Ajjul

This article is about the Palestinian village in the West Bank. For the archaeological site near Gaza, see Tall al-Ajjul.
Ajjul
Other transcription(s)
 • Arabic عجّول
 • Also spelled 'Ajjul (official)
Ajoul (unofficial)
Ajjul

Location of Ajjul within the Palestinian territories

Coordinates: 32°01′22″N 35°10′49″E / 32.02278°N 35.18028°E / 32.02278; 35.18028Coordinates: 32°01′22″N 35°10′49″E / 32.02278°N 35.18028°E / 32.02278; 35.18028
Palestine grid 167/159
Governorate Ramallah & al-Bireh
Government
 • Type Village council
 • Head of Municipality Moussa Moussa
Area
 • Jurisdiction 6,640 dunams (6.6 km2 or 2.5 sq mi)
Population (2006)
 • Jurisdiction 1,237
Name meaning "Calves"[1]

Ajjul (Arabic: عجّول‎‎) is a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the northern West Bank, located about nineteen kilometers north of Ramallah. There are two archaeological sites or khirbets to the east of the village. One of the khirbets is dedicated to a former resident of Ajjul, Sheikh Abdul.[2] Ajjul is governed by a village council of three members.[3]

History

Ajjul is a village on an ancient site. Tombs carved into rock have been found, and architectural fragments have been reused in a mosque.[4]

Potsherds from the Iron Age, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman/Byzantine, Crusader/Ayyubid, Mamluk and early Ottoman period have also been found.[5]

In the 12th and 13th centuries, during the Crusader era, Ajjul was inhabited by Muslims, according to Ḍiyāʼ al-Dīn.[6] A mosque in the village has an inscription in the south wall, dating it to 1196. The inscription is in Ayyubid naskhi script.[7][8]

Röhricht suggested that Ajjul was the Crusader place called Gul;[9] however, Conder disagreed.[10]

Ottoman era

The village was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared in the tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Quds of the Liwa of Quds. It had a population of 79 households, all Muslim, and paid taxes on wheat, barley, summer crops, vineyards and fruit trees, olives, goats and/or beehives.[11]

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Ajjul was controlled by the Bani Zeid tribe. The French explorer Victor Guérin passed by the village, which he called A'djoul, in 1870, and estimated it to have about 300 inhabitants. Around Ajjul he found gigantic fig and carob-trees, besides pomegranates, mulberry and apricot-trees.[12] In 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described Ajul as "A village of moderate size, with a well. It is on high ground, with olives round it, and ancient tombs. An ancient road leads towards it on the south."[13]

British Mandate era

In a census conducted in 1922 by the British Mandate authorities, Ajjul had a population of 202, all Muslim.[14] By the time of the 1931 census, Ajjul had 79 occupied houses and a population of 292, still all Muslim.[15]

In 1945 the population was 350, all Arabs.[16] In 1945 the village had a total land area of 15,007 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[16] Of this, 3,507 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 863 for cereals,[17] while 14 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[18]

1948-1967

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

post-1967

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

Geography

Ajjul lies at an altitude of 500 meters above sea level. Located twenty kilometers to the southeast is the city of Ramallah. Other nearby towns include Abwein to the northeast, 'Arura to the north and 'Atara to southwest. Ajjul's total land area amounts to 6,640 dunams, most of which is planted with olive and fig groves. About 200 dunams of land is classified as built-up area.[2]

Demographics

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Ajjul had a population of 1,450 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.[19]

In a 1997 PCBS census, only 4.2% of Ajjul's population — which was 1,026 — were Palestinian refugees.[20] The largest age group in the village were infants to 14-year olds, making up 44.2% of the population. About 25.3% of the population is between the ages of 15 and 29, 24.2% between 30 and 64 and residents 65 or older represent 6.3% of the population. There were slightly more males (51.7%) than females (49.3%) in Ajjul's gender make-up.[21] In the 2007 PCBS census, the figures of 'Ajjul's population showed a smaller population of 1,237 people, of which 601 were males and 636 were females.[22]

Infrastructure

Ajjul contains a clinic that is primarily involved in blood testing. Most of the residents receive medical help from the Palestinian Red Crescent stationed in nearby Sinjil. The nearest hospital is in Ramallah.

Two mosques are located in Ajjul: a modern one and an older renovated one.[2]

There is a mixed-gender secondary school in the village, in which 400 students are enrolled. Students attend science and literature classes at the Prince Hassan School in Bir Zeit. Ajjul has about 50 college and university students. There is no postal service in the village.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Palmer, 1881, p. 224
  2. 1 2 3 4 Ajjul Village Ajjul Village Council. (Translated from Arabic)
  3. ↑ Village Council Members Ajjul Village Council. (Translated from Arabic)
  4. ↑ Dauphin, 1998, p. 824
  5. ↑ Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 415
  6. ↑ Ellenblum, 2003, p. 244
  7. ↑ Sharon, 1997, p 17 ff
  8. ↑ Fig 8
  9. ↑ Röhricht, 1887, p. 223, cited in Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 415
  10. ↑ Conder, 1890, p. 34 suggested Qula as the place for Gul.
  11. ↑ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 117.
  12. ↑ Guérin, 1875, p. 169-170
  13. ↑ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, p. 289
  14. ↑ Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramallah, p. 16
  15. ↑ Mills, 1932, p. 47.
  16. 1 2 Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 64
  17. ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 111
  18. ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 161
  19. ↑ Projected Mid -Year Population for Ramallah & Al Bireh Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
  20. ↑ Palestinian Population by Locality and Refugee Status Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).
  21. ↑ Palestinian Population by Locality, Sex and Age Groups in Years Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).
  22. ↑ 2007 PCBS Census. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. p.113.

Bibliography

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External links

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