Maroun al-Ras ()Meaning "Mârân of the head (a headland)" or from a personal name, according to Palmer, 1881, p. 88 is a municipality nestled in Jabal Amel (Mount Amel) in the district of Bint Jbeil in the Nabatiye Governorate in southern Lebanon. It is located around south east of Beirut, roughly one km (0.62 mi) from the border with Israel.
History
Before 2006 In 1596, it was named as a village, Marun er-Ras, in the Ottoman nahiya (subdistrict) of Tibnin under the liwa' (district) of Safad, with a population of 97 Muslim households. The villagers paid a fixed tax of 25% on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, olive trees, vineyards, goats and beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues" and an olive oil press; a total of 8,960 akçe.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 181Note that Rhode, 1979, p. 6 () writes that the register that Hütteroth and Abdulfattah studied was not from 1595/6, but from 1548/9
In 1838 Edward Robinson noted it as a village located on a higher hill than Yarun.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, p. 371
In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it: "A stone village, with some large stones built into walls, containing about 150 Moslems, situated on the top of high hills, with vineyards and arable land; water is obtained from 'Ain Hara, and cisterns in the village."Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 202 They further noted: "At this village there are a considerable number of well-cut stones and remains, which indicate that there was once a church here similar to that at Yarun; these stones have been mostly found to the west of the village, in vineyards. A capital of a column, with mediaeval ornamentation, and a small piece of sculptured stone, with leaves and figures as at Yarun, are in the village. There is also an architrave with a Greek inscription, in three pieces."Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 251
In the 1945 statistics the population was counted with Saliha and Yaroun, and totalled 1070 MuslimsDepartment of Statistics, 1945, p. 11 with 11,735 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. 71 Of this, 7,401 dunams were allocated to cereals, 422 dunams were irrigated or used for orchards,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 121 while 58 dunams were built-up (urban) area.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 171 2006 Lebanon War
The village was the scene of the Battle of Maroun al-Ras, a major confrontation between the Israeli Army and Hezbollah fighters during the 2006 Lebanon War. The village is at an elevation of , and is strategically important as it overlooks the surrounding towns. During the battle, the village was partly occupied by Israel, which claimed it was a stronghold for Hezbollah and one of the launching points for rocket attacks on northern Israel. There are reports that control of the village was contested at the time of the ceasefire. After-battle reports claimed the IDF troops never fully secured the border area and that Maroun al-Ras was never fully taken.
2024 Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon
In October 2024, IDF forces operated in the village as part of its invasion of southern Lebanon. The Israeli flag was raised, after the victory.
Demographics In 2014 Muslims made up 99.68% of registered voters in Maroun al-Ras. 98.72% of the voters were Shiite Muslims. https://lub-anan.com/المحافظات/النبطية/بنت-جبيل/مارون-الراس/المذاهب/
References
Bibliography
External links Survey of Western Palestine, Map 4: IAA, Wikimedia commons Maroun Er Ras, Localiban