Khirbet al-Deir (Arabic: خربة الدير), or Khirbet ed-Deir, is a Palestinian village located 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) southwest of Bethlehem, and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) northwest of Hebron. The town is in the Hebron Governorate of central West Bank. According to the 2017 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) Census, the village had a population of 358 people.[1]

Khirbet al-Deir
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicخربة الدير
Idyllic scene overlooking the Palestinian village, Khirbet al-Deir
Idyllic scene overlooking the Palestinian village, Khirbet al-Deir
Khirbet al-Deir is located in State of Palestine
Khirbet al-Deir
Khirbet al-Deir
Location of Khirbet al-Deir within Palestine
Coordinates: 31°39′20″N 35°01′30″E / 31.65556°N 35.02500°E / 31.65556; 35.02500
Palestine grid152/117
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateHebron
FoundedEarly 18th century
Government
 • TypeVillage council
Population
 (2017)[1]
 • Total
358
Name meaning"The ruin of the monastery"[2]

History

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Late Ottoman period: the village

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The village was built at the site of an old monastery in the early 18th century, by residents who broke away from Surif.[3]

British Mandate period

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At the time of the 1931 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, the population of Kh. ed Dair was counted under Dura.[4]

Jordanian period

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After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the area was under Jordanian rule.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 133 inhabitants in Kh[irbet] Deir.[5]

1967-present

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Since the Six-Day War in 1967, the town has been under Israeli occupation.

The only institution in the village is the Village Council. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 301.[6]

In 2004, Israel started constructing the West Bank barrier near the village; 1500 meters of which pass through village land. 500 dunams of village land have been lost due to the wall; including 400 dunams now isolated behind the wall.[7]

According to statistics provided by ARIJ, in 2009, some 40% of the village's population worked in Israel, being issued permits to work on the Israeli side of the Green Line.[8] The villagers are all Muslims.

 
Khirbet al-Deir, seen to the east of the Wadi es-Ṣur valley

Footnotes

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Palmer (1881), p. 398
  3. ^ ARIJ. Village Profile, p. 5.
  4. ^ Mills (1932), p. 31.
  5. ^ Government of Jordan (1964), p. 22
  6. ^ Perlmann (2011–2012).
  7. ^ ARIJ. Village Profile, p. 10.
  8. ^ ARIJ, Fact Sheet.

Bibliography

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