Qarawat Bani Hassan () is a Palestinian town in the Salfit Governorate of the state of Palestine, 30 kilometers southwest of Nablus and 8 kilometers northwest of Salfit in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 5,513 in 2017.
Its total land area is 9,684 dunams, of which 507 dunams is built-up area. Since the 1995 Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, 10.7% of its municipal jurisdiction is under the civil administration of the Palestinian National Authority and the security of Israel, while 89.2% is under complete Israeli control. New House Demolitions Threats in Qarawat Bani Hassan village Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem. 2007-08-05.
Location Qarawat Bani Hassan is north-west of Salfit. It is bordered by Deir Istiya and Haris to the east, Sarta to the south, Biddya to the west, and Deir Istiya to the north.
Archaeology Potsherds from the Iron Age II, Iron Age II/Persian, Byzantine, Byzantine/Umayyad, Umayyad/Abbasid, Crusader/Ayyubid and Mamluk eras have been found.Finkelstein & Lederman, 1997, p. 299Dauphin, 1998, p. 807 Qarawat Bani Hassan was examined in 1873, and several major remains were found, some of possible Byzantine origin.picture 1Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 358
Archaeologist Shimon Dar identified the site with the ancient village of Qerutim, known from historical sources for its production of high-quality wine during the Second Temple period. The many winepresses and watchtowers in the Qarawat Bani Hassan area suggest local viticulture was thriving and well-connected to Jerusalem. According to Dar, a Jewish population inhabited the site until the Jewish–Roman wars, after which Samaritans and other non-Jewish groups became predominant. In the context of this Samaritan presence, Qarawat Bani Hassan has been identified with Qarawa, a locality mentioned in later Samaritan sources as the site of a synagogue built by Baba Rabba. Further support for Samaritan activity at the site comes from the discovery of a nearby kokh tomb containing lamps decorated with Samaritan-style menorah motifs; the tomb remained in use through late antiquity before being abandoned during the Byzantine period.
In the village's northern section stands an ancient structure, approximately 10x10 meters in size and 4–5 meters in height, built with well-dressed stones in a header and stretcher pattern. Finkelstein and Lederman propose it likely dates back to the Herodian period.
Deir ed-Derb
About 1/2-mile SE of the village centre is Deir ed-Darb ("The monastery of the road"Palmer, 1881, p. 228), described as "one of the finest sepulchral monuments in the country".Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 313picture 2picture 3 In 1873 when it was visited, it was described as having three chambers. The portico had a 50 ft long Doric cornice in front, and was supported by two Ionic columns and two pilasters.Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 314 15 triglyphs and 14 rosettes were cut, where all the rosettes were of different designs. It looked as if the work was not quite finished, as not all the gutta had been carved. The walls of the portico are carved to resemble irregular drafted masonry.Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 315 The structure bears a strong resemblance to some tombs by Jerusalem, which have been dated to 1st century CE.Peleg-Barkat, O., 2015. "Decorated Tomb Façades in Early Roman Jerusalem and their Influence on the Decoration of Tombs in Judaea and Samaria," in: Ben-Arieh, Y. et al. (eds.), Study of Jerusalem through the Ages, Jerusalem: Yad Yitzhak Ben Zvi, pp. 73–121. (Hebrew) Archaeologist Shimon Dar, who excavated the site in 1978, suggested it was constructed either during the Hasmonean period or under Herod's reign. Archaeologist Yitzhak Magen has linked Deir ed-Derb and other similar tombs in Samaria (including Khirbet Kurkush and Mokata 'Abud) to the departure of Jewish craftsmen from Jerusalem to Samaria before the siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Orit Peleg-Barkat, on the other hand, suggested that these tombs were constructed by local Jewish elites who were inspired by the elaborate graves of the Jewish elite in Jerusalem of the late Second Temple period.Raviv D., 2013, "Magnificent Tombs from the Second Temple Period in Western Samaria – New Insights", In the Highland's Depth – Ephraim Range and Binyamin Research Studies, Vol. 3, Ariel-Talmon, pp. 109–142. (Hebrew)
Kulat Ferdus Kulat Ferdus is a tower, situated in the middle of the village, and named after a king whose tomb is to the south (beside Deir ed Derb). In 1873 it was described as being inhabited, and in very good condition. The size was 40 times 45 feet, and 20 to 30 feet high. The outer walls were 5 feet thick and 1 1/2 to 5 feet long. The courses were from 1 foot 8 inches to 2 feet tall. The stones were drafted, cut 4 inches broad and 1 inch deep. The building was entered through two doors on the east side. There were six chambers inside, about 6 by 12 feet in size and with a semicircular vaulting. The building appeared of Byzantine origin, possibly earlier.
