Anzah or 'Anza (Arabic: عنزة) is a Palestinian village in the located 18 km southwest of the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank. Its total land area consists of 4,740 dunams of which nearly a 1/4 is covered with olive orchards. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 1,938 inhabitants in 2017.[3]

Anzah, 'Anza
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicعنزه ، عنزا
 • LatinA'nza (official)
Anzah, 'Anza is located in State of Palestine
Anzah, 'Anza
Anzah, 'Anza
Location of Anzah , 'Anza within Palestine
Coordinates: 32°21′34″N 35°13′11″E / 32.35944°N 35.21972°E / 32.35944; 35.21972
Palestine grid170/196
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateJenin
Government
 • TypeVillage council
Area
 • Total
4,740 dunams (4.7 km2 or 1.8 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)
 • Total
1,938
 • Density410/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Name meaningThe goats or hill [1][2]

History

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Pottery sherds from the Byzantine, early Muslim and the Medieval eras have been found here.[4]

Ottoman era

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In 1830, during the Ottoman era, when the forces of Bashir Shihab II besieged Sanur, they were harassed by the people of Anzah.[5] In 1838, 'Anaza was noted as being in the District of esh-Sha'rawiyeh esh-Shurkiyeh, the eastern part.[6]

In 1870, Victor Guérin found it "situated on a hill and counting scarcely a hundred inhabitants today. A belt of olive trees surrounds it."[7]

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described it as: "A village of ancient appearance on a hill perched above the plain, the houses descending the slope on the south-east. It has two wells down the hill and a good olive grove near the road on the south. The houses are of stone."[8]

British Mandate era

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In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, the village had a population of 537 Muslims,[9] increasing slightly in the 1931 census to 642 Muslims, with 137 houses.[10]

In the 1944/5 statistics, the population was 880 Muslims,[11] with a total of 4,740 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[12] Of this, 958 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 2,110 dunams for cereals,[13] while 16 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[14]

Jordanian era

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In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Anzah came under Jordanian rule.

In 1961, the population of 'Anze was 1,011.[15]

Post-1967

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Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Anzah has been held under Israeli occupation. According to the Israeli census of that year, the population of Anza stood at 807, of whom 13 were registered as having come from Israel.[16]

Demography

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The village has six major families: Obaid, Sadaqa, Barahmeh, Ataya, Khader, and Omour.

Anzah's residents has origins in Yatta. They say they have longstanding roots in the area.[17]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 178
  2. ^ Zertal, 2004, p. 203
  3. ^ Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (February 2018). "Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census 2017" (PDF). p. 66. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  4. ^ Zertal, 2004, pp. 202-203
  5. ^ Shehabi 1969, III, pp. 805-806; cited in Zertal, 2004, pp. 202-203
  6. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd app, p. 129
  7. ^ Guérin, 1875, p. 217
  8. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 155
  9. ^ Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Jenin, p. 29
  10. ^ Mills, 1932, p. 67
  11. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 16 Archived 2018-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 54 Archived 2012-02-29 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 98 Archived 2014-01-04 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 148 Archived 2014-01-04 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 25
  16. ^ Perlmann, Joel (November 2011 – February 2012). "The 1967 Census of the West Bank and Gaza Strip: A Digitized Version" (PDF). Levy Economics Institute. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  17. ^ Grossman, D. (1986). "Oscillations in the Rural Settlement of Samaria and Judaea in the Ottoman Period". in Shomron studies. Dar, S., Safrai, S., (eds). Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House. p. 350-351

Bibliography

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