Nabi Ilyas () is a Palestinian village in the Qalqilya Governorate of the Palestine, in the western West Bank, located two kilometers east of Qalqilya. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, an Nabi Ilyas had a population of 1,399 inhabitants in 2017. 25.6% of the population of an Nabi Ilyas were refugees in 1997.
The health care facilities for an Nabi Ilyas are in Qalqilya designated as MoH level 4 there are also two clinics one run by the UNRWA and one run by the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Location An Nabi Ilyas is located 5.06 km east of Qalqiliya. It is bordered by ‘Izbat at Tabib and ‘Isla to the east, Ras at Tira and ‘Izbat al Ashqar to the south, ‘Arab Abu Farda to the west, and Jayyus to the north.
History The village is situated on an ancient site. Cisterns, and graves cut into rock have been found here, together with ceramics from the Byzantine era.Dauphin, 1998, p. 801
Ottoman era Nabi Ilyas was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared in the tax registers under the name of Ilyas, as being in the Nahiya of Bani Sa'b of the Liwa of Nablus. It was noted as hali, empty, but a fixed tax rate of 33,3% was paid on agricultural products; a total of 1,200 akçe.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 140
In 1882 the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Neby Elyas (under "Archæology") as: "Walls and wells, with a ruined kubbeh."Conder and Kitchener, 1882, p. 210
British Mandate era In the 1945 statistics, during the British Mandate of Palestine, the population was counted under Azzun.Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 20Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 74Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 124Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 174
Jordanian era In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Nabi Ilyas came under Jordanian rule.
In 1961, the population of Nabi Ilyas was 223.Government of Jordan, 1964, p. 27
1967-present Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Nabi Ilyas has been under Israeli occupation.
After the 1995 accords, 2.7% of Nabi Ilyas land has been defined as Area B land, while the remaining 97.3% is Area C. An Nabi Elyas Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 16
Israel confiscated 1,943 dunums of village land (43.8% of the total village lands) for the Israeli settlement of Alfei Menashe, in addition to confiscating land from other neighbouring Palestinian villages. The Separation Wall would further separate the village from much of its land.An Nabi Elyas Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 17
By 2009 Israeli consumers were using Nabi Ilyas for bargain hunting. Jewish shoppers, who were kept out of the main Palestinian cities by Israeli security regulations, were drawn by the cheap prices for groceries, furniture and dental treatment that are on offer in Nabi Ilyas.Palestinian village profits from influx of Israeli shoppers Haaretz
Footnotes
Bibliography
External links An Nabi Elyas, Welcome to Palestine Survey of Western Palestine, Map 11: IAA, Wikimedia commons An Nabi Elyas Village (Fact Sheet), Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem, ARIJ An Nabi Elyas Village Profile, ARIJ An Nabi Elyas, aerial photo, ARIJ Development Priorities and Needs in An Nabi Elyas, ARIJ