Dura () is a Palestinian city located eleven kilometers southwest of Hebron, in the southern West Bank, in the Hebron Governorate of the State of Palestine. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 39,336 in 2017. The current mayor is Ahmad Salhoub.
In 1517, Dura was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire with the rest of Syria. In the late Ottoman and early Mandatory periods, Dura was the only permanent settlement in the southeastern ridge of the central highlands. Starting as a village and evolving into a town, it sprawled across large territories, becoming a center for influential families, collectively referred to as Abu-Darham.
After the British Mandate, in the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Dura came under Jordanian rule. Dura was established as a municipality on January 1, 1967, five months before it came under Israeli occupation after the Six-Day War. Since 1995, it has been governed by the Palestinian National Authority, as part of Area A of the West Bank and as part of the Hebron Governorate of the State of Palestine.
Etymology The present-day name of Dura has been identified with ancient Adoraim or the Adora of 1 Macc.13.20B. Bar-Kochva, Judas Maccabaeus: The Jewish Struggle Against the Seleucids, Cambridge University Press, 2002 p.285.James L. Kugel, A Walk Through Jubilees: Studies in the Book of Jubilees and the World of Its Creation, BRILL, 2012 p.303,Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, p. 4 The village was originally built on two hills: Dura al-‘Amaira and Dura al-Arjan possibly reflecting dual grammatical number of Adoraim name, which could also be a double village during antiquity.Sharon, 2013, p. 86
History
Archaeology Ancient cisterns and fragments of mosaics have been found at Dura.Dauphin, 1998, p. 946
The settlement was mentioned in the Amarna letters as early as 14th century BC. and in the Papyrus Anastasi I.
A 1st-century CE mansion, inhabited until the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), was partially excavated near Dura, at Khirbet Moraq. The city retained its Jewish character until at least the end of the Bar Kokhba revolt (135 CE).
Early Muslim period Mukaddasi, writing around 985 CE, noted that Palestine was famous for its vineyards and a type of raisin called Dūrī, said to be from Dura.Mukaddasi, 1896, p. 69 (note 3).
Ottoman period 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 Khalil of the Liwa of Quds. It had a population of 49 Muslim households. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, including on wheat, barley, olives, vines or fruit trees, and goats or beehives; a total of 10,000 akçe.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 124
According to a study by William F. Albright, Bedouins overran Dura in the 17th century. As a result, new families became the dominant ones, replacing its previous population.Albright, W.F., The Israelite Conquest of Canaan in the Light of Archaeology. Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research, 74, pp. 11-33Grossman, D. "The expansion of the settlement frontier of Hebron's western and southern fringes". Geography Research Forum, 5, 1982, pp. 57-73. Residents of several villages in the Ramallah Governorate such as At-Tira, Beit 'Anan, Beit Ur al-Fauqa, and Dura al-Qar', trace their ancestry to Dura.Grossman (1982), p. 64.
During the late Ottoman and early Mandatory periods, Dura stood as the sole permanent settlement in the southeastern ridge of the central highlands. Beginning as a village and evolving into a town, it expanded across extensive territories, becoming a battleground for influential families, collectively known as Abu-Darham, particularly the al-'Amr, Namura, Dudeen, and Hajji hamulas. These families, associated with the 'Amr and 'Arjan quarters, frequently quarreled for dominance. Some Abu-Darham families claimed non-native ancestry, having integrated into the village during the 18th century. Establishing alliances with Bedouin tribes proved advantageous. 'Abd al-Rahman al-'Amr, a prominent ruler, sought refuge among the Bedouin Tiaha tribe following his escape from a prison in Jerusalem after he revolted in the 1850s. This connection helped deter Bedouin incursions and facilitated peaceful territorial expansions for Dura.
