Kafr Laqif

Location

Kafr Laqif is located 12.04 km (horizontally) east of Qalqiliya. It is bordered by Hajja to the east, Wadi Qana to the south, ‘Azzun to the west, and Khirbet Sir and Baqat al-Hatab to the north.

History

Byzantine-period ceramics have been found there.

Ottoman period

Kafr Laqif, like all of Palestine, was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517, and in the 1596 tax registers it was part of the nahiya ("subdistrict") of Bani Sa'b, itself part of the larger Sanjak of Nablus. It had a population of 15 households, all Muslims. The inhabitants paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues and a fixed tax for people of Nablus area; a total of 10,740 akçe. 37.5% of the revenue went to a Muslim charitable endowment.

In 1838, Robinson noted Kefr Lakif as a Muslim village in the Beni Sa'ab district, west of Nablus.

In 1870/71 (AH 1288), an Ottoman census listed the village in the nahiya (sub-district) of Bani Sa'b.

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Kefr Lekif as resembling Kafr Jammal, that is: "a small stone village on a knoll, with cisterns."

British Mandate

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Kufr Laqef had a population of 95 Muslims, increasing in the 1931 census to 141 Muslims, in 27 houses.

In the 1945 statistics the population of Kafr Laqif was 210 Muslims, while the total land area was 2,854 dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 477 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 840 for cereals, while 19 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.

File:Azzun 1943.jpg|Kafr Laqif 1943 1:20,000 File:Azzun 1945.jpg|Kafr Laqif 1945 1:250,000

Jordanian period

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

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 304 inhabitants.

Post 1967

During the Six-Day War in 1967, Kafr Laqif came under Israeli occupation.

After the 1995 accords, 28.2% of village land is classified as Area B land, while the remaining 71.8% is classified as Area C land. The Israelis have expropriated land in Kafr Laqif for its settlements, most notably Karne Shomron and its environs. In addition, according to the plans, (as of 2007) the Israeli West Bank barrier will isolate 657 dunums (22.8% of the village's total area) on the western Israeli side of the wall.

Archaeology

Remains of a classical-era structure known locally as el-Burj are located on the northeastern heights of Kafr Laqif. The surviving portion includes a wall approximately 10 meters long and up to 4–5 meters high, built with drafted masonry indicative of a sizable and prominent building. Adjacent to the structure is a vaulted cellar constructed from dressed stone. Second Temple-period rock-cut tombs have been identified on the same hill slope. Archaeological findings from the site include remains from the Early Iron Age, Hellenistic, and Herodian periods. A well-paved, rock-cut road links the village to the nearby springs at 'Ein Tanur. These features, according to archaeologist Shimon Dar, suggest that Kafr Laqif may have functioned as a local administrative center or citadel during Hellenistic times.

References

Bibliography

References

1. [http://vprofile.arij.org/qalqiliya/pdfs/vprofile/kafrlaqif_vp_en.pdf Kafr Laqif Village Profile], 2013, ARIJ, p. 4
2. (February 2018). "Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017". [[State of Palestine]].
3. Palmer, 1881, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/184/mode/1up 184]
4. Dauphin (1998), p. 801.
5. Hütteroth and Abdulfattah (1977), p. 140.
6. Robinson and Smith (1841), vol 3, Appendix 2, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/127/mode/1up 127].
7. Grossman, David. (2004). "Arab Demography and Early Jewish Settlement in Palestine". Magnes Press.
8. Conder and Kitchener (1882), p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/165/mode/1up 165].
9. Barron (1923), Table IX, Sub-district of Nablus, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n27/mode/1up 25].
10. Mills (1931), p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 62].
11. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p18.jpg 18].
12. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi (1970), p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Nablus/Page-060.jpg 60].
13. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi (1970), p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Nablus/Page-106.jpg 106].
14. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi (1970), p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Nablus/Page-156.jpg 156].
15. Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/JordanCensusPages/JordanCensus1961-p26.pdf 26].
16. ARIJ (2013), [http://vprofile.arij.org/qalqiliya/pdfs/vprofile/kafrlaqif_vp_en.pdf Kafr Laqif Village Profile], pp. 17-18.
17. Dar (1986), p. 223.