Rammun

In 1596, Rammun appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of the Liwa of Quds, with a population of 39 Muslim households. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33.3% on various agricultural products, including wheat, barley, olives, and vines or fruit trees; a total of 5,700 akçe.[7] Sherds from the early Ottoman era have been also found.[4]

In 1838, Edward Robinson noted Rummon as a Muslim village in the District of Beni Salim, east of Jerusalem,[8] located "on a naked conical point of the ridge, rising steeply on the N[orth] side of the valley, the houses being apparently built in terraces around the hill from the top downwards."[9]

The French explorer Victor Guérin first visited the village in 1863, and described it as a village with five hundred inhabitants. He further noted that in the limestone mountain around it were drilled numerous caves, many of which were still used by shepherds and their flocks. Ancient cisterns dug into the rock were also found. The houses were partly built with antique materials, including some large blocks cut ashlars.[10][11]

An Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed that Rammun had 81 houses and a population of 334, though the population count included men only. The village was described as being in the Beni Salim area.[12][13]

In the 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Rammun as "A village of moderate size, with cisterns and caves, evidently an ancient site. On the north-east is a deep rockcut tank, and south of it a rock-cut tomb. The houses stand on a barren conical point of rock north of a rough valley, and are built in terraces. The site is peculiar, being at the end of a plateau of arable soil extending southwards from Taiyibeh. The view is extensive towards the south-east, but bounded by the Taiyibeh range on the north. There are numerous caves in the rocky sides of the hill called Ashkaf Jiljal, as well as further west (Ashkaf Daud)."[14]

Rammun, ca 1900 to 1920

In 1896 the population of Rammun was estimated to be about 705 persons.[15]

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Rammun had a population of 703, all Muslims,[16] while in the 1931 census, the village had 153 occupied houses and a population of 744, still all Muslims.[17]

In the 1945 statistics the population was 970 Muslims,[18] while the total land area was 30,043 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[19] Of this, 2,338 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 7,181 for cereals,[20] while 61 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[21]

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

In 1961, the population of Rammun was 1,186 persons.[22]

During the Six-Day War in 1967, Rammun came under Israeli occupation.

After the 1995 accords, 1.6% of Rammun’s land was classified as Area A, 27% was classified as Area B, while the remaining 71.4% is classified as Area C.[23]

In 2012, about 3,000 villagers remained in Rammun, while there are about 7,000 in the Palestinian diaspora, chiefly in the United States. Many in the diaspora have second homes in the village. These homes have been troubled by burglaries, therefore some owners have organised night-watches.[24]

In March 2012, a Duvdevan unit in civilian clothing entered Rammun, reportedly on a night-time training exercise were mistaken for burglars by three brothers from the Shawakhah family.[24][25][26] All three brothers were shot multiple times in the confrontation that followed that also involved uniformed IDF soldiers, and Rashad Shawakhah died of his wounds several days later in hospital.[24][25] Israeli Army Radio initially reported that terrorists had attacked an IDF soldier during a military operation.[24][25][26] An IDF soldier who kicked one of the wounded handcuffed men after the shooting was reportedly dismissed shortly after the incident.[25][27][28] B'Tselem, who have stated that the undercover unit's operational method and rules of engagement violate international law, requested the army's Criminal Investigations Division to examine the incident.[24][25] The military advocate general opened an investigation in May 2012.[24]