Nabi Salih ( ; alternatively spelled Nabi Saleh) is a small Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank, located 20 kilometers northwest of Ramallah. It had a population of 522 in 2017. In 2010-2016 weekly protest marches were organized by the villagers to fight against the occupation of the West Bank. According to data compiled by Mondoweiss, 350 villagers were injured in clashes with Israeli troops during this time.
History Sherds from the Roman and Byzantine era have been found here.Finkelstein et al., 1997, pp. 379-380
In 1929, Alt suggested to identify the site with Aenan, a place mentioned in Eusebius' Onomasticon.Alt, 1929, pp. 27-28
Ottoman era Nabi Salih, like all of Palestine, was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517, and sherds from the early Ottoman era have also been found here. In the 1596 tax record, the village appeared (with the name Dayr Salih) as being in the nahiya of Quds in the liwa of Quds. It had a population of 2 households, both Muslim. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 33.3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley and summer crops, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 550 akçe.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 112.
The French explorer Victor Guérin visited the place twice in the 19th century. In 1863 he scaled the nearby height, and in 1870 he noted that the place was named after a person who "is venerated there under a koubbeh partially constructed with regular stonework with an appearance of antiquity." In 1870 Guérin estimated that the village had 150 inhabitants,Guérin, 1875, pp. 105, 106. while an Ottoman village list from about the same year showed that "Nebi Salih" had 5 houses and a population of 22, though the population count included men only.Socin, 1879, p. 158Hartmann, 1883, p. 106 also noted 5 houses
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Neby Saleh as: "a village of moderate size on a ridge, with a small mosque and a well to the south. A spring exists about three-quarters of a mile east."Conder and Kitchener, 1882, vol II, p. 291
In 1896 the population of Nabi Salih was estimated to be about 102 persons.Schick, 1896, p. 126
British Mandate In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate of Palestine, there were 105 people living in Nabi Salih, all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramallah, p. 17 rising to 144 in the 1931 census.Mills, 1932, p. 50.
In the 1945 statistics, the population was 170, all Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 26 while the total land area was 2,846 dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 862 were plantations and irrigable land, 669 for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 112 while 11 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 162
Jordanian era In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Nabi Salih came under Jordanian rule. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950.
In 1961, the population was 337.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 24
Post-1967 Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Nabi Salih has been under Israeli occupation.
The population decreased substantially after the Six-Day War, due to residents fleeing the site towards other Palestinian localities or Jordan. In 1982, the population reached 179.
Shrine of Salih Local tradition identifies the blue-color-domed building complex in the village with the shrine of the prophet Salih (Biblical Shelah). The modern structure was built in the 19th century during Ottoman rule. The building included a zawiya, a Sufi lodging space and was guarded by a watchman.Bussow, 2011, pp. 123-124. It was situated on the remains of a Crusader structure, which was presumably built atop the ruins of a Byzantine-era church. The remains of the Crusader-Byzantine structure include apses of a three-aisle chapel located behind the shrine complex.
The maqam (shrine) of Nabi Salih was the most important religious structure, out of 16 different edifices, in the Bani Zeid region. It served as a gathering place for families during two rites of passage for their young sons: collective circumcisions and first haircuts. These events were followed by celebratory picnics and games. Coinciding with Easter Week celebrated by the local Christians, Muslims from the area would visit the Nabi Salih shrine and from there would depart for the annual procession to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the Nabi Musa ("Prophet Moses") shrine south of Jericho. The inhabitants of the al-Salihiyah neighborhood of Damascus, who claimed descent from the Abbasids, regarded Nabi Salih as the site of their eponym and would travel there to commemorate the site. It was at Nabi Salih that hundreds of men from Deir Ghassaneh and other villages of the Bani Zeid sheikhdom would interact with the wider Arabic-speaking Muslim community from Palestine and the Levant.
In 2003, under the supervision of architect Yara al-Sharif, the complex was restored. It cost $63,000, primarily funded by Sweden. The prayer hall and tomb room are owned by the Islamic waqf authority, but is rented by the Nabi Salih Cultural Centre. Currently, the complex is composed of three floors (including an underground floor) containing the tomb, a large prayer room, an olive press, a water well, a classroom, a multipurpose hall, a double-vaulted lecture room, a courtyard and two front and back terraces. All entrances are semi-circular pointed arches. The An Nabi Salih Cultural Centre serves as the most significant structure in the village.Bshara, Khaldun. An Nabi Saleh Cultural Centre, An Nabi Saleh Riwaq Centre and RehabiMed.
