Dura al-Qar' | |
|---|---|
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | دورا القرع |
| • Latin | Dura al-Qari' (official) Dura al-Qari'a or Dura al-Qara (unofficial) |
 View of Dura al-Qar' | |
  Dura al-Qar' Location of Dura al-Qar' withinPalestine | |
| Coordinates:31°57′33″N35°13′42″E / 31.95917°N 35.22833°E /31.95917; 35.22833 | |
| Palestine grid | 171/151 |
| State | State of Palestine |
| Governorate | Ramallah and al-Bireh |
| Government | |
| • Type | Village council |
| Area | |
• Total | 4,016 dunams (4.0 km2 or 1.5 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 728 m (2,388 ft) |
| Population (2017)[2] | |
• Total | 3,032 |
| • Density | 760/km2 (2,000/sq mi) |
| Name meaning | "a circle"[3] |
Dura al-Qar' (Arabic:دورا القرع) orDura al-Qari'a is aPalestinian town in the centralWest Bank, part of theRamallah and al-Bireh Governorate. According to thePalestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Dura al-Qar' had a population of 3,032 inhabitants in 2017.[2]
The town's total land area is 4,016dunams, of which 2,891 dunams have been appropriated byIsrael mostly for the purpose of building a by-pass road. According to Dura al-Qar's village council, 142 families have been directly affected by the confiscations and 58% of the town's population depend on those lands as main sources of income.[citation needed]
Dura el Qar' is located on the Samarian hills,[4] 6.6 kilometers (4.1 mi) north-east ofRamallah. It is bordered byEin Yabrud to the east,Ein Siniya to the north,Jifna,Al-Jalazun Camp andSurda to the west, andAl Bireh to the south.[1]
The village is located atopirrigated terraces, constructed within a valley, accompanied by multiple privatereservoirs.[5]
Potsherds from theRoman and Roman/Byzantine era have been found in the village.[6]
Potsherds from the earlyOttoman era have been found here.[6]
In 1838, it was noted as aMuslim village,Durah, in theBeni Harit district, north of Jerusalem.[7]
In 1863Victor Guérin found the village to have 250 inhabitants. He further described that old oaks shaded for ancient springs, which were used to irrigate the fields. Several houses in the village were built, at least in part, with ancient stones.[8] An Ottoman village list from about 1870 found that the village had a population of 120, in 22 houses, though the population count only included men.[9][10]
In 1882, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine (SWP) describedDurah as "a small village on the side of a valley, with springs on the south, and olives".[11]In 1907, it was described as "a small, healthfully located Moslem village. Its inhabitants have a good reputation for peaceful relations with theJifna Christians. The Durah people raise many vegetables."[12]
In 1896 the population ofDura el-kara was estimated to be about 246 persons.[13]
In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities,Dura el Qare' had a population of 191, allMuslims,[14] increasing in the1931 census to 303, still all Muslims, in a total of 71 houses.[15]
In the1945 statistics the population was 370, all Muslims,[16] while the total land area was 4,166dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[17] Of this, 1,762 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 1,253 for cereals,[18] while 18 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[19]
In the wake of the1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the1949 Armistice Agreements, Dura al-Qar' came underJordanian rule.
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 576 inhabitants inDura Qar'.[20]
Since theSix-Day War in 1967, Dura al-Qar' has been underIsraeli occupation.
After the1995 accords, 23.3% of the village‟s total area has been classified asArea B land, while the remaining 76.7% is classified asArea C. Israel has “confiscated” 680 dunum of village land for constructing theIsraeli settlement ofBeit El.[21]
On August 14, 1995, Kheir Abdel Hafid Qassem, a 24-year-old Palestinian man, was shot dead by anIsraeli settler fromBeit El, and many people were arrested, while he and about a 100 other residents of Dura al-Qar' were attempting to drive away settlers by tearing down Israeli canvas shelters and cinder-block buildings outside of the village.[22]
Residents of Dura al-Qar', along with people in the nearby villages in theRamallah Governorate such asal-Tira,Beit 'Anan andBeit Ur al-Fauqa, trace their origins to the town ofDura, southwest ofHebron. A former leader of Dura al-Qar' claimed that before they settled in the village, the inhabitants used to live in the Faria'[which?] Basin.[23]
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