al-Kum

Al-Kum (Arabic: الكوم‎, officially known as al-Kum-al-Muwarraq-Beit Maqdum-Humsa) is a Palestinian village in the southern West Bank, part of the Hebron Governorate and located 13 kilometers west of Hebron. Its municipal borders stretch from the border with Israel in the west to boundaries of the city of Dura in the east.[5] It had a population of 2,568 in the 2007 census by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.[6]

al-Kum
Municipality type D (Village council)
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicالكوم
 • Latinal-Kum-al-Muwarraq-Beit Maqdum-Humsa (official)
al-Kum
Location of al-Kum within Palestine
Coordinates: 31°31′53″N 34°57′38″E
Palestine grid147/105
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateHebron
FoundedEarly 19th-century
Government
 • TypeVillage council (from 1996)
 • Head of MunicipalityMusharraf Rajoub[1]
Area
 • Total7,000 dunams (7.0 km2 or 2.7 sq mi)
Population
 (2007)
 • Total2,568
 • Density370/km2 (950/sq mi)
Name meaningKh. el Kôm: the ruin of heaps[2] Kh. el Mûrak: the ruin the leafy place[3] Beit Makdûm: the house of Makdûm, personal name[4]

History

The early Ottoman tax registers in the 15th hundreds[7] have Bayt Makhdum/Bayt Maqdum located in the Nahiya of Halil of the Liwa of Quds. It was classified as Mazra'a (=cultivated) land.[8]

In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Palestine found at Kh. el Kôm "traces of ruins and caves on a white hill-top." It further described it as "rather a large ruin."[9] Khurbet el Murak was described as "caves and two large foundations",[10] while at Beit Makdûm they noted "cisterns, caves, foundations, and walls, apparently an old site."[11]

British Mandate era

At the time of the 1931 census of Palestine the populations of Kh. el Kum and Kh. Muraq were counted under Dura.[12]

Jordanian era

After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the area was under Jordanian rule.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 247 inhabitants in Kaum and 150 in Muwarraq.[13]

Post-1967

After the 1967 Six-Day War, the Al-Kum area (together with the rest of the West Bank) has been under Israeli occupation.

The modern Al-Kum village was formed as a result of a 1995 merger between the villages of al-Kum, al-Muwarraq, Beit Maqdum and Humsa, with al-Kum being the largest and in the middle of the latter three. Al-Kum and Beit Maqdum were founded sometime in the early 19th century during Ottoman rule in Palestine. Most of the residents of the four villages were migrants from nearby Dura or Palestinian refugees who fled there following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The principal families are Rajoub, al-Awawda and al-Sharha. Following the founding of the modern village, a six-member village council was established to administer its affairs and provide some municipal services.[5]

The primary health care facilities for the village are at al-Kum designated by the Ministry of Health as level 1. Close by is Deir Sammit where the primary healthcare facilities are at level 2.[14]

References
  1. al-Kum Municipality Archived 2013-12-16 at the Wayback Machine. Jerusalem Media and Communications Center (JMCC).
  2. Palmer, 1881, p. 400
  3. Palmer, 1881, p. 401
  4. Palmer, 1881, p. 389
  5. Al Kum, Al Muwarraq, Beit Maqdum, Humsa Village Profile. Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem (ARIJ). 2009.
  6. 2007 PCBS Census. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).
  7. In 932AH/1525-1526CE, 970AH/1562-1573CE and 1005AH/1596-1597CE
  8. Toledano, 1984, p. 302, has Bayt Makhdum/Bayt Maqdum at location 34°58′00″E 31°32′10″N
  9. Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 358
  10. Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 360
  11. Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 324
  12. Mills, 1932, p. 29
  13. Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 23
  14. West Bank Health care Archived 2006-03-13 at the Library of Congress Web Archives

Bibliography
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