Deir Qaddis () is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the central West Bank, located sixteen kilometers west of Ramallah. The Case of Deir Qiddis village Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem 10 November 2007. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 2,452 inhabitants in 2017. The town consists of 8,207 dunams, of which 438 dunams are classified as built-up area. As a result of 1995 accords, 7.7% of Deir Qaddis' land was transferred to the Palestinian National Authority for civil affairs, so-called Area B, but Israel still retains full control of 92.3% of the town, being in Area C.

Location Deir Qaddis is located north-west of Ramallah. It is bordered by Kharbatha Bani Harith and Al-Itihad to the east, Shibtin to the north, Ni’lin to the west, and Bil’in to the south.

Etymology

In the 19th century, the name Deir Qaddis was interpreted to mean "monastery of the saint". Qaddis means a holy person and is of Aramaic origin.

History French explorer Victor Guérin found remains of houses built with large blocks and several cisterns dug into the rock, while SWP (1882) notes a ruined monastery and a nearby cave. According to SWP the name of the village indicated that a convent had existed there.

A survey by Finkelstein and Lederman uncovered no ancient pottery.

Ottoman era The village was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared in the tax registers as Dayr Qiddis in the Nahiya of Ramlah of the Liwa of Gazza. It had a population of 11 households, all Muslim, and paid taxes on wheat, barley, summer crops, olive- and fruit trees, goats and beehives, and a press for olives or grapes; a total of 5,400 akçe.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 154 In 1838 Deir el-Kaddis was described as a village in the Beni Hasan area west of Jerusalem.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, p. 133Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, p. 66Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 123

In 1863 Guérin estimated that Deir Kaddis had about 350 inhabitants,Guérin, 1875, p. 85 while an Ottoman village list from 1870 showed Der Kaddis had 36 houses and a population of 112, a count that included only men.Socin, 1879, p. 152Hartmann, 1883, p. 140, also noted 36 houses

In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Deir el Kuddis as a "small hamlet on a high hill-top, with gardens to the north [..] There is a well on the east."Conder and Kitchener, 1882, p. 297

British Mandate era In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Deir Qaddis had a population of 299 inhabitants, all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table VII, Division Jaffa, Sub-district of Ramleh, p. 22 increasing in the 1931 census to a population of 368 Muslims in 82 houses.Mills, 1932, p. 19

In the 1945 statistics, the population of Deir Qaddis was 440 Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 29 with 8,224 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. 66 1,815 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 1,069 dunams for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 114 while 8 dunams were built-up (urban) land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 164

Jordanian era In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Deir Qaddis came under Jordanian rule.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 752 inhabitants in Deir Qaddis.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 24

Post-1967 Deir Qaddis came under Israeli occupation during the 1967 Six-Day War. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 461, 25 of whom originated from the Israeli territory.

After the 1995 accords, 7.7% of the village's total area has been classified as Area B land, while the remaining 93.3% is Area C.Deir Qaddis Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 16

According to ARIJ, Israel built three Israeli settlements on the village lands: 1818 dunams for Modi'in Illit,Deir Qaddis Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 17 446 dunams for Nili, 471 dunams for Na'ale.

In 2008, access to some of the village land was cut off by the Israeli West Bank barrier. Access was restored in 2012.Ocha Monthly report, 2012

The town's prominent families are Husain, Qattosa, Nasser, Abu Zeid, Hamada, Awadh, Abu Laban and Kreish.History of Dayr Qaddis Palestine Remembered.

A female IDF soldier was lightly injured in a car ramming attack in the vicinity of Deir Qaddis. The attacker was shot and critically injured by soldiers.

References

Bibliography

External links Welcome To Dayr Qaddis Survey of Western Palestine, Map 14: IAA, Wikimedia commons Deir Qaddis Fact sheet, Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem (ARIJ) Deir Qaddis profile, ARIJ Deir Qaddis aerial photo, ARIJ Locality Development Priorities and Needs in Deir Qaddis Village, ARIJ The Expansion of Kiryat Sefer Settlement on the Land of Dier 27, February, 1997, POICA The Israeli Occupation Milling of a Road Designated for "Military Purposes" Deir Qaddis – Ramallah Governorate 01, June, 2011, POICA “Israeli Piracy During the Daylight” The Israeli Bulldozers Started to Razing Lands in Deir Qiddis in order to loot more than 100 dunums of Deir Qiddis lands southwest of Ramallah 02, June, 2011, POICA