In 1834, Dura's inhabitants participated in an uprising against the Egyptian Ibrahim Pasha, who took over the area between 1831 and 1840. When Robinson visited in 1838, he described Dura as one of the largest villages in the area, and the residence of the sheikhs of Ibn Omar, who had formerly ruled the area.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, pp. 2-5
In 1863 the French explorer Victor Guérin visited the place, and noted that "Fragments of ancient columns, and a good number of cut stones taken from old constructions and built up in the Arab houses, show the antiquity of the place. Two barracks especially have been built in this way. Above the door of one, a block forming the lintel was once ornamented with mouldings, now very much mutilated. Close to the town is a celebrated wely in which lies a colossal sarcophagus, containing, it is said, the body of Noah."Guérin, 1869, pp. 353 −355; as translated by Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 328
An Ottoman village list from about 1870 found that Dura had a population of 420, in 144 houses, though the population count included men, only.Socin, 1879, p. 153Hartmann, 1883, p. 142, noted 249 houses In 1877 Lieutenant Kitchener had some boys publicly flogged in Dura following an incident when stones were thrown at a member of the Palestine Exploration Fund survey party.Kitchener, 1878, p. 14
In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Dura as "A large and nourishing village on the flat slope of a hill, with open ground on the east for about a mile. This plain is cultivated with corn. To the north of Dura are a few olives, and others on the south. The houses are of stone. South of the village are two Mukams with white domes; and on the west, higher than the village, is the tomb of Neby Nuh (Prophet Noah). Near these there are rock-cut sepulchres. The place is well supplied from three springs on the east and one on the south."Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 304
British Mandate In 1921, a violent conflict took place between Dura and the nearby town of Ad-Dhahiriya. It was resolved through the imposition of a hefty fine of 20,000 Egyptian pounds on the "brigands" of Dura.Grossman (1982), p. 62-69. In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Dura was divided into Dura al-‘Amaira, with 2,565 inhabitants, and Dura al-Arjan, with 3,269 inhabitants; a total of 5,834, all Muslims.Barron, 1923, Table V, Sub-district of Hebron, p. 10 The report of the 1931 census wrote that "the village in the Hebron sub-district commonly known as Dura is a congeries of neighbouring localities each of which has a distinctive name; and, while Dura is a remarkable example of neighbourly agglutination, the phenomenon is not infrequent in other villages". The total of 70 locations listed in the report had 1538 inhabited houses and a population of 7255 Muslims.Mills, 1932, pp. Preface, 28–32
In the 1945 statistics the population of Dura was 9,700, all Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 23 who owned 240,704 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. 50 3,917 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 90,637 for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 93 while 226 dunams were built-up (urban) land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 143 Dura village lands covered in this period an estimated , which included 99 ruined settlement sites.Magen Broshi, 'The Population of Western Palestine in the Roman-Byzantine Period,' Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 236 (Autumn, 1979), pp.1-10, p.6.
The Palestinian Rural History Project recorded several historical satellite localities or dependencies associated with Dura, including al-Burj, al-Kom, Deir Razih, Deir Sammit, Ifqeiqis, Marah al-Baqqar, Murran and Umm al-Shuqaf. Additional sites include: Beit Awwa As Simiya Imreish Beit ar-Rush al-Fauqa Al-Majd Deir al-'Asal al-Fauqa al-Burj
Jordanian rule In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Dura came under Jordanian rule.
In 1961, the population of Dura was 3,852.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 13
Post-1967 Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Dura has been under Israeli occupation. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 4,954.
The municipality of Dura was established on January 1, 1967, five months before it was occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War.
After the Palestinian National Authority was ceded control of the town in 1995, a local committee was set up to prevent land confiscation from the town and the municipal council was expanded. Many Palestinian ministries and governmental institutions opened offices in Dura, enhancing its role in Palestinian politics.
In 1999, Israeli PM Ehud Barak proposed constructing a bridge linking Beit Hanoun and Dura, in order to connect the West Bank with the Gaza Strip.
In 2011 the Dura International Stadium was renovated. It can hold up to 18,000 spectators and hosts national and international games.
The Dura Municipal Rehabilitation Center assists Palestinian Authority residents with special needs and developmental disabilities. Occupational therapy, visual rehabilitation for the seeing impaired, and outreach program are some of the services offered.
Dura has a public library, swimming pool, and a park which includes a children's theater.
In June 2014, during the search to find three kidnapped boys, 150 Israeli soldiers stormed Dura's Haninia neighbourhood in a dawn raid to detain a person, and were met by young men and boys throwing rocks. An Israeli soldier shot and killed a teenager who was among the rock throwers, 13'13-year-old Palestinian shot dead by Israeli forces in Dura,' Ma'an News Agency, 20 June 2014. or 15-year-old Mohammed Dudeen.Jodi Rudoren, 'Israeli Troops Kill Palestinian Teenager Protesting West Bank Arrests,' The New York Times, 20 June 2014:'as he and other youths hurled rocks at about 150 soldiers.'"One of them crouched and opened fire on the boy," said Bassam al-Awadeh, 42, who said he watched from about away. "The boy was hit in his heart and his abdomen.".'
The city has experienced a water crisis since the Israeli occupation and has been described as "among the most water-deprived in the West Bank." The city has no wells or reservoirs relies on a single pipe for its primary water supply.
Israeli settlement The Israeli settlement of Adora, Har Hevron is located 4 kilometers north of the town in the Judaean Mountains and has inhabitants. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law.
Demography Dura is home to several clan, such as Al Swaty, Al 'Amayra, Amro, Al Sharha, Al Darweash, Al Maslamea', Al Darbeai', and Al Awawda'.Dura Town Profile, ARIJ, 2009 The Al 'Amayra (or 'Amr) clan, with families like Haji and Muhammad, has long-standing roots in Dura. They owned lands in the area and allowed migrant families to cultivate and utilized some lands as tenants.
According to one account, the Maslamea' family came from Beit Jala.