Sinjil

Sinjil is located {{convert|15.5|km|mi|sp=us}} north-east of Ramallah. It is bordered by Turmus ayya to the east, Al Lubban ash Sharqiya to the north, 'Abwein and Jilijliya to the west, and Al Mazra'a ash Sharqiya to the south. Sinjil is located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate of the West Bank.

Sherds from the Intermediate Bronze Age, Bronze Age, Byzantine, Crusader/Ayyubid and Mamluk periods have been found.Finkelstein et al., 1997, pp. 633 Tombs at Sinjil from the Middle Bronze Age have yielded an array of metal weapons.{{cite journal |title=MB IIA Cemeteries At 'Ain es-Sâmiyeh and Sinjil |first=W.|last=Dever |author-link=William G. Dever |journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |number=217 |year=1975 |pages=23–36|doi=10.2307/1356220|jstor=1356220|s2cid=164200522}}

The village is thought to have taken its name from the Crusader town of St. Gilles, being the home town of French Count Raymond VI of Toulouse who camped here on the First Crusade, before entering Jerusalem.Conder, 1877, p. [https://archive.org/stream/quarterlystateme09pale#page/n97/mode/2up 88], quoting Fetellus, ca. AD 1180, p.[https://archive.org/stream/libraryofpalesti05paleuoft#page/n47/mode/2up 35] The same man later built a castle in Sinjil to protect the passage of passing caravans.[http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=818&ed=74&edid=74 The village of Sinjel] in This Week In Palestine

Doubt over the Crusader origin of the name was raised by historian Levy-Rubin.{{cite book |title=The Continuo of the Samaritan Chronicle of Abū L-Fatḥ Al-Sāmirī Al-Danafī |first=Milka |last=Levy-Rubin |publisher=The Darwin Press |place=Princeton, NY |year=2002 |pages=71–72}} A Samaritan chronicle (ostensibly by Abu l-Fath), written in the 14th century but based on much older sources, twice refers to a location Sinḥil in the 8th or 9th century. The Arab geographer Zakariya al-Qazwini in his Athar al-bilad cited a 10th-century mention of Sinḥil, though this cannot be verified from extant manuscripts. Levy-Rubin proposes that Sinḥil was the original name of Sinjil, and that the Crusaders' association of the place with St Gilles was prompted by the Arab name rather than the reverse.

In the 1220s Yaqut al-Hamawi described Sinjil as "a small town of the province Filastin. Near it is the pit of Yasuf as Sadik (Joseph)".Le Strange, 1890, p. [https://archive.org/stream/palestineundermo00lestuoft#page/538/mode/1up 538]

The village paid ecclesiastical tithes to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem while a Frankish parish, until they were transferred in 1145 to the monastery on Mount Tabor.Ellenblum, 2003, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=riHMZiH_Te4C&pg=PA106 106]-107Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n65/mode/1up 59], No. 234Pringle, 1998, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA329 329]-332

Only thirty years later, in 1175, the parish church and tithes were sold back to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, as the distance from Mount Tabor and expenses were too high.de Roziére, 1849, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/cartulairedelgl00jergoog#page/n267/mode/1up 257-8], No. 141, cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n147/mode/1up 141] -142, Nos. 529, 530 A month later the sale was confirmed by Baldwin, lord of Sinjil.Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n148/mode/1up 142], No. 531

In 1517 the village was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire with the rest of Palestine. In 1596 it appeared in the tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Quds of the Liwa of Quds. It had a population of 55 households, all Muslim, and paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on wheat, barley, vineyards, fruit trees, goats and beehives; a total of 9,900 akçe.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 114Toledano, 1984, p. 298, gives the location as 32°02′10″N 35°15′35″E The Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi visited Sinjil about 1650. He described it as a village of 200 houses in the district of Jerusalem, populated by rebellious Muslims.Stephan, 1939, p. 144

During the early 19th century, Sinjil was a village of 206 taxable men, roughly 800 people. One-eighth of the population were conscripted into the Ottoman army, but were still taxed for 800 people.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/n99/mode/1up 82] -83

