Khirbet al-Deir


Khirbet al-Deir, or Khirbet ed-Deir, is a Palestinian village located southwest of Bethlehem, and northwest of Hebron. The town is in the Hebron Governorate of central West Bank. According to the 2007 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics Census, the village had a population of 264 people.

History

briefly mentioned the site of the village ed-Deir, saying that he found there traces of ruins, and fragments of tesselated pavement, which belonged formerly to an old monastery, in addition to two wells lined with masonry.
The modern village was built upon the ruins of the old village and still bears its old namesake. The modern village was established in the early 18th-century, by residents who broke away from Surif.

British Mandate era

At the time of the 1931 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, the population of Kh. ed Dair was counted under Dura.

Jordanian era

After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the area was under Jordanian rule.
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 133 inhabitants in Kh Deir.

1967-present

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, the town has been under Israeli occupation.
The only institution in the village is the Village Council. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 301.
In 2004, Israel started constructing the West Bank barrier near the village; 1500 meters of which pass through village land. 500 dunams of village land have been lost due to the wall; including 400 dunams now isolated behind the wall.
According to statistics provided by ARIJ, in 2009, some 40% of the village's population made-up the Israeli labor market, being issued permits to work on the Israeli-side of the Green Line. The villagers are all Muslims.
Another village by the same name, but larger, is in the Bethlehem Governorate, part of Tuqu'.

Footnotes