Kafr Zibad () is a Palestinian village in the Tulkarm Governorate in the western part of the West Bank, located 17 kilometers south of Tulkarm.
Name The name of Kafr Zibad is thought to be originally from Zabad, its Semite name which means generosity.Projected Mid -Year Population for Tulkarm Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. E. H. Palmer noted that the name meant the village of Zebed, and suggested to connect it with Zebedee, a Hebrew name.Palmer, 1881, pp. 184, 51
History Archeological findings from Kafr Zibad include potsherds from the Byzantine periodDauphin, 1998, p. 772 and a relief of a six-armed menorah.
Ottoman era Kafr Zibad was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared under that name in the tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Bani Sa'b of the Liwa of Nablus. It had a population of 50 households, all Muslims. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33.3% on various agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and/or beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues" and a press for olive oil or grape syrup; a total of 10,280 akçe.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 140
In 1838, Robinson noted Kefr Zibad as a village in Beni Sa'ab district, west of Nablus.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 127
In the 1860s, the Ottoman authorities granted the village an agricultural plot of land called Ghabat Kafr Zibad in the former confines of the Forest of Arsur (Ar. Al-Ghaba) in the coastal plain, west of the village. This formed the nucleus for the later village of Khirbat al-Zababida, founded by Kafr Zibad's residents.Marom, Roy, "The Contribution of Conder's Tent Work in Palestine for the Understanding of Shifting Geographical, Social and Legal Realities in the Sharon during the Late Ottoman Period", in Gurevich D. and Kidron, A. (eds.), Exploring the Holy Land: 150 Years of the Palestine Exploration Fund, Sheffield, UK, Equinox (2019), pp. 212-231
In 1870/1871 (1288 AH), an Ottoman census listed the village in the nahiya (sub-district) of Bani Sa'b.
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine noted at Kafr Zibad: "A village of moderate size on a small plateau, overhanging the valley on the north of it. It is of stone. A steep ascent, with a cistern on the north, on the south a fig-garden, and beyond this a few olives, where the tents of the Survey party were pitched. Near them was a rock-cut tomb. The water supply is from cisterns."Conder and Kitchener, 1882, p. 165
British Mandate era In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Kufr Zaibad had a population of 260 Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Tulkarm, p. 27 increasing in the 1931 census to 469 Muslims, in 96 houses.Mills, 1932, p.58
In the 1945 statistics the population of Kafr Zibad was 1,590 Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 21 with 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. 75 Of this, were plantations and irrigable land, were used for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 126 while were built-up (urban) land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 176
Jordanian era In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Kafr Zibad came under Jordanian rule.
In 1961, the population of Kafr Zibad was 643.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 27
Post 1967 After the Six-Day War in 1967, Kafr Zibad came under Israeli occupation.
19% of the population of Kafr Zibad were refugees in 1991.Palestinian Population by Locality and Refugee Status Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics The healthcare and education facilities for the surrounding villages are based in Kafr Zibad, Kafr Zibad secondary school being one of the best schools in the region. There is a historical mosque dated to the times of Caliph Omar Ibn al-Khattab, and there are a police center and sport club. The facilities are designated as MOH level 2.Health Care Facilities Tulkarm Governorate
Kafr Zibad had a population of approximately 1,306 inhabitants in mid-year 2006 and 1,219 and 2017.
After Israel built the Israeli West Bank barrier, of irrigated land owned by Kafr Zibad villagers was isolated behind the barrier. Access to this land is dependent on Israeli cumbersome permitting process.The Impact of the Barrier on West Bank Communities, Unispal, 23 April 2004PHOTOS: When Israel decides to cut Palestinian farmers off from their land, May 19, 2015, +972 MagazineThe Month in Photos: Marking the past, demanding a better future, May 30, 2015, +972 Magazine
Footnotes
Bibliography
External links Welcome To Kafr Zibad Survey of Western Palestine, Map 11: IAA, Wikimedia commons