Region Of Palestine Research Articles

Mapping Muslim Sacred Tombs in Palestine During the Mandate Period

The Muslim tombs of local saints and prophets were an integral part of the landscape of British Mandate Palestine. They were ubiquitous and significant; located in almost all parts of the region, from the slopes of the Hermon Mountain in the north, to the Negev Desert in the south. These shrines were found in cities, towns and countryside, extending from the shores of the Mediterranean to the Great Rift Valley. However, no systematic study of their extent or significant analysis of the monuments has been undertaken. Using British period maps and additional sources from the 1930–40s, this study analyses almost 800 Muslim tombs and sanctuaries. Through comparison with the Palestine Exploration Fund survey of the 1870s and other sources from the Late Ottoman Period, the article identifies patterns associated with these tombs, including their history and, in some cases, their origins and the changes that they underwent during this period. Case studies of different regions and analysis of the physical and geographical location of the monuments also sheds light on their significance in various regions of Palestine and to different population groups.

Regional cooperation among the rural population of Palestine's southern coast as reflected in joint petitions to İstanbul at the end of the nineteenth century

AbstractThe issue of regional connections and cooperation among the rural population in different parts of Palestine at the end of the nineteenth century has thus far not received adequate attention. This article presents case-studies of several villages in the sub-district of Gaza, which submitted joint petitions about common concerns to the Grand Vizier in İstanbul. It examines the significance of these petitions and discusses their characteristics, uniqueness, and historical context. It then moves on to discuss other forms of regional cooperation and nuclei of regional identification among the rural population, which in part had previous roots, and explores their repercussions for the development of regional identity alongside more commonly known identities concomitantly held by Palestine's population at the time. The submission of joint petitions to İstanbul, it is argued, was one of the key manifestations of a tendency toward greater regionalism in some regions of Palestine at the end of the nineteenth century, an occurrence which was less likely to happen prior to theTanzimatreforms. While the literature has primarily focused on the activity of the urban educated circles in the process of regionalization, this article presents a unique bottom-up perspective that underscores the everyday experiences, practices and mechanisms of cooperation in a rural region which is rarely investigated.

The impact of political violence on psychosocial functioning of individuals and families: the case of palestinian adolescents.

The impact of political violence on the psychosocial functioning of adolescents and their families was compared for surveyed populations from two regions of Palestine. A randomly-selected sample of 971 adolescents (521 from the West Bank and 450 from the Gaza Strip regions, 42% male/57% female) completed scales measuring traumatic event, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), peer relations, mental health, aggression, and family functioning. (1) West Bank participants reported a significantly higher level of exposure to political violence and significantly more aggression, mental health symptoms, problems in family and social functioning; (2) Participants exposed to greater political violence reported higher levels of depression, hostility, paranoid ideation, and PTSD; (3) Economic status and level of parental education were related to reduced levels of mental health symptoms and greater family functioning; (4) There were gendered differences. The study provides a starting point to begin to compare the experiences and outcomes between Palestinian adolescents in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and a basis for considering implications for service delivery and policy makers concerned with the well being of Palestinian communities.

Evaluation of the Incidence and Severity of Olive Leaf Spot Caused by <i>Spilocaea oleagina</i> on Olive Trees in Palestine

Olive Leaf Spot (OLS) is found in many parts of the world and cause readuced growth and yield in olive trees. In this study, investigations were carried out to measure the incidence (% infected leaves) and severity (number of lesions/leaf) of OLS in olive growing regions in Palestine, including the regions of Hebron, Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Salfit, Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah and Qalqiyah. OLS was found in all study areas with significantly higher percent incidences in Jenin and Nablus (67.16% ± 18.16% and 46.06% ± 23.70%, respectively). OLS was more severe in Nablus, Qalqilyah, Jenin and Tulkarm (severity grade 3.0 - 3.7). Analysis indicate that there is a positive correlation (R2 = 0.597) between disease incidence and severity. OLS appeared to be particularly severe on trees that were growing in regions with higher annual rainfall. The correlation between severity and rainfall was positive (R2 = 0.543).

Spectrum of β-Globin Gene Mutations Among Thalassemia Patients in the West Bank Region of Palestine

Spectrum of β-Globin Gene Mutations Among Thalassemia Patients in the West Bank Region of Palestine

Pectrum of β-Globin Gene Mutations Among Thalassemia Patients in the West Bank Region of Palestine

β-Thalassemia (thal) is an autosomal recessive disorder that results in hypochromic hemolyticanemia in affected patients. In the West Bank area of Palestine, the prevalence of β-thal trait isapproximately 3.5% among the population, with an estimated 120,000 carriers. Seventeen β-globingene mutations could be identified in 148 patients using polymerase chain reaction (PCR),amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS)-PCR and direct sequencing. The predominantmutations included: IVS-I-6 (T→C) (28.7%), IVS-I-110 (G→A) (17.6%), codon 37 (G→A)(10.4%), IVS-I-1 (G→A) (9%), codons 106/107 (+ G) (6.8%) and codon 39 (C→T) (4.6%). Otherless frequent and rare mutations included: IVS-II-1 (G→A), codon 5 (–CT), IVS-II-848 (C→A),–30 (T→A), codons 8/9 (+ G), IVS-I-5 (G→C), –28 (A→C), IVS-II-745 (C→G), codon 6 (–A),codon 27 (G→T) and codon 30 (AGG→ACG). Most patients (62.2%) were homozygous for one typeof mutation, while the rest (27.3%) were compound heterozygotes. Some patients were heterozygous forβ-thal and sickle cell anemia traits. No mutations could be detected in both alleles of eight patients,while in seven patients only one mutant allele could be detected. Further investigations are needed toresolve the corresponding genotypes of these patients. This study represents a comprehensive investigationof the type, frequency, and distribution of thalassemia mutations among the Palestinian population inthe West Bank region of Palestine. A degree of similarity and significant variations was evident in thetype and frequency of mutations when the present mutations profile was compared with similar onesamong various Arab and non Arab populations. The association between the identified mutations and thecorresponding genotypes of our patients with specific polymorphism frameworks in the β-globin gene wasperformed and the results revealed linkage disequilibrium.

