Araqah () is a Palestinian village in the Jenin Governorate in the Northern area of the West Bank, located 15 kilometers West of Jenin. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 2,667 inhabitants in 2017.
History Araqah was established in the 18th century, probably by the Abd el-Hadi family or under their auscipes.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. 345
Potsherds from the late Roman,Zertal, 2016, p. 215 Byzantine,Dauphin, 1998, p. 750 early Muslim and the Middle Ages have been found here.
Ottoman era Pottery remains from the early Ottoman era have also been found here.
In 1870, Victor Guérin described it as a small village, situated on a small hill, and divided into two quarters.Guérin, 1874, p. 224 In 1870/1871 (1288 AH), an Ottoman census listed the village in the nahiya of Shafa al-Gharby.
In 1882 the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine found that it was "a village of moderated size on a hill side, with a well to the south."Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 44
British Mandate era In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, the village had a population of 168 Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Jenin, p. 30 increasing slightly in the 1931 census to 219 Muslims, with 36 houses.Mills, 1932, p. 67
In 1944/5 statistics the population was 350 Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 16 with a total of 5,675 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 54 Of this, 462 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 1,191 dunams for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 98 while 27 dunams were built-up (urban) land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 148
Jordanian era After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Araqah came under Jordanian rule.
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 569 inhabitants.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 25
Post-1967 Araqah has been under Israeli occupation along with the rest of the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.
On 27 April 2015 an eighteen-year-old youth from the village died after being shot the previous day by Israeli soldiers.Palestinian Man Shot in West Bank Dies of Wounds Ha'aretz 27/4/2015
Demography
Local origins Some of Araqah's residents have origins in the Bayt Jibrin area, while others have origins in Transjordan.
See also Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, 2015
References
Bibliography
External links Welcome To 'Araqa Araqa, Welcome to Palestine Survey of Western Palestine, Map 8: IAA, Wikimedia commons