Qaryut

Qaryout () is a Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank, located southeast of Nablus.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Qaryut had a population of 2,560 inhabitants in 2017.

Location Qaryut is located 17 km south of Nablus. It is bordered by Duma and Jalud to the east, Qusra and Talfit to the north, As Sawiya to the west, and Turmus'ayya to the south. Qaryut Village profile (including Jalud Locality), ARIJ, p. 4

History Qaryut is an ancient village.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. 356 Shards from the Iron Age II, Persian, Persian/Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine Crusader/Ayyubid and Mamluk era have been found here.Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 654

Western travellers, like Edward Robinson, have suggested that Qaryut might be identical to ancient Coreae.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, p. 83Ritter, 1866, vol 2, p. 345Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 288

Röhricht suggested that Qaryut is identical with Kariateri, a place mentioned in Crusader texts.Röhricht, 1887, p. 222; cited in Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 654

It has been noted that: "This place, being at the head of Wady Fusail, seems to have given rise to the mediaeval identification of that valley as the Brook Cherith (mentioned by Marino Sanuto in 1321)."

Ottoman period Potsherds from the early Ottoman era have been found here.

In 1838, Kuriyet was noted as being located in El-Beitawy district, east of Nablus.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 128

In 1870, Victor Guérin noted: "This village is divided into two distinct districts, each under the jurisdiction of a particular Sheikh. Its population is seven hundred and fifty inhabitants. In the gardens around it grow fig trees, pomegranates and vines. Several old rock formations are currently dry, and women are forced to fetch water as far as Ain Siloun ['Seilun/Seiloun spring']. In two houses, I notice some blocks with boss cut." Guérin also identified Qaryut with ancient Coreae.Guérin, 1875, pp. 20-21

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine noted that Kuriyut was: "a small village, on the top of a high chain, with a spring between it and the ruin of Seilun (Shiloh)." The Arabic for "ruin of Seilun" is Khirbet Seilun.

The current residents of Qaryut trace their ancestry back to the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia.

The Palestinian Rural History Project, records Khirbat Sara (خربة سارة) as a dependency of Qaryut, south of the village center.

British Mandate In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Qariut had a population of 530 Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Nablus, p. 25 increasing in the 1931 census to 732; 3 Christians and 729 Muslims, in 156 houses.Mills, 1932, p. 64

In the 1945 statistics Qaryut had a population of 930, all Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 19 with 7,491 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. 60 Of this, 2,611 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 2,803 were used for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 107 while 63 dunams were built-up land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 157

Jordanian military period In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Qaryut came under Jordanian rule.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 1,163 inhabitants.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 26

1967, aftermath Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Qaryut has been under Israeli occupation.

After the 1995 accords, 23% of village land is classified as Area B, the remaining 77% is Area C. Qaryut Village profile (including Jalud Locality), ARIJ, p. 16

As of 2014, Israel has confiscated 2,221 dunams of Qaryat village land for 3 Israeli settlements: Eli, Shilo and Mizpe Rahel. Qaryut Village profile (including Jalud Locality), ARIJ, p. 17

Israeli settler violence In 2013, Israeli settlers from Eli have uprooted more than 100 olive trees belonging to Qaryut village.More than 100 olive trees uprooted in West Bank, Palestinians report by Jack Khoury, Oct. 19, 2013, Haaretz In 2025, hundreds of olive trees were destroyed under a military security order.

On June 30, 2023, settlers escorted by soldiers entered the village near the freshwater spring; residents who gathered to defend the area were targeted with tear gas, and a soldier was filmed smashing a resident's car window.

In April 2023, settlers cut down approximately 117 fruit-yielding olive trees over a two-week period on lands northeast of the village.

On September 6, 2024, 13-year-old civilian girl, Bana Laboum, was murdered by an Israeli sniper while in her bedroom. The shooting occurred during a military raid following a settler attack on the village.

In October 2025, the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission reported that Israeli authorities issued a military order to seize approximately 70 dunams of privately owned land from Qaryut, Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya, and Al-Sawiya. The land is designated for a "buffer zone" around the nearby settlement of Eli.

On March 2, 2026, Mohammad Taha Maamar (52) and his brother Faheem (Fahim) Taha Maamar (48), unarmed Palestinian civilians, were shot and killed by Israeli settlers in cold blood while attempting to prevent armed settlers from uprooting and damaging olive trees and other crops on their privately owned land. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, Mohammad was shot in the head and Faheem in the pelvis, and at least three others, including another brother, were wounded in the attack. Rights groups reported that the violence erupted after a settler, operating a bulldozer near the village, was confronted by residents defending their land, prompting armed settlers to open fire. The killings are part of a broader surge in settler violence linked to efforts to seize or destroy Palestinian agricultural property, including trees and groves on privately held land. Following the assault, Israeli forces entered the village, detained residents, and used tear gas on villagers, including some who were already wounded.

According to the IDF Spokesperson, the killer has been identified as active reservist in the IDF, who had his weapon taken from him and a "criminal investigation" opened against him, despite no arrests having been made. According to +972 Magazine, the soldier involved may have belonged to a regional defense unit (Hebrew: Hagmar), military units composed largely of settlers who patrol their own communities. These units were expanded by the Israeli army after 7 October 2023 due to the redeployment of personnel to Gaza, and have since been reported to be involved in multiple violent incidents in the West Bank.

Notable people Taysir Khalid (born 1941), Palestinian politician

Qaryut

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