Azzun Atma


'Azzun 'Atma is a Palestinian village in the Qalqilya Governorate in the western West Bank, located 5 kilometers South-east of Qalqilya. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 'Azzun 'Atma had a population of approximately 1,670 inhabitants in mid-year 2006. 3.9% of the population of 'Azzun 'Atma were refugees in 1997. The healthcare facilities for 'Azzun 'Atma are designated as MOH level 2.

Location

‘Azzun ‘Atma is located 8.82 km south of Qalqiliya. It is bordered by Mas-ha and Sha'arei Tikva to the east, Az Zawiya to the south, Oranit to the west, and Beit ‘Amin and ‘Izbat Salman to the north.

History

from the Iron Age II, Persian, Hellenistic, Byzantine, Byzantine/Umayyad, Crusader/Ayyubid and Mamluk eras have been found.
Old stones have been reused in homes, and the mosque is possibly an old church.

Ottoman era

The place appeared in 1596 Ottoman tax registers as 'Azzun, being in the Nahiya of Jabal Qubal of the Liwa of Nablus. It had a population of 29 households and 2 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3%, on wheat, barley, summer crops, olives, goats and beehives; a total of 4,200 akçe.
Potsherds from the early Ottoman era have also been found here.
When the French explorer Victor Guérin visited the place in 1870 it was described it as a large Arab village, then deserted. Many small, square houses were still partly standing, and near the mosque he noticed old columns and large stone from older buildings. Old fig trees and beautiful mimosa were scattered through the ruins. In the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine, it is also described as a "ruined village".

Jordanian Era

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Azzun Atma came under Jordanian rule. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950.

Post-1967

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Azzun Atma has been under Israeli occupation.
After the 1995 accords, about 3.8% of village land was classified as Area B, the remaining 96.2% as Area C. Israel has confiscated 2,689 dunams of village land in order to construct three Israeli settlements of Sha'are Tikva, Oranit and Zamarot, in addition to land for the Israeli West Bank barrier, which almost entirely surrounds Azzun Atma, and which also isolate the village from much of its remaining land behind the wall.