Kafr 'Aqab () is the northernmost Palestinian Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem. It is part of the area annexed and included in municipal Jerusalem following its occupation by Israel in 1967. This area includes an additional approximate of the West Bank, including territory which previously included 28 villages and areas of the Bethlehem and Beit Jala municipalities. Although the Jerusalem Law did not use the term, the Israeli Supreme Court interpreted the law as an effective annexation of East Jerusalem. The United Nations Security Council condemned the attempted change in status to Jerusalem and ruled the law "null and void" in United Nations Security Council Resolution 478.

Due to the Separation Wall effectively cutting the neighborhood off from the rest of Jerusalem, while no such barrier exists between this neighborhood and Ramallah and Al-Bireh, this neighborhood is practically part of the metropolitan area of Ramallah.

Location

Kafr 'Aqab is located north of Central Jerusalem and southeast of Ramallah.

It is bordered by Burqa lands to the east, Al Bireh to the north, Rafat and Qalandiya to the west, and Ar Ram, Qalandiya and Qalandiya Camp to the south.Kafr 'Aqab village profile, ARIJ, p. 4

History The Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) suggested that Kafr 'Aqab was the Crusader village Kefreachab, which was one of 21 villages given by King Godfrey as a fief to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 11de Roziére, 1849, p. 30: Cafareab, p. 262: Keffreca. Both cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, pp. 16-17, No 74

Ottoman era In 1517, the village was included in the Ottoman Empire with the rest of Palestine and in the 1596 tax-records it appeared as Kafr 'Aqba, located in the Nahiya of Jabal Quds of the Liwa of Al-Quds. The population was 47 households, all Muslims. They paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, olive trees, vineyards, fruit trees, goats and beehives in addition to "occasional revenues"; a total of 3,100 akçe.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 118

In 1838, Edward Robinson noted Kafr 'Aqab during his travels in the region,Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, p. 315 as a Muslim village, part of El-Kuds district.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 122

An official Ottoman village list sometime around 1870 listed Kefr 'Akab as having 15 houses and a population of 65, though the population count included men, only.Socin, 1879, p. 156 It was also noted as part of the el-kuds districtHartmann, 1883, p. 127, also noted 15 houses In 1883, SWP described it as "a small hamlet on the slope of a hillside, with a few olives."Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 10

In 1896 the population of Kefr 'akab was estimated to be about 135 persons.Schick, 1896, p. 121

British Mandate era In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Kafr 'Aqab had a population of 189 Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jerusalem, p. 14 increasing in the 1931 census to 250 Muslims, in 59 houses.Mills, 1932, p. 37

In the 1945 statistics the population of Kafr 'Aqab consisted of 290 MuslimsGovernment of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 25 and the land area was 5,472 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 57 Of this, 829 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land, 2,736 for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 103 while 10 dunams were built-up areas.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 153

Jordanian era In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Kafr 'Aqab came under Jordanian rule, and was annexed in 1950.

In 1961, the population was 410 persons.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 24 It was further noted (note 2) that it was governed by a mukhtar.

Post-1967 After the Six-Day War in 1967, Kafr 'Aqab has been under Israeli occupation. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 287, of whom 8 originated from the Israeli territory.

Israel has confiscated 2,037 dunams of land from Kafr 'Aqab in order to construct the Israeli settlement of Kokhav Ya'acov.Kafr 'Aqab village profile, ARIJ, p. 15

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2006, Kafr 'Aqab had a population of 10,411.Projected Mid -Year Population for Jerusalem Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. Primary health care for Kafr 'Aqab is obtained in Al-Ram.West Bank Healthcare In 2007, Kfar 'Aqab was described as a middle class suburb.Palestinians back caliphate over politics, The Telegraph

While Kafr 'Aqab was unilaterally annexed by Israel with the rest of East Jerusalem and falls under its full jurisdiction, it is separated from Jerusalem by the Israeli West Bank barrier. Municipal inspectors never inspect the area beyond the barrier. This creates "a planning nightmare and developer's dream".Israeli, Palestinian boys soccer tournament exposes reality of Jerusalem life, Haaretz

The al-Faruq mosque in Kafr 'Aqab offers weekly classes in the Islamic teachings of Hizb ut-Tahrir.

2020s

The Israeli Construction and Housing Ministry began preparing the master plan for a new Israeli neighborhood to be located at the northern edge of Jerusalem on land near the former Atarot airport currently inhabited by some 15 Palestinian families and will stretch up to the separation barrier, which will be the border between the new neighborhood and the Palestinian Kafr Aqab neighborhood. The land has been slated to become part of the Palestinian state under U.S. President Donald Trump's peace plan. Though Kafr Aqab is considered to be part of Jerusalem, it is on the other side of the barrier wall.

Gallery

Notes

References

Bibliography

(p. 80)

(Röhricht, 1893, RRH, pp. 16-17, No 74)

External links

Border Homes, in Jerusalem but Not, Face an Existential Deadline, By David M. Halbfinger, Nov. 22, 2017, The New York Times In highly rare move, Israel to demolish five Palestinian residential buildings behind separation barrier, Nir Hasson, Oct. 28, 2017, Haaretz Welcome to Kafr 'Aqab Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17: IAA, Wikimedia commons Kafr 'Aqab village (fact sheet), Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem, ARIJ Kafr 'Aqab village profile, ARIJ Kafr 'Aqab aerial photo, ARIJ Locality Development Priorities and Needs in Kafr 'Aqab, ARIJ