Beit Hanoun
Beit Hanoun or Beit Hanun (Arabic: بيت حانون) is a city on the northeast edge of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 52,237 in 2017.[1] From mid-2007 until late 2023, it was administered by the Hamas administration. As of mid-December 2023, as a result of the 2023 Israel-Hamas War, Beit Hanoun has been entirely depopulated and virtually all its structures either destroyed or rendered unusable due to extreme damage. The remains of Beit Hanoun are located by the Hanoun stream, just 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) away from the Israeli town of Sderot.
Beit Hanoun | |
|---|---|
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | بيت حانون |
| • Latin | Beit Hanun (official) Bayt Hanun (unofficial) |
Municipal Seal of Beit Hanoun | |
Beit Hanoun Location of Beit Hanoun within Palestine | |
| Coordinates: 31°32′30″N 34°32′10″E / 31.54167°N 34.53611°E | |
| Palestine grid | 105/105 |
| State | State of Palestine |
| Governorate | North Gaza |
| Government | |
| • Type | City |
| • Head of Municipality | Mohamad Nazek al-Kafarna |
| Area | |
| • Total | 12,500 dunams (12.5 km2 or 4.8 sq mi) |
| Population (2017)[1] | |
| • Total | 52,237 |
| • Density | 4,200/km2 (11,000/sq mi) |
| Depopulated in late 2023 | |
| Name meaning | "The house of Hanun"[2] |
| Website | www.beithanoun.ps |
History edit
The Ayyubids defeated the Crusaders at a battle in Umm al-Nasser hill, just west of Beit Hanoun in 1239, and built the Umm al-Naser Mosque ("Mother of Victories Mosque") there in commemoration of the victory.[3] A Mamluk post office was located in Beit Hanoun as well.[4]
Ottoman era edit
Incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Historic Palestine, Beit Hanoun appeared in the 1596 tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Gaza, part of Gaza Sanjak. It had a population of 36 Muslim households and paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on wheat, barley, summer crops, fruit trees, occasional revenues, goats and/ or beehives; a total of 9,300 akçe.[5]
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the area of Beit Hanoun experienced a significant process of settlement decline due to nomadic pressures on local communities. The residents of abandoned villages moved to surviving settlements, but the land continued to be cultivated by neighboring villages.[6] Beit Hanoun survived, and Pierre Jacotin named the village Deir Naroun on his map depicting Napoleon's Syrian campaign of 1799.[7]
In 1838 Edward Robinson passed by, and described how "all were busy with the wheat harvest; the reapers were in the fields; donkeys and camels were moving homewards with their high loads of sheaves; while on the threshing-floors near the village I counted not less than thirty gangs of cattle.."[8] He further noted it as a Muslim village, located in the Gaza district.[9]
In May 1863, the French explorer Victor Guérin visited the village. Among the gardens he observed indications of ancient constructions in the shape of cut stones, fragments of columns, and bases.[10] Socin found from an official Ottoman village list from about 1870 that Beit Hanoun had 94 houses and a population of 294, though the population count included men, only.[11] Hartmann found that Bet Hanun had 95 houses.[12]
In 1883 the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described it as a small adobe village, "surrounded by gardens, with a well to the west. The ground is flat, and to the east is a pond beside the road."[13]
British Mandate era edit
In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Beit Hanoun had a population of 885 inhabitants, all Muslim,[14] decreasing in the 1931 census to 849, still all Muslims, in 194 houses.[15]
In the 1945 statistics Beit Hanun had a population of 1,680 Muslims and 50 Jews, with 20,025 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[16][17] Of this, 2,768 dunams were for citrus and bananas, 697 were plantations and irrigable land, 13,186 used for cereals,[18] while 59 dunams were built-up land.[19]
Egyptian occupation edit
In the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the vicinity of Beit Hanoun, and later Beit Hanoun itself, served as an Israeli tactical wedge (Beit Hanoun wedge) to halt the movement of the Egyptian army from Ashkelon to forces to the south in the area that later became the Gaza Strip.
During the occupation, Egypt complained to the Mixed Armistice Commission that on the 7 and 14 October 1950 Israeli military forces had shelled and machine-gunned the Arab villages of Abasan al-Kabera and Beit Hanoun in Egyptian controlled territory of the Gaza strip. According to Egypt this action caused the death of seven and the wounding of twenty civilians.[20]
Israeli occupation edit
According to the Palestinian Authority, 140 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in Beit Hanoun from September 2000 to November 2006.[22]
The Israeli army besieged Beit Hanoun from 15 May to 30 June 2003, during which it demolished dozens of houses, razed large areas of agricultural land and largely destroyed the civilian infrastructure of the town.[23] During the Raid on Beit Hanoun in 2004, the town was besieged for 37 days. About 20 Palestinians were killed and again immense damage was caused to property and infrastructure. The infrastructure of Beit Hanoun was heavily damaged during an incursion by Israeli forces in 2005.[24]
Following the removal of Israeli settlers from Gaza in August 2005 the 2006 shelling of Beit Hanoun, killed 19 Palestinian civilians. In December 2006, the UN appointed a fact-finding commission led by Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu to investigate the attack. However, Tutu and the other members were not granted permission to travel by Israel and the investigation was cancelled.[25] Tutu's final report to the United Nations human rights council[26] concluded, however, that "[I]n the absence of a well-founded explanation from the Israeli military – who is in sole possession of the relevant facts – the mission must conclude that there is a possibility that the shelling of Beit Hanoun constituted a war crime."[27]
On 27 March 2007, sewage water flooded the northern Umm al-Nasser suburb of Beit Hanoun, killing five people.[28]
Beit Hanoun was hit several times by shells and rockets during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict. The shelling of an UNWRA Elementary school by Israel killed 11-15 people, including women and children.[29] The Israeli Defense forces claimed that "the IDF encountered heavy fire in vicinity of the school, including anti-tank missile... [and] that an errant mortar did indeed land in the empty courtyard of the school."[30]
2023 war edit
During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, Israeli forces advanced on the city on 27 October.[31][32] By 12 November, the IDF captured and advanced beyond the city.[33]
Educational and health institutions edit
There are twelve secondary, primary and agricultural schools in Beit Hanoun and an agricultural college which is related to al-Azhar University - Gaza. There is a medical center and hospital in the city and several clinics mostly managed by the United Nations.[34]
Demographics edit
In 1922, Beit Hanoun had a population of 885.[14] In 1931, the population slightly decreased to 849.[35] The population then increased to 946 in 1938.[36] Up to this point, the population had been entirely Muslim. The population increased again by 1945 to 1,730 (1,680 Muslims and 50 Jews).[16][17] In 1961, the population rose to 3,876.[37]
In the first official census by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Beit Hanoun had a population of 20,780. Over 90% of the residents were Palestinian refugees.[38] There were 10,479 males and 10,301 females. People of 14 years of age or younger constituted the majority at 65.6%, people between the ages of 20 and 44 was 26.8%, 45 to 64 was 5.7% and residents above the age of 65 was 1.9%.[39].
