Immatain

Immatain (Arabic: إماتين‎) is a Palestinian village located in the Qalqilya Governorate in the northwestern West Bank, about seventeen kilometers southwest of Nablus. The current mayor of Immatain is Haythem Sawan.

Immatain
Municipality type D (Village council)
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicإماتين
Viewpoint of Immatain
Immatain
Location of Immatain within Palestine
Coordinates: 32°11′31″N 35°09′27″E
Palestine grid165/177
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateQalqilya
Founded1250 (estimate)
Government
 • TypeVillage council
 • Head of MunicipalityHaythem Sameer Sawan
Area
 • Total10,000 dunams (10.0 km2 or 3.9 sq mi)
Elevation432−518 m (−1,267 ft)
Population
 (2006)
 • Total2,450
 • Density250/km2 (630/sq mi)
Name meaningAmatin p.n.,[2]

After 2012, the village of Farratin is included in Immatain.

Location

Immatin (including the Far’ata locality) is located 19 kilometers (12 mi) west of Qalqiliya. It is bordered by Tell to the east, Deir Istiya to the south, Jinsafut, Al Funduq and Hajja to the west, and Kafr Qaddum and Jit to the north.[1]

History
The newly built mosque and minaret

Byzantine ceramics have been found in the village.[3]

Ottoman era

Immatain was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in 1596 Immatain appeared in the tax registers as Matin, being in the Nahiya of Jabal Qubal of the Liwa of Nablus. It had a population of 20 households and 1 bachelor, all Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33.3% on a number of crops, including wheat, barley, summer crops, olives, goats and beehives; a total of 3,000 akçe.[4]

In 1838, Amatin was noted as located in Jurat Amra, south of Nablus.[5]

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine Immatain was described as "a village of moderates size on the slope of the hill, with a few olives."[6]

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Immatain (called "Ammatain") had a population of 234, all Muslim,[7] increasing in the 1931 census to 334 Muslims in 67 houses.[8]

In the 1945 statistics the population of Immatin was 440, all Muslims,[9] while the total land area was 7,155 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[10] Of this, 967 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 3,067 for cereals,[11] while 32 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.[12]

Land ownership of Immatain in 1945

The following is a breakdown of land ownership in 1945.[10][9]

Ethnic group Land ownership (dunams) Land ownership (%)
Arab 7,152 99.9%
Jewish 0 0%
Christian 0 0%
Public 3 0.0004%

Land usage of Immatain in 1945

The following is a breakdown of the land usage during 1945 in the dunams.[11][9]

Land usage type Arab dunams Percentage
Irrigated and plantation 967 8%
Area planted with olives 1,042 9%
Area planted with cereal 3,067 25%
Built-up 32 0.3%
Cultivable 4,034 33%
Non-cultivable 3,089 24.7%
Total 12,240 100%

Jordanian era

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Immatain came under Jordanian rule. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 782 inhabitants in Immatin.[13]

Post-1967

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

After the 1995 accords, 58.3% of the total village land of Immatain/Fara'ata was classified as Area B, while the remaining 41.7% was classified as Area C.[14] Israel has expropriated 163 dunams of land from Immatain for the construction of the Israeli settlement of ‘Sha’ar Emmanuel’, part of the Immanuel settlement.[15]

In 2013 complaint were made over "training exercises" which the Israeli army held in the village. “The troops spread out through the village for several hours, withdrawing just before midnight." According to the Israeli army, the exercise was a "navigating run … whose purpose was to acquaint the forces more closely with the relevant sector, as well as demonstrating IDF presence in the area".[16]

Population

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Immatain had a population of approximately 2,450 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.[17] Almost double the amount live abroad for political and economical reasons. Each year, on average two family units emigrate from Immatain. Immatain has four families. They are Sawan, Ghanim, Albaree, and Matanee.

Family name Population est. Percent of the population
Sawan 1220 49.8%
Ghanim 850 34.7%
Albaree 255 10.4%
Matanee 125 5.1%

Population growth (1922 - 2007)[18]

Footnotes
  1. Immatin Village Profile (including Far’ata Locality), ARIJ, p. 4
  2. Palmer, 1881, p. 178
  3. Dauphin, 1998, p. 800
  4. Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 136
  5. Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 127
  6. Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 162
  7. Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Nablus, p. 25
  8. Mills, 1932, p. 62
  9. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 18
  10. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 60
  11. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 106
  12. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 156
  13. Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 25
  14. Immatin Village Profile (including Far’ata Locality), ARIJ, p. 16
  15. Immatin Village Profile (including Far’ata Locality), ARIJ, p. 17
  16. Palestinian villages subject to Israeli mock raids not told they are exercises, Harriet Sherwood, 12 Nov 2013, The Guardian
  17. Projected Mid -Year Population for Qalqilya Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
  18. "Immatin - اماتين -Nablus - Palestine Remembered". www.palestineremembered.com. Retrieved 2016-02-01.

Bibliography
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