Jit, Qalqilya

Jit is located {{convert|19.7|km|mi|sp=us}} (horizontally) north-east of Qalqilya. It is bordered by Sarra and Beit Iba to the east, Fara'ata and Immatain to the south, Kafr Qaddum to the west, and Qusin to the north.

No Byzantine remains have been found here, leading scholars to suggest that the early Muslim inhabitants came there as a result of migration, and not conversion.Ellenblum, 2003, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=riHMZiH_Te4C&pg=PA263 263] However, in 2011 two reliefs of menorahs dating from the Byzantine period, probably of Samaritan origin, were discovered in Jit.ארליך 2013 ארליך, ז"ח, 2013 .ארבע מנורות שומרוניות בג'ית ובקדום שבשומרון. בתוך: י' רוזנסון וי' שפנייר (עורכים), מנחת ספיר – אסופת מאמרים: מנחות ידידות והוקרה לכבוד יצחק ספיר. אלקנה ורחובות, עמ' 391–402.

[Four Samaritan menorahs in Jit and Qaddum in Samaria] [Hebrew]

Diya al-Din (1173-1245) refers to the presence of Muslims in Jit during his lifetime,Ellenblum, 2003, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=riHMZiH_Te4C&pg=PA244 244] and that followers of Ibn Qudamah lived here.Drory, 1988, pp. 97, 110

In 1517, the village was included in the Ottoman Empire with the rest of Palestine, and in the 1596 tax-records it appeared as Jit Jammal, located in the Nahiya of Jabal Qubal of the Liwa of Nablus. The population was 50 households, all Muslim. They paid a fixed tax rate of 33.3% on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and beehives, a press for olive oil or grape syrup, in addition to occasional revenues and a fixed tax for people of Nablus area; a total of 20,000 akçe.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 133

A map from Napoleon's invasion of 1799 by Pierre Jacotin named it Qarihagi, (Quryet Jitt) as a village by the road from Jaffa to Nablus.Karmon, 1960, p. [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=22 December 2019 }}

In 1838, Kuryet Jit was noted as a village located in the District of Jurat 'Amra, south of Nablus.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/127/mode/1up 127]Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/n161/mode/1up 144] Also noted it as old Gitta, later repeated by Guérin etc.

File:Jit.png

In 1870, Victor Guérin noted between seven hundred and fifty and eight hundred people in the village.Guérin, 1875, p. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr04gugoog#page/n206/mode/1up 181] Also, "here Guérin observed among the houses a certain number of cut stones of apparent

antiquity. Many of the houses are in a ruinous condition, others are completely destroyed. On the north-west side of the hill he found a great well, into which one descends by fifteen steps, now fallen to pieces. It gives a supply of water which never fails. The place is probably the old Gitta mentioned by Justin Martyr and Eusebius as the birthplace of Simon the Magician."Guérin, 1875, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr04gugoog#page/n205/mode/1up 180] -181; as given in Conder and Kitchener, 1882, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/201/mode/1up 201]

In 1870/1871 (1288 AH), an Ottoman census listed the village in the nahiya (sub-district) of Jamma'in al-Thani, subordinate to Nablus.{{Cite book |last=Grossman |first=David |title=Arab Demography and Early Jewish Settlement in Palestine |publisher=Magnes Press |year=2004 |location=Jerusalem |pages=252}}

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Kuryet Jit as: "A well-built stone village with a high house in it, standing on a knoll by the main road, surrounded with olives; it has a well to the west; the inhabitants are remarkable for their courtesy, this part of the country and all the district west of it being little visited by tourists."

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Qariyet Jit had a population of 285 Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Nablus, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n26/mode/1up 24] increasing in the 1931 census to 289 Muslims, in 70 houses.Mills, 1931, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 62]

In the 1945 statistics the population of Jit was 440 (all Muslim),Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p18.jpg 18] while the total land area was 6,461 dunams, 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/Nablus/Page-060.jpg 60] Of this, 816 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 3,915 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/Nablus/Page-106.jpg 106]. while 61 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Nablus/Page-156.jpg 156].

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

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 660 inhabitants.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/JordanCensusPages/JordanCensus1961-p25.pdf 25]

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Jit has been under Israeli occupation.

After the 1995 accords, 14% of village land was classified as Area B, the remaining 86% as Area C. Israel has confiscated village land for the Israeli settlements of Giv'at HaMerkaziz and Mitzpe Yishai, both part of the Kedumim settlement.[http://vprofile.arij.org/qalqiliya/pdfs/vprofile/jit_vp_en.pdf Jit village profile], ARIJ, 2013, pp. 15-16 According to the Israeli plans of 2013, 1,150 dunums (18.1% of the village's total area) will be isolated from the village behind the Israeli barrier wall.