The Victory Song of Merneptah, Israel and the People of Palestine

This article discusses the nature of the association that can be established between the Merneptah stele and the later history of the region of Palestine and biblical Israel. This study examines aspects of the hymn’s rhetoric and literary metaphors, and discusses, among other things, the themes of Merneptah’s transcendent greatness and his mythic roles as savior of Memphis, universal mediator of divine grace and guardian of peace in terms of his divine ability to control destiny. In the hymn’s central movement, these stock tropes center on the theme of renewal. The final movement is not a song recounting Palestine’s conquest, but rather closes the hymn of victory over the Libyans with an idyllic portrayal of the ‘peace’, with which Merneptah has reestablished creation. His song of the nine bows celebrates the pharaoh’s universal patronage with illustrative reference to the region and towns of Palestine: Gaza, Ashkelon, Gezer and Yeno’am, which now belong to Egypt. Israel, metaphorically portrayed as the land of Hurru’s former husband, has been replaced by Merneptah’s patronage in a manner comparable to the well-known role that Yahweh plays in Hosea and Ezekiel as Jerusalem and Samaria’s Ba’al. Regionally, the geographical region referenced by the eponymic use of the name Israel in the stele corresponds with the Saul tradition’s Philistine area.

The Palestinian mountain region and Zionist settlement policy, 1882–1948

The Palestinian mountain region, situated lengthwise astride three parts of Palestine-Judea, Samaria and the Galilee, accounts for 34 per cent of the territories in Western Palestine (2,262,075 acres out of 6,752,250 acres). If we exclude the then sparsely populated Negev desert, the mountain region constitutes 60 per cent of the Palestinian territories. Its altitude varies and climbs in certain areas to over 1,000 meters above sea level.' Zionist agricultural settlement, from its inception at the close of nineneeth century until the establishment of the states of Israel in 1948, barely penetrated into this area, which comprised such a large portion of Palestinian territory. The Zionist Movement clearly preferred to settle Palestine's plains and valleys. Zionist settlement policy shifted at the end of the 1930s and attempted to penetrate the mountain region. However, in spite of these efforts, the penetration achieved was quite limited. This was reflected in the 1947 UN map proposing the partition of Palestine as a definitive solution to the Jewish-Arab conflict. This partition was based amongst other things on the paucity of the Jewish settlement in the Palestine mountain region.2 The goal of this article (which is based on rich primary materials) is to analyze and summarize the role which Zionist settlement policy accorded to the mountain region of Palestine during the years 1882-1948. This article will attempt to answer conclusively the following questions: what were the factors which prompted Zionist settlement policy to neglect the mountain region for many years; what were the changed circumstances which induced the Zionist Movement to penetrate the mountain region at the close of the 1930s; and what practical measures were employed by the Zionist Movement to overcome the settlement difficulties which the mountain area posed?

The Political Economy of Population Counts in Ottoman Palestine: Nablus, circa 1850

New evidence, culled from the Nablus advisory council (majlis al-shūrā) records and based on an actual Ottoman population count taken in December 1849, indicates that the city's population at that time numbered at least 20,000 people, more than twice the frequently cited figure of 8,000–9,000. This revision raises serious doubts about the veracity of hitherto commonly accepted population figures, most of them based on contemporary estimates by Western observers, for the various regions of Palestine during the first three-quarters of the 19th century. Moreover, when compared to available data for Nablus from the 16th and the late 19th centuries, it seems that the pattern of Nablus's demographic development differs from what the proponents of Ottoman decline and modernization theses have argued.2 Instead of decreasing during the so-called dark ages of Ottoman decline in the 17th and 18th centuries, Nablus's population increased significantly; and instead of growing robustly during the so-called period of modernization in the second half of the 19th century, it appears to have leveled off.

The Geographical Regions of Palestine

The Geographical Regions of Palestine

The Pioneer Fringe in Palestine: Settlement Possibilities South and East of the Holy Land

T HE last twelve years have witnessed a rapid economic development in Palestine through the men and money brought by Jewish colonization. Unhappily this development has been accompanied by political strife, even by sanguinary disorders. The task assumed by Jewish colonization-to gather together on the land of their ancestors a people dispersed two millenniums ago to the four corners of the earth-is an enterprise without precedent that cannot fail to create complex political problems.' The most discussed problem, constantly invoked by the Arab leaders and once again the subject of investigation by a Royal Commission, is the capacity of the land to support population. This is essentially a geographical problem.2 It is a striking fact that Jewish colonization is localized in certain regions of Palestine (Fig. i): the coastal plain north of Ashkelon, the Plain of Jezreel or Emek, the Galilean plateau, the environs of Jerusalem in the mountains of Judea, the northern part of the Ghor. But on the border of these regions, to the south and east, are vast spaces where colonization has scarcely penetrated: to the south, the Negeb, which adjoins the desert of Sinai; to the east, the great trough of the Ghor and, beyond, the highlands of Trans-Jordan, which merge farther on into the Arabian deserts. These empty lands, the domain of nomads, call for pioneers seeking a place in the sun. On the other hand, we do not believe that the regions already colonized are overpopulated-far from it.3 It would be temerity, with the scant scientific data at our disposal, to envisage a colonization in the great Bedouin deserts as a whole; but we can attempt to sketch the pioneer fringe around Palestine. The advance already made in this direction