries, Identities, and Conflict |journal= Middle East Journal |volume= 60 |issue= 4 |year= 2006 |pages= 685–706|doi= 10.3751/60.4.13 }} In the 1931 census of Palestine, the population of Hunin was 1,075, all Muslims, in a total of 233 houses.Mills, 1932, p. [https://web.archive.org/web/20111201210326/http://www.archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 107]{{dead link|date=December 2023}} ([https://ecf.org.il/media_items/1088 Full Document PDF[ p.118, Original p. 107) In the 1945 statistics the population of Hunin (with Hula and Udeisa{{dubious|Both are now in Lebanon, why added to a British statistic?|date=July 2019}}) was 1620 Muslims, with a total of 14,224 dunams of land. Of this, Arabs used 859 for plantations and irrigated land, 5,987 dunums were allocated to grain farming,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Safad/Page-119.jpg 119] while 81 dunams were classified as 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/Safad/Page-169.jpg 169]

In 1945, Kibbutz Misgav Am was established on what was the northern part of village land. The people of Hunin maintained good relations with their Jewish neighbors but had strained relations with the Sunni Muslims of Safed.

File:מראה הגליל העליון ובקעת החולה מהכפר הונים.-JNF044843.jpeg|Hunin 1937

File:החולה - הגליל העליון ובקעת החולה.-JNF037098.jpeg|Hunin 1937

File:Tel Hai.jpg|Hunin, 1946

In May 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the villagers of Hunin were given six days to evacuate by Arab, possibly Lebanese authorities. Two weeks later, a Palmach raid caused many to flee to Lebanon, leaving 400 residents in the village.Morris, 2004, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA249 249], [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA447 447]–448

During a meeting in August 1948, the mukhtars of Hunin and other Shi'ite villages met with the Jews of kibbutz Kfar Giladi, declaring their willingness to be good citizens of Israel. Their proposal was conveyed to the Israeli government, where it received enthusiastic support from the Minorities Minister Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit. A report was made by the Ministry of Minority Affairs recommending that such an agreement be reached with the 4,700 or so Shi'ites in the region to promote friendly relations with southern Lebanon, to take advantage of the Shi'ites' poor relationship with the majority Sunnis, and to enhance the prospect of a future extension of the border. This proposal was not accepted, despite the support of the Minister of Minority Affairs, Sheetrit.

In August, more inhabitants of Hunin were forced to flee by the IDF.Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA249 249] Four village women were raped and murdered by Israeli soldiers during the summer. On 3 September 1948, the IDF raided the village blowing up 20 houses, killing a son of the mukhtar and 19 others and expelling the remaining villagers. Most of the villagers took refuge in Shiite villages in Lebanon.

In 1951, Moshav Margaliot was established just south of the village site.

• Hula massacre (31 October - 1 November 1948) perpetrated by the IDF in Hula, a Lebanese Shi'a village 3 km from Hunin
• Shia villages in Palestine

{{reflist|25em}}

{{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=Fromkin|first=D.|author-link=David Fromkin|title=A Peace to End All Peace|year=1989|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-8050-8809-0}}
• {{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|last=Gelber |first=Y. |author-link=Yoav Gelber|title=Palestine 1948: War, Escape And The Emergence Of The Palestinian Refugee Problem |edition= 2|year=2006|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=UcSUgrDsD_sC |publisher=Sussex Academic Press|isbn=1-84519-075-0}}
• {{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|last=Hadawi|first=S.|author-link=Sami Hadawi|title=Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine|url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|year=1970|publisher=Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center}}
• {{cite book|last=Khalidi|first=W.|author-link=Walid Khalidi|title=All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948|year=1992|location=Washington D.C.|publisher=Institute for Palestine Studies|isbn=0-88728-224-5|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_By7AAAAIAAJ}}
• {{cite book|last=MacMillan|first=M.|author-link=Margaret MacMillan|title=Peacemakers: the Paris Conference of 1919 and its attempt to end war|year=2001|publisher=John Murray|isbn=978-0-7195-6237-2}}
• {{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=Morris |first=B. |author-link=Benny Morris |title=The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited|isbn=978-0-521-00967-6 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C }}
• {{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 |last=Petersen |first=Andrew |title=A Gazetteer of Buildings in Muslim Palestine (British Academy Monographs in Archaeology)|url=https://www.academia.edu/21539664 |volume=I |year=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-727011-0|pages=[https://www.academia.edu/21539664/Gazetteer_4_D-J 150−151]}}
• {{cite book | last= Pringle |first= D.|author-link=Denys Pringle|title= Qal'at Hunin (No. 164) |work= Secular Buildings in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: An Archaeological Gazetteer |year= 1997 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page= 79 |isbn= 9780521460101 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-_NbE5obqRMC&pg=PA79 |access-date=4 October 2021}}
• {{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}}
• {{cite book|last=Sharon|first=M.|author-link=Moshe Sharon|title=Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, B-C |volume= 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EPFDU8POrXIC |year=1999|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-11083-6}}p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=EPFDU8POrXIC&pg=PA49 49]
• {{cite book|last=Sharon|first=M.|author-link=Moshe Sharon|title=Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, Addendum |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1d8xHcor0psC |year=2007|publisher=BRILL |isbn= 978-90-04-15780-4}}
• {{cite book|last=Sharon|first=M.|author-link=Moshe Sharon|title=Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, H-I |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X1uNAgAAQBAJ |year=2013 |volume=5 |publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-25097-0}}

{{refend}}

• [http://www.palestineremembered.com/Safad/Hunin/index.html Welcome to Hunin] at PalestineRemembered.com
• [https://www.zochrot.org/en/village/49131 Hunin], Zochrot
• [http://www.villagesofpalestine.com/Hunin.htm Hunin], Villages of Palestine
• Survey of Western Palestine, map 2: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8365 IAA], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.02.jpg Wikimedia commons]
• [http://www.alnakba.org/villages/safad/hunin.htm Hunin], from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center

{{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War}}

Category:Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War

Category:Massacres in Israel during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Category:District of Safad