Kafr Ein is a Palestinian

Palestinian territories

The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...

 village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate

Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate

The Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate is one of 16 Governorates of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It covers a large part of the central West Bank, on the northern border of the Jerusalem Governorate. Its district capital or muhfaza is the city of al-Bireh.According to the Palestinian Central...

, located northwest of Ramallah

Ramallah

Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...

 in the central West Bank

West Bank

The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics

Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics is the statistical organization under the umbrella of the Palestinian Cabinet of the Palestinian National Authority....

 (PCBS), Kafr Ein had a population of 1,743 inhabitants in 2007. Most of the village's population comes from 4 clans: Rifa', Abu Kharma, Daghrah, Barghouti

Barghouti

Barghouti is the last name of a prominent Palestinian family...

 and Rafati.

History

Kafr Ein is transliterated as "spring village". The village contains ten springs and ten reservoirs, one of which was recently damaged.

It is believed that there is an ancient site at the top of a local mountain known as Haraek. Haraek is believed to contain a church and a mosque. According to local legend, the site was destroyed during the Crusades

Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...

 and the single villager who survived its destruction came down to found Kafr Ein.

Kafr Ein was ruled by the Barghouti

Barghouti

Barghouti is the last name of a prominent Palestinian family...

 family throughout the later half of Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 rule of Palestine

Palestine

Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

, located within the sheikhdom of Bani Zeid

Bani Zeid

Bani Zeid is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located northwest of Ramallah in the north-central West Bank and about south-west of Salfit. A town of 5,515 inhabitants, Bani Zeid was created as a merger between the villages of Deir Ghassaneh and Beit Rima...

. It produced 52 qintars of olive oil

Olive oil

Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...

 annual, exporting it to Jerusalem or Nablus

Nablus

Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...

 mainly for traditional soap-making

Nabulsi soap

Nabulsi soap is a type of castile soap produced only in Nablus in the West Bank, Palestine. An olive oil-based soap, it is made up of three primary ingredients: virgin olive oil, water, and a sodium compound...

.

Economy

Historically, like most Palestinian villages, Kafr Ein's inhabitants worked mostly as farmers and traders. Prior to the Second Intifada, around 10% of the village's residents worked in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. Kafr Ein's main cash crop is olives. However, lentil

Lentil

The lentil is an edible pulse. It is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds...

s, grains and vegetables are also grown. There are an estimated 200 sheep and goats in the village.

In 1980, electricity was connected to Kafr Ein. There are ten shops and a school in the village, as well another shared with Qarawat Bani Zeid

Qarawat Bani Zeid

Qarawat Bani Zeid is a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located 22 kilometers northwest of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics , Qarawat Bani Zeid had a population of 2,915 inhabitants in 2007...

. Many residents receive aid from the Red Cross and the UNRWA.

Government

Kafr Ein is governed by a village council. The council is made up of six residents who represent the four major families. The current mayor, Mohammed Rifa' was appointed by the Palestinian National Authority

Palestinian National Authority

The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...

in 1998.