As of mid-December 2023, as a result of the 2023 Israel-Hamas War, Beit Hanoun has been entirely depopulated and virtually all its structures either destroyed or rendered unusable due to extreme damage.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 (PDF). Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (Report). State of Palestine. February 2018. pp. 64–82. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
- ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 358
- ^ Sharon, 1999, p. 98 ff
- ^ . Archived from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 147
- ^ Marom, Roy; Taxel, Itamar (2023-01-01). "Ḥamāma: The historical geography of settlement continuity and change in Majdal 'Asqalān's hinterland, 1270 - 1750 CE". Journal of Historical Geography. 82: 49–65. doi:10.1016/j.jhg.2023.08.003.
- ^ Karmon, 1960, p. 173 2019-12-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, pp. 371 -372
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 118
- ^ Guérin, 1869, p. 175, as noted by Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 247
- ^ Socin, 1879, p. 146
- ^ Hartmann, 1883, p. 129
- ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 233
- ^ a b Barron, 1923, Table V, Sub-district of Gaza, p. 8
- ^ Mills, 1932, p. 2
- ^ a b Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 31
- ^ a b Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 45
- ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 86
- ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 136
- ^ UN Doc S/1459[permanent dead link] of 20 February 1950 Report of the Mixed Armistice Commission
- ^ "Gaza Strip, July 2014: A constant state of emergency". B'Tselem. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ^ Palestinian Authority 2007-01-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ . PCHR. Archived from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ^ European Commission report 2009-03-27 at the Wayback Machine MED/2004/090-716 Damage Assessment: Beit Hanoun Area 17 December 2005
- ^ BBC Israel 'blocks Tutu Gaza mission'. BBC News.
- ^ HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN PALESTINE AND OTHER OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES Report of the high-level fact-finding mission to Beit Hanoun established under Council resolution S-3/1
- ^ Rory McCarthy (15 September 2008). "Israeli shelling of Beit Hanoun a possible war crime, Desmond Tutu tells UN". the Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ^ "Sewage flood causes Gaza deaths". 27 March 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ^ "Israel Hits UN-Run Shelter, Gaza Officials Say". Newsweek. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ^ UNRWA, The Guardian Feature Article, 20 August 2014
- ^ "Palestinian Sources Report IDF Armor Advancements on Beit Hanoun, Intense Strikes Continue | Atlas News". 2023-10-27. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
- ^ Yerushalmy, Jonathan (2023-10-27). "Gaza before and after: satellite images show destruction following Israeli airstrikes". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
- ^ Carter, Brian; Moore, Johanna; Soltani, Amin; Carl, Nicholas (12 November 2023). "Iran Update, November 12, 2023". Critical Threats. Institute for the Study of War. from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 2012-02-16.
- ^ Palestine Census 1931.
- ^ Village Statistics (PDF). 1938. p. 62.
- ^ "Welcome To Bayt Hanun". Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ^ Palestinian Population by Locality and Refugee Status 2008-11-18 at the Wayback Machine Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).
- ^ Palestinian Population by Locality, Sex and Age Groups in Years 2008-11-18 at the Wayback Machine Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).
Bibliography edit
- Barron, J. B., ed. (1923). Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Government of Palestine.
- Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
- Department of Statistics (1945). Village Statistics, April, 1945. Government of Palestine.
- Guérin, V. (1868). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). Vol. 1: Judee, pt. 1. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale.
- Hadawi, S. (1970). Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine. Palestine Liberation Organization Research Centre.
- Hartmann, M. (1883). "Die Ortschaftenliste des Liwa Jerusalem in dem türkischen Staatskalender für Syrien auf das Jahr 1288 der Flucht (1871)". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 6: 102–149.
- Hütteroth, Wolf-Dieter; Abdulfattah, Kamal (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. ISBN 3-920405-41-2.
- Karmon, Y. (1960). (PDF). Israel Exploration Journal. 10 (3, 4): 155–173, 244–253. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-12-22. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
- Mills, E., ed. (1932). Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine.
- Palmer, E.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
- Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 2. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
- Sharon, M. (1999). Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, B-C. Vol. II. BRILL. ISBN 9004110836.
- Socin, A. (1879). "Alphabetisches Verzeichniss von Ortschaften des Paschalik Jerusalem". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 2: 135–163.
External links edit
- Welcome To The City of Bayt Hanun
- Survey of Western Palestine, Map 19: IAA, Wikimedia commons