Deir al-Ghusun () is a Palestinian town in the Tulkarm Governorate, located eight kilometers northeast of the city of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank, Palestine. The town is near the Green Line (border between Israel and the West Bank). The town had a population of 9,936 in 2017. Its altitude is 200 meters.
History Pottery remains from the Byzantine, early Muslim and the Middle Ages have been found here.Zertal, 2016, pp. 442-443
In 1265, Deir al-Ghusun was mentioned among the estates which Sultan Baibars granted his followers, after he had defeated the Crusaders. The whole of Deir al-Ghusun was given to Emir Badr al-Din Muhammad Bi, son of emir Husam al-Din Baraka Khan.Ibn al-Furat, 1971, pp. 81, 209, 249 (map)
His father Husam al-Din Baraka Khan was buried in Turba Baraka Khan; a sister was married to Baibars, and became the mother of Al-Said Barakah. A later waqf named the revenues of Deir al-Ghusun and a mosque (masjid), tomb (turba) (presently Khalidi Library), to be given for "the cure of the sick and the preparing of the dead for burial in Jerusalem."Burgoyne, 1987, p. 110
Ottoman era Deir el-Ghusun may have been the village marked as "El Dair" on Pierre Jacotin's map surveyed during Napoleon's 1799 invasion during the late Ottoman period.Karmon, 1960, p. 170 In the middle of the 19th century, it was known for its cotton production.
During the 1834 Peasants' revolt in Palestine, Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt pursued rebels to nearby Zeita. Ninety rebels were slain there, while the rest fled to Deir al-Ghusun.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, pp. 135–136 At Deir al-Ghusun, many of the inhabitants and rebels heeded a call by Husayn Abd al-Hadi to flee once the Egyptian troops arrived. In response, rebel commander Qasim had several of the defectors among his ranks killed.Macalister and Masterman, 1906, p. 39 Ibrahim Pasha's troops stormed the hill at Deir al-Ghusun and the rebels (mostly members of the Qasim, Jarrar, Jayyusi and Barqawi families) were routed, suffering 300 fatalities.
In 1852, Edward Robinson noted: "From 'Attil we now turned again up the mountain, following the direct road to Nabulus; and taking a guide for Ramin. Leaving the village at 11:15, we descended into the southern basin, and then entered a long shallow valley running up on the right of Deir el-Ghusun and its hill. A string of ten camels, led by donkeys, was slowly climbing the hill to that village. At 11:50 we were at the top of the valley; Deir el-Ghusun bearing north 70°E, half a mile distant. The region is full of olive trees. A valley comes down from the south nearly to the village, and then sweeps round to the west. This we crossed, and then rose upon sloping ground on our left. At 12.05 we came out upon the brow of the deep Valley Mussin, coming from the plain of Fendekumieh; it is said to unite with Wady Abu Nar in the western plain beyond Jett. We reached the bottom of the valley at 12.20; and noticed its deep water-channel, now dry.—The road thus far from 'Attil was evidently very old; but we saw no appearance of pavement. Whether this was the ancient way from Caesarea to Sebaste may be doubted; since a more feasible route exists from the plain along the great Wady Sha'ir, which comes down from Nabulus, and is the next valley south of Wady Mussin."Robinson and Smith, 1856, p. 125
In 1863, Victor Guérin passed by and noted the village south of Attil. He described it as large, and occupying a hilltop.Guérin, 1875, p. 345 In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as "a village of moderate size, on a hill, with a well to the west. On the north is open low ground. It is surrounded with magnificent groves of olives, occupying an area of about three square miles towards the south."Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 152
In 1870/1871 (1288 AH), an Ottoman census listed the village in the nahiya (sub-district) of al-Sha'rawiyya al-Gharbiyya.
In the early 20th century, residents of Deir el-Ghusun established agricultural hamlets known as khirba, used mainly during the plowing and harvesting seasons, on the outskirts of the village. From the 1920s onwards, six of them became independent villages.Transformation in Arab Settlement, Moshe Brawer, in The Land that Became Israel: Studies in Historical Geography, Ruth Kark (ed), Magnes Press, Jerusalem 1989, p.174
British Mandate era In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Deir al Ghusun had a population of 1,410, all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Tulkarem, p. 27 increasing by the 1931 census to 2,060, still all Muslim, in 451 houses.Mills, 1932, p. 54
In the 1945 statistics, Deir al-Ghusun was counted with the villages which later made up Zemer, and together they had a population of 2,860 Muslims,Government of Palestine Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 20 with a total of 27,770 dunums of land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 74 Of this, a total of 183 dunams were used for citrus and bananas, 13,757 were for plantations and irrigated land, 11,585 dunums were for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 124 while 94 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 174
The villages of Jarisha and Masqufa are located within Deir al-Ghusun but are governed by independent village councils.