Weekly protests Nabi Salih's residents have hosted weekly demonstrations since 2009 protesting what they describe as confiscation of the village's lands and the takeover of their spring by the nearby Israeli settlement, Halamish.Amira Hass, Defying the occupation with a camcorder, at Haaretz, 23 July 2012. According to an IDF officer who had served in the area, the protests started in 2009 over a plot of citrus trees, and beehives, which was set alight by settlers in a price tag attack. IDF soldiers also used to bathe in 3 pools. Settlers put up a sign naming it "Meir's Spring", after Meir Segal, one of the founders of Halamish, weeded the area, put up benches, a pergola and picnic tables, and planted it out with pomegranates, figs and olives. In response to complaints, a staff officer in 2012 ordered the demolition of what the settlers had built. The order has not been carried out. The demonstrations also protest against the expansion of the Halamish settlement over what they claim is private Palestinian land.Nahum Barnea, 'Nebi Salah footage a reflection of Israel,' Ynet 6 September 2015.
During the protests, there are regular clashes with the Israeli Army who attempt to disperse crowds by using live ammunition, teargas, skunk water, rubber bullets, sound grenades, and other dispersal methods while Palestinian youth respond by hurling stones. The Israeli authorities have attempted to suppress the demonstrations the residents using tactics such as night incursions targeting homes and arrests of alleged stone throwers, including children. On December 11, 2011, Mustafa Tamimi was shot in the face by a teargas canister at close range and later died from his injury, becoming the first resident of Nabi Salih to be killed during a demonstration.Hasson, Nir. Palestinian dies after hit by tear gas canister. Haaretz. 2011-12-11.Israeli soldiers clash with mourners at funeral of Palestinian protester, Phoebe Greenwood, 11 December 2011, The Guardian The following day, a large group of protesters marched to the entrance of Halamish to commemorate Tamimi, but were stopped by the Israeli Army which arrested 15 demonstrators including Palestinians, Israelis and internationals.Israel detains 15 at Nabi Saleh protest . Ma'an News Agency. 2011-12-16. Israel later closed the investigation without any repercussion against the soldier who had fired the shots.Israeli military closes investigation into death of Palestinian stone-thrower, 6 December 2013, The Guardian
Bassem al-Tamimi, one of the leaders of the protests, has been arrested twelve times by Israeli forces, at one point spending more than three years in administrative detention without trial. His most recent arrest took place in March 2011, when he was charged with sending youths to throw stones, holding a march without a permit, incitement, and perverting the course of justice; an Israeli military court found him guilty of the former two charges and not guilty of the latter. His arrest drew international attention, with the European Union describing him as a "human rights defender", and Amnesty International designating him a prisoner of conscience.
Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in/from Nabi Salih On December 11, 2011, Mustafa Tamimi was shot and later died from his injury, becoming the first resident of Nabi Salih to be killed during a demonstration. On 19 November 2012, 28-year-old Rushdi Tamimi was killed by Israeli fire during a demonstration in Nabi Salih in solidarity with the people of the Gaza Strip in light of Israeli Operation Pillar of Cloud offensive.Palestinian dies of wounds in Nabi Saleh protest . Ma'an News Agency. 2012-11-19. He was killed by Israeli reserve soldier, who had decided on their own to disperse a group of about ten demonstrating Palestinians. When their [rubber-coated] ammunition ran out, they continued shooting with their pistols, and a bullet hit Rushdi Tamimi. The company commander was removed from his position after this., Chaim Levinson, Mar 13, 2013, Haaretz He was the maternal uncle of Ahed Tamimi (younger brother of her mother).Ahed Tamimi, Dena Takruri, 2022: They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl's Fight for Freedom On 12 May 2017, 22 year old Sabaa ‘Obeid, (also: Saba Abu Ubeid), from Salfit, was shot dead in Nabih Saleh by an Israeli sniper. Israeli sniper fatally shoots 22-year-old Palestinian who posed no danger at a-Nabi Saleh weekly protest, 13 June 2017, B'Tselem On 16 July 2017, a 34-year old suspect, believed to have been the gunman who targeted a vehicle near an Israeli settlement north of Ramallah and wounded a foreign national of Palestinian descent, was killed by Israeli soldiers after he attempted to fire upon them. On 6 June 2018, 21 years old Izz Abd al-Hafith Tamimi (also: Izzideen Tamimi) was shot dead by the Israelis, according to local sources at point-blank range, with three live bullets to the neck. Palestinian sources reported that he was being sought on suspicion of being a stone-thrower. The incident occurred during clashes that arose during an Israeli raid on the village.Israeli forces kill 21-year-old Palestinian from Tamimi family in Nabi Saleh Ma'an News Agency 6 June 2018. One Israeli army reports say he was shot by a soldier who had been wounded by a rock thrown by the youth,Elior Levy, Yoav Zitun, Palestinian shot dead after throwing stone at IDF soldier Ynet 6 June 2018 but according to the Twitter account of the Israeli army no Israeli soldier was injured.Palestinian man killed by Israeli gunfire in West Bank , June 6, 2018, New4EuropeOutrage as Israel blocks off funeral of slain Palestinian, 07 June, 2018, The New Arab In July, 2021, 17 year old Mohammed Munir al-Tamimi from Nabi Salih was shot dead by Israeli forces in a demonstration at Beita.Palestinian protester shot by Israeli army dies: Ministry, 24 Jul 2021, Al JazeeraIsrael’s killing of Palestinian children 24 Aug 2021, Al Jazeera