Umm ar-Rihan
Encyclopedia
Umm ar-Rihan is a Palestinian
village of 370 inhabitants located high on the northwestern hills of the Jenin Governorate
, 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from Jenin
. It is one of a number of Palestinian villages that are now located within enclaves in the Seam Zone
Umm ar-Rihan is one of seven villages that form part of the Barta'a enclave, which is named for the enclave's largest town: eastern Barta'a
(pop. 3,500).
times, the town of Umm ar-Rihan covered an area of 36-40 hectares, consisting of approximately a hundred houses, a road system, and a Roman bathhouse. Archaeological artifacts dating back to Byzantine
times have also been uncovered there.
The wood near the village is site of a memorial to early Palestinian militant leader Izz ad-Din al-Qassam
of the Black Hand, killed in a gunfight with the British Palestine Police Force
.
Under the 1947 United Nations partition plan for Palestine, Umm ar-Rihan was to form part of an Arab Palestinian state. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
, Umm ar-Rihan fell under de facto Jordanian occupation
like other towns and villages in the West Bank, and after the 1967 Six-Day War
, under Israeli occupation
.
On August 27, 1998, the Israel Defense Forces
(IDF) used bulldozers to uproot thousands of fruits trees on tens of dunums of land belonging to Umm ar-Rehan and az-Zawiya
villages to prepare the ground for the construction of two new settlements. On October 10, 2000, more land belonging to Umm ar-Rehan was bulldozed to expand the Shaked
and Hinnanit
settlements.
In the months following the outbreak of the Second Intifada, Israeli checkpoints
were erected on the eastern and southern roads to nearby Tura al-Gharbiya
and Ya'bad
, limiting access to the rest of the West Bank
; the checkpoints were preserved as crossings in the Israeli West Bank barrier
. Umm ar-Rihan's location in area east of the Green Line
and west of the Israeli West Bank barrier
is often referred to as the "Seam Zone
".
's civil administration as per the Oslo Accords
. There is one primary school run by the PNA, but no secondary school, clinic or other medical facilities. Um ar-Rehan residents can access the clinic in Barta'a Sharqiyya by way of an unpaved road. The 4,700 people who live in the Barta'a area enclave depend on this government clinic which has a pharmacy and also offers counseling on health awareness, but lacks medical specialists, laboratory testing and family planning services.
The main terminal to enter and exit the Barta'a Sharqiya-Um ar-Rehan enclave is Imreiha (Reikhan). In November 2004, it was open between 6am and 10am to Palestinians with green permits only. In August 2006, it was open between 7am and 9am between which times Israeli goods and produce enter the enclave area. Produce from the village for export to Israel
is sent out only with prior coordination with the Israeli authorities.
On 30 April 2004, armed Israeli settlers entered the village and fired shots in the air before briefly taking over the primary school. They threatened to "expel" the Palestinians, urging them to go to nearby Ya'bad on the other side of the separation barrier. An official from the Education Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority
and villager Faruat Zaid said they tried to contact the IDF about the raid, but there had been no response. Both the IDF and police said they had been unaware of the incident.
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
village of 370 inhabitants located high on the northwestern hills of the Jenin Governorate
Jenin Governorate
The Jenin Governorate is one of a number of Governorates of the West Bank and Gaza Strip within the Palestinian Territories, it covers the northern extremity of the West Bank including the area around the city of Jenin....
, 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from Jenin
Jenin
Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
. It is one of a number of Palestinian villages that are now located within enclaves in the Seam Zone
Seam Zone
Seam Zone is a term used to refer to a land area in the West Bank located east of the Green Line and west of Israel's separation barrier, populated largely by Israelis in settlements such as Alfei Menashe, Ariel, Beit Arye, Modi'in Illit, Giv'at Ze'ev, Ma'ale Adumim, Beitar Illit and Efrat.As of...
Umm ar-Rihan is one of seven villages that form part of the Barta'a enclave, which is named for the enclave's largest town: eastern Barta'a
Barta'a
Barta'a is a town that straddles both sides of the Green Line and the Wadi Ara region.Western Barta'a is in the Haifa District of Israel, and forms part of the Basma local council...
(pop. 3,500).
Overview
In RomanRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
times, the town of Umm ar-Rihan covered an area of 36-40 hectares, consisting of approximately a hundred houses, a road system, and a Roman bathhouse. Archaeological artifacts dating back to Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
times have also been uncovered there.
The wood near the village is site of a memorial to early Palestinian militant leader Izz ad-Din al-Qassam
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam
Sheikh Muhammad Izz ad-Din al-Qassam was a Tijani Sufi who led militant activities against British, French, and Zionist organizations in the Levant in the 1920's and 1930's.-Early life:...
of the Black Hand, killed in a gunfight with the British Palestine Police Force
Palestine Police Force
The Palestine Police Force was a British colonial police service established in the British Mandate for Palestine on 1 July 1920, when High Commissioner Herbert Samuel's civil administration took over responsibility for security from General Allenby's Occupied Enemy Territory Administration...