Jordanian era During 1948 Arab–Israeli War, 14,000 dunams of Deir al-Ghusun land were seized by Israel. After the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Deir al-Ghusun came under Jordanian rule.
In 1961, the population was 3,376.Government of Jordan, 1964, p. 14
Post-1967 Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Deir al-Ghusun has been under Israeli occupation.
Land Currently, its total land area is about 13,000 dunams of which 2,268 is built-up area.Closing of all the local agricultural roads in Deir Al Ghusun town Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem (ARIJ) and Land Research Center (LRC). Since the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority in 1994, the built-up area of the town increased by over 20% or an annual expansion of 34 dunams by 2000.Spatial and Socioeconomic analysis at micro level: Deir al Ghusun, population, living conditions and urban trends Local Government Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority, Statistics obtained by Mayor of Deir al-Ghusun (Khaled Muhammad) and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. pp.11-13. Agricultural land comprises 7,432 dunams, while the remainder is a part of the Seam Zone.
Economy Deir al-Ghusun was more prosperous than other Palestinian towns, however, the confiscation of substantial amounts of cultivable land east of the Green Line, the temporary sanctions against the Palestinian National Authority in 2006-2007, and the disruption of trade and transportation by Israeli West Bank Barrier has somewhat hampered the economy.The city of Tulkarem and its villages:The town of Deir al-Ghusun Agriculture constitutes 50-54% of the local economy, and the town's main agricultural products are olive oil, citrus, melons, cucumbers and nuts.
The commercial sector also provides for the town's residents, but is not very significant. The service sector comprises 25% of the town's income. A reservoir to supply the town with fresh water without the frustration of residents physically transporting water from Tulkarm was built in 2003 and replaced a dysfunctional older water tank, built in 1978.FOCUS Vol. 1 Tulkarm and Qalqilya: Keep the Water flowing in Deir al-Ghusun United Nations Development Programme. pp. 16-17.
Demographics According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Deir al-Ghusun had a population of approximately 9,936 inhabitants in 2017. In 1922, the town had a population of 1,410 and according to a census in 1945, the number of inhabitants rose to 2,220. In the PCBS's first official census in 1997, the town had a population of 7,055 inhabitants including 660 refugees.Palestinian Population by Locality and Refugee Status: Tulkarm Governorate (1997 Census) Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. The gender makeup was 3,612 males and 3,443 females.Palestinian Population by Locality, Sex and Age Groups in Years (1997 Census) Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
Approximately 53% of Deir al-Ghusun's residents are within the employment age range (15-64) and females constitute a significant 48% of the local labor force. According to the municipal government, the town's economy was productive and steady in the post-First Intifada period, but decreased by 70% in 2001 at the beginning of the Second Intifada. The unemployment rate increased dramatically from 55% in 1999 to 80% after 2000. Approximately 51% of the households of the town have 1-5 family members, 43% have 6-10 members and 6% have more than 10 members. About 9% of the population in Deir al-Ghusun is illiterate and of this statistic, 83% are women.
Local origin In the village, which predominantly saw settlement activities during the 20th century, there was a prominent settlement of Hebronites originating from the village of Sa'ir. Additionally, the village was inhabited by shepherds from various background, including members of the Zidan tribe, who trace their lineage to the tribe of Zahir al-Umar.Grossman, D. (1986). "Oscillations in the Rural Settlement of Samaria and Judaea in the Ottoman Period". in Shomron studies. Dar, S., Safrai, S., (eds). Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House. p. 347
People from Deir al-Ghusun Salam Fayyad, politician, born here Abd al-Sattar Qasim, writer and academic, born here Izzat Ghazzawi, writer, born here
References
Bibliography
(Typo: p5 on p. 137: not in the table, but placed in the position of Deir al-Ghusun on the map.)
External links Welcome To Dayr al-Ghusoun Deir al-Ghusun, Welcome to Palestine Survey of Western Palestine, Map 11: IAA, Wikimedia commons