Template:Infobox Palestinian Authority municipality Immatain (Template:Lang-ar) 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.

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

Geography

The village's lands are mostly filled with olive trees, forests, and blooming vegetation and is a prime farming location. Immatain relies on agriculture and support from descendants who reside abroad. The nearest locality is the village of Fara'ata, which is about one kilometer away. Immatain and the surrounding villages make Amra Area. These villages are Fara'ata, Jit, Kafr Qaddum, Baqat al-Hatab, Hajja, Jinsafut and Al-Funduq.

History

 
The newly built mosque and minaret

Byzantine ceramics have been found in the village.[1]

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.[2]

In 1838, Amatin was noted as located in Jurat Amra, south of Nablus.[3]

In Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine (1882), Immatain was described as "a village of moderates size on the slope of the hill, with a few olives."[4]

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,[5] increasing in the 1931 census to 334 Muslims in 67 houses.[6]

In 1945 the population of Immatin was 440, all Muslims,[7] while the total land area was 7,155 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[8] Of this, 967 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 3,067 for cereals,[9] while 32 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[10]

Land ownership of Immatain in 1945

The following is a breakdown of land ownership in 1945.[8][7]

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.[9][7]

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.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 782 inhabitants in Immatin.[11]

Post-1967

After the Six-Day War in 1967, Immatain has been under Israeli occupation. 58.3% of the total village land of Immatain/Fara'ata is defined as Area B land, while the remaining 41,7% is defined as Area C land.[12] Israel has confiscated 163 dunams of land from Immatain for the construction of the Israeli settlement of ‘Sha’ar Emmanuel’, part of the Kedumim settlement.[13]

Population

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Immatain had a population of approximately 2,450 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.[14] Almost double the amount live abroad for political and economical reasons.[citation needed] Each year, on average two family units emigrate from Immatain.[citation needed] 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)[15]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Dauphin, 1998, p. 800
  2. ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 136
  3. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 127
  4. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 162
  5. ^ Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Nablus, p. 25
  6. ^ Mills, 1932, p. 62
  7. ^ a b c Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 18
  8. ^ a b Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 60
  9. ^ a b Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 106
  10. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 156
  11. ^ Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 25
  12. ^ Immatin Village Profile (including Far’ata Locality), ARIJ, p. 16
  13. ^ Immatin Village Profile (including Far’ata Locality), ARIJ, p. 17
  14. ^ Projected Mid -Year Population for Qalqilya Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
  15. ^ "Immatin - اماتين -Nablus - Palestine Remembered". www.palestineremembered.com. Retrieved 2016-02-01.

Bibliography