Kurds in Palestine

Palestinian Kurds, (Kurdish: Kurdên Filistînê‎, Arabic: اكراد فلسطين‎: Akrad Filisteen), are Palestinians who are of Kurdish ancestry. The origins of majority of Palestinian Kurds is traced to the era of conquests of Kurdish Ayyubid dynasty during the crusades. The Ayyubid rulers settled many Kurdish tribes in Palestine in order to secure the borders of their empire. Among the major Kurdish settlements in Palestine are city of Hebron (al-Khalil), Jerusalem (al-Quds) and Shechem (Nablus). It is estimated that as much as one third of inhabitants of Hebron are of Kurdish origin where they have had their own quarters, named after them such as Harat al-Akrad (quarter of the Kurds). There are also many Kurdish clans who came to Palestine at post-Ayyubid periods, especially under the Ottomans. The Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in the West Bank [3]

Palestinian Kurds
Regions with significant populations
Hebron, Jerusalem, Nablus
Languages
Arabic
Religion
Sunni Muslim
Related ethnic groups
Other Kurds
Kurds in Hebron
Total population
estimates 170,000 [1]
Regions with significant populations
Harat Al-Akrad
Languages
mainly Arabic
Religion
Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
other Kurdish people,[2]Palestinians & Kurdish Jews

History
Saladin was a so-called Saracen of Kurdish origin, who conquered Palestine in the 12th century.

The origins of majority of Palestinian Kurds is traced to the era of conquests of Kurdish Ayyubid dynasty during the crusades. The Ayyubid rulers settled many Kurdish tribes in Palestine in order to secure the borders of their empire. Among the major Kurdish settlements in Palestine are city of Hebron (al-Khalil), Jerusalem (al-Quds) and Nablus. There are also many Kurdish clans who came to Palestine at post-Ayyubid periods, especially during Ottomans.

Hebron

The Kurdish Muslim Saladin retook Hebron in 1187 – again with Jewish assistance according to one late tradition, in exchange for a letter of security allowing them to return to the city and build a synagogue there.[4] The name of the city was changed back to Al-Khalil. A Kurdish quarter still existed in the town during the early period of Ottoman rule.[5] Richard the Lionheart retook the city soon after. Richard of Cornwall, brought from England to settle the dangerous feuding between Templars and Hospitallers, whose rivalry imperiled the treaty guaranteeing regional stability stipulated with the Egyptian Sultan As-Salih Ayyub, managed to impose peace on the area. But soon after his departure, feuding broke out and in 1241 the Templars mounted a damaging raid on what was, by now, Muslim Hebron, in violation of agreements.[6]

Kurds in Hebron

Kurds in Hebron refers to Palestinians of Kurdish origin who settled in Hebron in the Ayyubid and self-identify today as Palestinians of Kurdish origin.[1] Today the majority of the Hebron Kurds speak Arabic and live in the Kurdish quarter Harat Al-Akrad. It is estimated that as much as one third of inhabitants of Hebron are of Kurdish origin.

Clans and families

There are dozens of Kurdish-origin clans and families still could be identified due to preservation of their family and clan names.[7][8] Among the well-known ones are:

  • Ayyubid branch: Abu Khalaf, Nairoukh, Salah, al-Hashlamoun, Mot’ab, Tabbalt, Juwailis, al-Baytar, Akka, al-Baradei, Ahmaro, al-Jabrini, al Mohaisin, Abu Zarus, Ar’ar, Sahion (Zion), al-Hazin, Barqan, Sadr, Abu Salim Merqa, al-Mahlous, Ruwayshed, Alloush, Abu al-Hilawa, al-Hashim, Farah, Hammour/al-Hammouri, Zaloum, Hariz, al-Azzab, al-Saeh, al-Ribhiya al-Ayyubiya, al-Saadiya, Fashri, Masrouja, Abu Hamid, Gharab, Qafisha, Asaliya, Abu Kharshiq, Abu Ghalyoun, Kastiro, al-Riyashi (Qari’, Dufesh, al-Shantir, al-‘Ajal),
  • Followed the Ayyubis as allies: Qeymari,
  • Others: Imam, Dar al-Mulla, Al Seyf, Al Mousa, Al Isa, Abi al-Lutf, al-Kurd, al-Kurdi, Bastami, Aliko, Shahmiat, al-Agha, al-Kanfani, al-Liham, al-Zaza, abu Zahra, Naji, Bakir, Alwa, Murad, Baqqarah, Qaqa, Ghannamh,

Language

Kurdish language was spoken by some Kurds in Ottoman Palestine as late as 1850s. Today, almost all Palestinian Kurds speak only Arabic due to isolation inside an Arabic-speaking geographical area.

See also

References
  1. Roger Hercz. "How Palestinians came to reject Kurdish demands for a homeland". alaraby.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
  2. "The President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region receives a delegation from Hebron Municipality and welcomes the opening of a PNA office in Arbil |". hebron-city.ps. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
  3. "Who are the Palestinians?". Israel National News. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
  4. Gil 1997, p. 207. Note to editors. This account, always in Moshe Gil, refers to two distinct events, the Arab conquest from Byzantium, and the Kurdish-Arab conquest from Crusaders. In both the manuscript is a monkish chronicle, and the words used, and event described is identical. We may have a secondary source confusion here.
  5. Sharon 2003, p. 297.
  6. Runciman 1965c, p. 219
  7. "http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/060120162". rudaw.net. Retrieved 2018-01-11. External link in |title= (help)
  8. Al-Salim, Farid (2015-04-07). Palestine and the Decline of the Ottoman Empire: Modernization and the Path to Palestinian Statehood. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9780857737199.
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