Burj el-Yakhur Burj el-Yakhur is a two-story tower, located in the upper part of the village, to the south.Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II p. 359 The walls are 6–8 feet thick. The ground floor (basement) is about 48 times 24 feet, 12–15 feet high, and has a fine barrel vault. To the left of the entrance, there is a stair leading up to the first floor. According to Pringle, this tower dates from the Crusader area.Pringle, 1997, p. 7Pringle, 1997, p. 85
Sheikh 'Aly el-Amanat An above-average-sized mosque located at the south-east end of the village. When examined in 1873, a large sunken structure was found adjoining it on the western side. Part of this structure was used as a birkeh ("pool").Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 360 According to Pringle, this mosque (called Jami al-Umari), dates from the Mamluk area. Following a 1975 excavation, Dar dated the mosque to the Abbasid period. The structure is situated on the foundations of an earlier building that featured columns and bases, corresponding to the church mentioned by both Guerin and the SWP team. Architectural fragments, including limestone columns, column drums marked with Greek letters, glazed pottery fragments, and a limestone door in the style of the Second Temple period, were recovered, along with pottery and glassware dating from the 4th to 7th centuries CE. According to Dar, these findings indicate that the site was not a church but rather a public building in use during late antiquity.
History Amr ibn al-A'as, a prominent Arab commander of the Rashidun army, was said to have been injured in the village. According to local tradition, a tree was planted on the spot where his blood was spilled. The story was written up in the village history in the year 1919.Qarawat Bani Hassan Village Profile International Women's Peace Service. (Archive) In 1225 Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi noted that Qarawat Bani Hassan was "a village in the District of Nablus."al-Hamawi quoted in Le Strange, 1890, p. 480.
Ottoman era In 1596, Qarawat Bani Hasan appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the nahiya of Jabal Qubal, part of the Sanjak of Nablus. It had a population of 13 households and 3 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33.3% on various products, such as wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues"; a total of 2,000 akçe.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 132 Potsherds from the early Ottoman era have been found.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Qarawat Bani Hassan formed part of the highland region known as Jūrat ‘Amra or Bilād Jammā‘īn. Situated between Dayr Ghassāna in the south and the present Route 5 in the north, and between Majdal Yābā in the west and Jammā‘īn, Mardā and Kifl Ḥāris in the east, this area served, according to historian Roy Marom, "as a buffer zone between the political-economic-social units of the Jerusalem and the Nablus regions. On the political level, it suffered from instability due to the migration of the Bedouin tribes and the constant competition among local clans for the right to collect taxes on behalf of the Ottoman authorities."
In 1838 Kurawa Beni Hasan was noted as a Muslim village, in Jurat Merda, south of Nablus.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 127
French explorer Victor Guérin visited the village in 1870, and estimated it as having about 150 inhabitants. He described the town as being in decline, but with great remains of former better times. When he was visiting, a squad of bashi-bazouks were rounding up 35 villagers, and taking them to Nablus as they had not paid their taxes.Guérin, 1875, pp. 174 ff
In 1870/1871 (1288 AH), an Ottoman census listed the village with a population of 76 households in the nahiya (sub-district) of Jamma'in al-Awwal, subordinate to Nablus.
In the 1882 "Survey of Western Palestine", the village (called Kurawa Ibn Hasan) was described as: partly ruinous, but evidently at one time a place of great importance, with ancient tombs, one of great beauty, and rude stone towers. Its ancient name is given by the natives as Sham et Tawil. The little mosque of Sheikh 'Aly el 'Amanat stands apparendy over the apse of a church. The supply of water is from wells and cisterns.Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 285
British Mandate era In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted in 1922 by the British Mandate authorities, Karawa or Qarawa had an entirely Muslim population of 313,Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Nablus, p. 26 while in the 1931 census, Qarawa had 89 occupied houses and population of 352, still all Muslim.Mills. 1932, p. 63
In the 1945 statistics the population was 450, all Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 19 while the total land area was 9,685 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 60 Of this, 105 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 2,820 for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 107 while 30 dunams were classified as built-up areas.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 157
Jordanian era In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Qarawat Bani Hassan came under Jordanian rule.
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 667 inhabitants.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 26
Post-1967 Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Qarawat Bani Hassan has been under Israeli occupation.
In 1986, the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Netafim was founded on land belonging to the Palestinian villages of Qarawat Bani Hassan and Haris. In November 2014 Netafim began bulldozing and clearing further Qarawat Bani Hassan territory, under the protecting of Israeli troops, in a measure apparently designed to extend the settlement.'Israeli settlers level Palestinian land west of Salfit,' Ma'an News Agency 9 November 2014.
After the 1995 accords, 9% of village land was classified as Area B in the Oslo II Accord, while the remaining 91% is Area C.Qarawat Bani Hassan Town Profile, ARIJ, 2013, p. 17
Israel has confiscated a total of 341 dunams from Qarawat Bani Hassan: 174 dunams for Kiryat Netafim and 167 dunams for Barkan.
Freedom Road