Reports have been made about Israeli settlers from Kedumim stealing the olive harvest from the farmers of Jit.[https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/10/30/israeli-settlers-poison-steal-palestinian-olive-harvests Israeli settlers 'poison, steal' Palestinian olive harvests], 30 October 2017, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed

On 15 August 2024, towards dusk, a group of dozens of masked Israeli settlers, armed with Kalashnikovs, M16s, and stones{{Cite news |last=Abdulrahim |first=Raja |date=18 August 2024 |title=A Family Flees and a Mother Mourns After Israeli Settlers Attack a Palestinian Village |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/18/world/middleeast/israel-settlers-attack-jit-west-bank.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240819000512/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/18/world/middleeast/israel-settlers-attack-jit-west-bank.html |archive-date=19 August 2024 |access-date=19 August 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} attacked the village.{{Cite news |last=McKernan |first=Bethan |date=15 August 2024 |title=One Palestinian killed as Israeli settlers attack West Bank village |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/15/one-palestinian-killed-as-violent-israeli-settlers-launch-fresh-attack-on-west-bank-village |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816151845/https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/15/one-palestinian-killed-as-violent-israeli-settlers-launch-fresh-attack-on-west-bank-village |archive-date=16 August 2024 |access-date=16 August 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |last1=Lukiv |first1=Jaroslav |last2=David |first2=Gritten |date=25 August 2024 |title=Israeli settlers torch Palestinian village in West Bank |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c623zkwd04qo |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816121158/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c623zkwd04qo |archive-date=16 August 2024 |access-date=16 August 2024 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}} Local Palestinian estimates put the figure of rampaging settlers at over 100.[https://www.timesofisrael.com/well-come-back-and-kill-you-palestinians-recall-horror-of-deadly-settler-riot/ '‘We’ll come back and kill you’: Palestinians recall horror of deadly settler riot,']Times of Israel 16 August 2024 A call from the local mosque asked youths to rally and defend the village. The settlers fired guns, threw rocks, and hurled Molotov cocktails at civilians, and torched the villagers' houses and cars. One Palestinian civilian who responded to the call to defend the village, Rasheed Seda (23), was killed when a settler shot him in the chest, and another was critically wounded. The IDF stated that it had arrived within a half an hour and had removed Israeli citizens from Jit after firing shots in the air. According to the Palestinians, the IDF had shown up an hour after the rampage began. The IDF detained one Israeli - later released as uninvolved in the attack - for interference. Overall, four homes and six private vehicles were torched. Local eyewitnesses stated that the attackers came from the settlement of Eli. The attack was one of 1,250 on Palestinians conducted by Israeli settlers Palestinians since 7 October 2023, according to OCHA.

The attack was condemned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog described it a "pogrom". A US National Security Council spokesperson stated, "Attacks by violent settlers against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank are unacceptable and must stop".{{cite web |title='Pure terrorism': World reacts to Israeli settler attack in West Bank |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/16/pure-terrorism-world-reacts-to-israeli-settler-attack-in-west-bank |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=24 August 2024}} The UN human rights office called the killing "horrific" and stated it "was not an isolated attack".{{cite web |title=UN rights office calls for accountability for latest 'horrific' West Bank killing |url=https://palestine.un.org/en/276779-un-rights-office-calls-accountability-latest-‘horrific’-west-bank-killing |website=United Nations |access-date=24 August 2024}}

During the Ottoman and British Mandate period, some of Jit's residents relocated to the villages of Shuweika, Qaqun, Bal'a, Anabta, Umm al-Fahm and Zeita.{{when|date=August 2024}}{{cite book |last=Grossman |first=D. |title=1986 |chapter=Oscillations in the Rural Settlement of Samaria and Judaea in the Ottoman Period |series=Shomron Studies |editor1=Dar, S. |editor2=Safrai, S. |location=Tel Aviv |publisher=Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House |page=350}}

{{reflist|25em}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{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 journal| author = Drory, Joseph| title = Hanbalis of the Nablus Region in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries| url = http://www.africabib.org/rec.php?RID=P00016380| journal = Asian and African Studies| volume = 22| pages = 93–112| year = 1988}}
• {{cite book|first=R.|last=Ellenblum|author-link=Ronnie Ellenblum|title=Frankish Rural Settlement in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=riHMZiH_Te4C|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2003|isbn=9780521521871}}
• {{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|last=Guérin|first=V.|author-link=Victor Guérin|title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptiongogr04gugoog|volume=2: Samarie, pt. 2|year=1875|publisher=L'Imprimerie Nationale|location=Paris|language=fr}}
• {{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 Center}}
• {{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 = 30 December 2018|archive-date = 22 December 2019|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}}

{{refend}}

• [http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/Jit_1232/index.html Welcome to Jit]
• 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/20170820202214/http://vprofile.arij.org/qalqiliya/pdfs/factsheet/jit_fs_en.pdf Jit village (fact sheet)], Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem (ARIJ)
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170820203950/http://vprofile.arij.org/qalqiliya/pdfs/vprofile/jit_vp_en.pdf Jit village profile], ARIJ
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170820202622/http://vprofile.arij.org/qalqiliya/images/english/Jit_ap_en.jpg Jit, aerial photo], ARIJ
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20171204171152/http://vprofile.arij.org/qalqiliya/pdfs/needsfordevelopment/jit_n_en.pdf Development Priorities and Needs in Jit], ARIJ

{{Qalqilya Governorate}}

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Category:Qalqilya Governorate

Jit

Category:Municipalities of Palestine

Category:Ancient Samaritan settlements