'Arabbuna () is a Palestinian village in the West Bank governorate of Jenin. The village is located 9 km north of the city of Jenin, south of the West Bank separation barrier and according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) the village had a population of 1,025 in 2017. Prehistoric flint tools from the Upper and Middle Paleolithic period were found south of the village. Archaeological remains from the Byzantine era were found in the village. It is offered as the location of settlement called "Araba", mentioned by Eusebius in the 4th century CE.

Geography Arabbuna is located 3 km northwest of Faqqua and 2 km northeast of Deir Ghazaleh. The village houses are situated on a hill at the foot of Mount Faqqua, a section of Mount Gilboa (known as Mount Gibborim in Hebrew), bordered on the west by the Huhit river, on the west by Wadi Abu Jabir, on the north by Mount Faqqua and on the south by a rivulet of Wadi Abi Jabir.Hareuveni, Immanuel; Eretz Yisrael Lexicon; Ministry of Education p.781

History

Archeology Archeologists have found flint tools south of 'Arabbuna. These tools dated to the Upper Paleolithic and Middle Paleolithic periods (300,000 to 10,000 years BP). The tools from the former belong to the Mousterian culture. The village itself is situated on an ancient site. Old stones have been reused in buildings, fences and walls of terraces. Rock cuttings are scattered between houses and orchards. Some of these are identified as ancient tombs. Today the residents of 'Arabbuna use these rock cuttings for storage. A small amount of potsherds and glassware were found in the village and are dated to the Byzantine era. Therefore the village may be the location of a settlement known as "Araba" which existed in the time of Eusebius from the 4th century CE.Dauphin, 1998, p. 778

Ottoman era 'Arabbuna, like the rest of Palestine, was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517. During the 16th and 17th centuries, it belonged to the Turabay Emirate (1517-1683), which encompassed also the Jezreel Valley, Haifa, Jenin, Beit She'an Valley, northern Jabal Nablus, Bilad al-Ruha/Ramot Menashe, and the northern part of the Sharon plain. In the census of 1596, 'Arrabuna appeared as 'Arabbuni, located in the nahiya of Sara in the liwa of Lajjun. It had a population of 14 households, all Muslim. They paid a fixed tax rate of 25 % on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 4,500 akçe.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 160

In 1838 it was noted as a place N 60° E of Jenin.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, p. 158

In 1870 Victor Guérin found Arabbuna to be a small village,Guérin, 1874, p. 336 and further "south of this village, the foundation of an ancient building, which he does not appear to have examined."Guérin, 1874, pp. 336-37: A'rabouneh; as given in Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 101 In 1870/1871 (1288 AH), an Ottoman census listed the village in the nahiya (sub-district) of Shafa al-Qibly.

British Mandate era In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, the village had a population of 136 Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Jenin, p. 29 increasing slightly in the 1931 census to 138 Muslims, in 24 households.Mills, 1932, p. 67

In the 1944/5 statistics, the population was 210, all Muslim,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 16 with a total of 6,772 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. 54 Of this, 256 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 3,607 dunams for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 98 while 22 dunams were built-up (urban) land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 148

Jordanian era After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Arabbuna came under Jordanian rule.

In 1961, the population was 298.Government of Jordan, 1964, p. 25

Post-1967 Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Arabbuna has been under Israeli occupation. The population of 'Arrabuna in the 1967 census conducted by Israel was 270, of whom 42 originated from the Israeli territory.

References

Bibliography

External links Welcome To 'Arabbuna Arabuna, Welcome to Palestine Survey of Western Palestine, Map 9: IAA, Wikimedia commons