French explorer Victor Guérin visited the village in 1870, and described it as "quite crowded", with an estimated 1200 villagers. The village had two abundant springs, with a reservoir connected to the largest.Guérin, 1875, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr04gugoog#page/n55/mode/2up 34-35] Guérin further noted, "On the summit of the hill are observed the foundations of two strongholds, built of great blocks, evidently ancient, one of which is called the Kasr ("Fort"), and the other the Keniseh ("Church"). The latter is [] built east and west, and may have been a church. On the lower flanks of the hill I found several ancient tombs cut in the rock. One of the largest, preceded by a vestibule, contains two loculi."Guérin, 1875, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr04gugoog#page/n55/mode/2up 34-35], [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr04gugoog#page/n191/mode/1up 166], as translated in Conder and Kitchener, 1882, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/370/mode/1up 370] An Ottoman village list of about the same year, 1870, showed that "Sindschil" had 161 houses and a population of 513, though the population count included only men.Socin, 1879, p. [https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde01deut#page/161/mode/1up 161] Noted it in the Beni Murra districtHartmann, 1883, p. [https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ#page/n923/mode/1up 115], also noted 161 houses

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Sinjil as being of moderate size, with several houses of two storeys, on a hill side with fine fig gardens below.Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/292/mode/1up 292]

The village mosque is laid out on the lines of the Frankish Crusader church (see section above). Other historical sites in the town include a well for Joseph and a holy site for Jacob. The maqam (shrine) of a holy man, Abu Auf, is also there. Abu Auf is from the time period of Caliph Umar Ibn al-Khattab.

In 1896 the population of Sinjil was estimated to be about 1,131 persons.Schick, 1896, p. [https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde19deut#page/n229/mode/1up 122]

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Sinjil (called: Senjel) had an entirely Muslim population of 934,Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-District of Ramallah, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n19/mode/1up 17] while in the 1931 census, the village had 266 occupied houses and a population of 1071, still all Muslims.Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 50].

In 1922, Tawfiq Canaan documented the belief among some of the villagers that the biblical Joseph was thrown into a pit in the proximity of Sinjil. Locals attributed significance to a well called Bir Sinjil. Some said it was the abode of a saint named Sheikh Saleh, while others said it was connected to the prophet Yusuf.{{Cite book |last=Canaan |first=Tawfiq |title=Studies in Palestinian Customs and Folklore |publisher=The Palestine Oriental Society |year=1922 |location=Jerusalem |pages=9 |chapter=II: Haunted Springs and Water Demons in Palestine}}

In the 1945 statistics the population was 1,320 MuslimsGovernment of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p26.jpg 26] while the total land area was 14,186 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/Ramallah/Page-065.jpg 65] Of this, 4,169 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 4,213 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/Ramallah/Page-113.jpg 113] while 47 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/Ramallah/Page-163.jpg 163]

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

In 1961, the population of Sinjil was 1,778 persons.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/JordanCensusPages/JordanCensus1961-p24.pdf 24] It was further noted (note 2) that it was governed through a village council.

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Sinjil has been under Israeli occupation. The population of Singil in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 1,823, of whom 18 originated from the Israeli territory.{{cite web |url=http://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/1967_census/vol_1_tab_2.pdf |title=The 1967 Census of the West Bank and Gaza Strip: A Digitized Version |author=Perlmann, Joel |date=November 2011 – February 2012 |website=Levy Economics Institute |access-date=24 June 2016 }}

Under the Oslo Accords of 1995, 13.8% of village land was classified as Area A, 34.7% as Area B, while the remaining 51.5% is Area C. Israel has confiscated 447 dunams of Sinjil land in order to construct the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Levona. In addition four outposts, including Givat Harel, have been established on Sinjil land.[http://vprofile.arij.org/ramallah/pdfs/vprofile/sinjil_tp_en.pdf Sinjil Town Profile], ARIJ, p. 17

On Wednesday, 7 April 2015, a 32-year-old resident of Sinjil stabbed and injured two paramedics sitting in an ambulance near the entrance to Shiloh. One was hospitalized in serious condition. The perpetrator was killed.[http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.650963 article] in Haaretz, 8/5/2015

