Talfit (Arabic: تلفيت)[2] is a Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank, located southeast of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) census, it had a population of 3,591 in 2017.[1]

Talfit
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicتلفيت
Talfit from the west
Talfit from the west
Talfit is located in State of Palestine
Talfit
Talfit
Location of Talfit within Palestine
Coordinates: 32°05′19″N 35°17′29″E / 32.08861°N 35.29139°E / 32.08861; 35.29139
Palestine grid177/165
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateNablus
Government
 • TypeVillage council
 • Head of MunicipalityRaed Ershed
Population
 (2017)[1]
 • Total
3,591

Location

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Talfit is located 15.1 kilometres (9 mi) south Nablus. It is bordered by Jalud and Qusra to the east, Jurish and Qabalan to the north, Eli, Mateh Binyamin to the west, and Qaryut to the south.[3]

History

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Potsherds from the Iron Age II, Persian and Byzantine/Ayyubid eras have been found.[4]

Röhricht suggested identifying Talfit with Tarphin, mentioned in a Crusader text from 1154,[5] but a later author (Abel) preferred to locate it at Kh. Tarfein to the north of Bir Zeit.[6] According to Finkelstein, Kh. Tarfein better fits the archaeological finds.[4]

Potsherds from the Mamluk era has also been found.[4]

Ottoman era

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In 1596, Talfit appeared in Ottoman tax registers as a village in the Nahiya of Jabal Qubal in the Liwa of Nablus. It had a population of 12 Muslim households. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 33,3% on wheat, barley, summer crops, olives, and goats or beehives; a total of 1,500 akçe.[7] Potsherds from the early Ottoman era has also been found here.[4]

In 1838 Edward Robinson noted Telfit located in El-Beitawy district, east of Nablus.[8]

The PEF's Survey of Western Palestine noted in 1882 that the place resembled Kabalan, the latter being described as a village of moderate size, on high ground, surrounded by olive trees. Talfit was supplied with water from a well called 'Ain Telfit.[9]

British Mandate era

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In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Talfit had a population of 352, all Muslims,[10] increasing in the 1931 census to 464, still all Muslim, in 116 occupied houses.[11]

In the 1945 statistics, Telfit had a population of 610 Muslims,[12] with 6,258 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[13] Of this, 3,309 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 1,228 used for cereals,[14] while 49 dunams were built-up land.[15]

Jordanian era

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

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 904 inhabitants.[16]

1967-present

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After the Six-Day War in 1967, Talfit has been under Israeli occupation.

After the 1995 accords, 97% of the village land is classified as Area B land, while the remaining 3% is Area C.[3]

Demography

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Local origins

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Locals trace their origins to the area of Damascus, in Syria.[17]

References

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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. 245
  3. ^ a b Talfit Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 4
  4. ^ a b c d Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 655
  5. ^ Röhricht, 1887, p. 213
  6. ^ Abel, 1928:52, cited in Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 655
  7. ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 133
  8. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 128
  9. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 288
  10. ^ Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Nablus, p. 25
  11. ^ Mills, 1932, p. 65
  12. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 19
  13. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 61
  14. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 108
  15. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 158
  16. ^ Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 25
  17. ^ 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. 356

Bibliography

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