.
Under the 1947 United Nations partition plan for Palestine, Umm ar-Rihan was to form part of an Arab Palestinian state. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
, Umm ar-Rihan fell under de facto Jordanian occupation
Rule of the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Jordan
The West Bank and East Jerusalem were occupied by Jordan for a period of nearly two decades starting from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. In 1950, the British extended formal recognition to the union between the Hashemite Kingdom and of that part of Palestine under Jordanian occupation and control -...
like other towns and villages in the West Bank, and after the 1967 Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
, under Israeli occupation
Israeli-occupied territories
The Israeli-occupied territories are the territories which have been designated as occupied territory by the United Nations and other international organizations, governments and others to refer to the territory seized by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria...
.
On August 27, 1998, the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
(IDF) used bulldozers to uproot thousands of fruits trees on tens of dunums of land belonging to Umm ar-Rehan and az-Zawiya
Az-Zawiya
az-Zawiya is a Palestinian town in the Salfit Governorate in the northern West Bank, located 15 kilometers west of Salfit and 24 kilometers south of Qalqilya. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, az-Zawiya had a population of approximately 5,100 inhabitants in mid-year 2006...
villages to prepare the ground for the construction of two new settlements. On October 10, 2000, more land belonging to Umm ar-Rehan was bulldozed to expand the Shaked
Shaked
Shaked is a surname, and may refer to:Places:* Shaked, a communal settlement in IsraelPeople:* Gershon Shaked , an Austrian-Israeli scholar and critic of Hebrew literature...
and Hinnanit
Hinanit
Hinanit is a communal village and an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank, under the jurisdiction of Shomron Regional Council. Hinanit is located just across the Green Line border with Israel in the northern West Bank's Jenin Governorate, and to the north abuts the Palestinian village of...
settlements.
In the months following the outbreak of the Second Intifada, Israeli checkpoints
Israel Defense Forces checkpoint
A Israel Defense Forces checkpoint, usually called an Israeli checkpoint , is a barrier erected by the Israel Defense Forces with the stated aim of enhancing the security of Israel and Israeli settlements and preventing those who wish to do harm from crossing...
were erected on the eastern and southern roads to nearby Tura al-Gharbiya
Tura al-Gharbiya
Tura al Gharbiya is a Palestinian town in the Jenin Governorate in the Northern area of the West Bank, located 14 kilometers West of Jenin close to the separation barrier. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of over 1,110 inhabitants in mid-year 2006...
and Ya'bad
Ya'bad
Ya'bad is a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank, 20 kilometers west of Jenin in the Jenin Governorate. It is a major agricultural town with most of its land covered with olive groves and grain fields. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of...
, limiting access to the rest of the 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...
; the checkpoints were preserved as crossings in the Israeli West Bank barrier
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...
. Umm ar-Rihan's location in area east of the Green Line
Green Line (Israel)
Green Line refers to the demarcation lines set out in the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbours after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...
and west of the Israeli West Bank barrier
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...
is often referred to as the "Seam Zone
Seam Zone
Seam Zone is a term used to refer to a land area in the West Bank located east of the Green Line and west of Israel's separation barrier, populated largely by Israelis in settlements such as Alfei Menashe, Ariel, Beit Arye, Modi'in Illit, Giv'at Ze'ev, Ma'ale Adumim, Beitar Illit and Efrat.As of...
".
Present-day
Umm ar-Rihan is under the Palestinian National AuthorityPalestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
's civil administration as per the Oslo Accords
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
. There is one primary school run by the PNA, but no secondary school, clinic or other medical facilities. Um ar-Rehan residents can access the clinic in Barta'a Sharqiyya by way of an unpaved road. The 4,700 people who live in the Barta'a area enclave depend on this government clinic which has a pharmacy and also offers counseling on health awareness, but lacks medical specialists, laboratory testing and family planning services.
The main terminal to enter and exit the Barta'a Sharqiya-Um ar-Rehan enclave is Imreiha (Reikhan). In November 2004, it was open between 6am and 10am to Palestinians with green permits only. In August 2006, it was open between 7am and 9am between which times Israeli goods and produce enter the enclave area. Produce from the village for export to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
is sent out only with prior coordination with the Israeli authorities.
On 30 April 2004, armed Israeli settlers entered the village and fired shots in the air before briefly taking over the primary school. They threatened to "expel" the Palestinians, urging them to go to nearby Ya'bad on the other side of the separation barrier. An official from the Education Ministry of 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...
and villager Faruat Zaid said they tried to contact the IDF about the raid, but there had been no response. Both the IDF and police said they had been unaware of the incident.