On 26 March 2023, Israeli settlers threw a Molotov cocktail at a house in Sinjil which caught fire. The family escaped without injury.{{Cite web |title=بعد اقتحام باحات الأقصى وطرد المصلين.. مستوطنون يحرقون منزلا في سنجل وقوات الاحتلال تشتبك في طولكرم |trans-title=After storming the Al-Aqsa courtyards and expelling the worshipers, settlers burn a house in Sinjil, and the occupation forces clash in Tulkarm |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/news/2023/3/26/%d9%81%d9%84%d8%b3%d8%b7%d9%8a%d9%86-50 |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=Al Jazeera |language=ar}}{{Cite web |date=2023-03-26 |title=مستوطنون يحرقون منزلا فلسطينيا في بلدة سنجل قرب رام الله |trans-title=Settlers burn a Palestinian house in the town of Sinjil, near Ramallah |url=https://qudspress.com/35571/ |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=qudspress.com |language=ar}}

According to Amira Hass, Jewish settlers have hampered villagers' access to their traditional lands. In August 2012, the Red Cross helped the villagers to coordinate with the Israeli Civil Administration and the Israel Defense Forces, enabling them to work on 100 hectares of the land accompanied by an escort.[http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/otherwise-occupied-caught-between-price-tag-and-red-tape.premium-1.456197 'Otherwise Occupied / Caught between Price Tag and red tape,'] Haaretz, August 6, 2012 In January 2012, the United States Agency for International Development financed road work and renovations of the Abu Bakr as-Saddeeq boys' school in Sinjil.[https://web.archive.org/web/20140611140946/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-277919699.html Remarks by the Consul-General Rubinstein]

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 5,742 in 2017. The gender makeup consisted of 2,668 males and 2,568 females. There were 1,029 housing units and the average household size was 5.4.[http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_PCBS/Downloads/book1487.pdf 2007 PCBS Census]. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. p. 112

In 2007, Aziz Shihab whose family was from Sinjil, wrote a memoir of his journey to the village Does the Land Remember Me? (2007).Aziz Shihab, Does the Land Remember Me?: A Memoir of Palestine, Syracuse University Press, 2007 p.Wail S. Hassan, Immigrant Narratives: Orientalism and Cultural Translation in Arab American and Arab British Literature, Oxford University Press, 2011 p.116.

His daughter, Naomi Shihab Nye, who stayed there in 1966, aged 14, and recalls her sojourn as having a formative influence on her poetics.Deborah Brown, Annie Finch, Maxine Kumin (eds.) Title Lofty dogmas: poets on poetics,University of Arkansas Press, p.393.

{{reflist|25em}}

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{{refend}}

• [http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/Sinjil_1595/index.html Welcome to Sinjil]
• [https://www.welcometopalestine.com/destinations/ramallah-al-bireh/sinjil/ Sinjil], Welcome to Palestine
• Survey of Western Palestine, Map 14: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8376 IAA], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.14.jpg Wikimedia commons]
• [http://vprofile.arij.org/ramallah/pdfs/factsheet/sinjil_vp_en.pdf Sinjil Town (Fact Sheet)], Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem (ARIJ)
• [http://vprofile.arij.org/ramallah/pdfs/vprofile/sinjil_tp_en.pdf Sinjil Town Profile], ARIJ
• [http://vprofile.arij.org/ramallah/images/english/Sinjil_ap_en.jpg Sinjil aerial photo], ARIJ
• [http://vprofile.arij.org/ramallah/pdfs/needsfordevelopment/sinjil_vp_en.pdf Locality Development Priorities and Needs in Sinjil Town], ARIJ
• [https://archive.today/20130415145410/http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=3294 Chopping 51 Olive Trees in Sinjil – Ramallah Governorate] 25 June 2011, ARIJ
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130614062054/http://rhr.org.il/page.php?name=human_rights_in_the_occupied_territories&id=33&language=en Plowing in Sinjil]

{{Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate}}

Category:Towns in the West Bank

Category:Municipalities of Palestine