Anzah or 'Anza (Arabic: عنزة) is a Palestinian village in the located 18 km southwest of the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank. Its total land area consists of 4,740 dunams of which nearly a 1/4 is covered with olive orchards. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 1,938 inhabitants in 2017.[3]
Anzah, 'Anza
| |
|---|---|
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | عنزه ، عنزا |
| • Latin | A'nza (official) |
 | |
  Anzah, 'Anza Location of Anzah , 'Anza within Palestine | |
| Coordinates: 32°21′34″N 35°13′11″E / 32.35944°N 35.21972°E / 32.35944; 35.21972 | |
| Palestine grid | 170/196 |
| State | State of Palestine |
| Governorate | Jenin |
| Government | |
| • Type | Village council |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4,740 dunams (4.7 km2 or 1.8 sq mi) |
| Population
(2017)
| |
| • Total | 1,938 |
| • Density | 410/km2 (1,100/sq mi) |
| Name meaning | The goats or hill [1][2] |
Pottery sherds from the Byzantine, early Muslim and the Medieval eras have been found here.[4]
In 1830, during the Ottoman era, when the forces of Bashir Shihab II besieged Sanur, they were harassed by the people of Anzah.[5] In 1838, 'Anaza was noted as being in the District of esh-Sha'rawiyeh esh-Shurkiyeh, the eastern part.[6]
In 1870, Victor Guérin found it "situated on a hill and counting scarcely a hundred inhabitants today. A belt of olive trees surrounds it."[7]
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described it as: "A village of ancient appearance on a hill perched above the plain, the houses descending the slope on the south-east. It has two wells down the hill and a good olive grove near the road on the south. The houses are of stone."[8]
In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, the village had a population of 537 Muslims,[9] increasing slightly in the 1931 census to 642 Muslims, with 137 houses.[10]
In the 1944/5 statistics, the population was 880 Muslims,[11] with a total of 4,740 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[12] Of this, 958 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 2,110 dunams for cereals,[13] while 16 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[14]
In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Anzah came under Jordanian rule.
In 1961, the population of 'Anze was 1,011.[15]
Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Anzah has been held under Israeli occupation. According to the Israeli census of that year, the population of Anza stood at 807, of whom 13 were registered as having come from Israel.[16]
The village has six major families: Obaid, Sadaqa, Barahmeh, Ataya, Khader, and Omour.
Anzah's residents has origins in Yatta. They say they have longstanding roots in the area.[17]
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