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61-470: The village is notorious for being the site of the 1953 Qibya massacre . The name Qibyā is Aramaic , and means “The cistern”. Qibya is located 19.9 kilometers (12.4 mi) (horizontally) northwest of Ramallah . It is bordered by Ni'lin to the east, Shuqba to the north, the Green line to the west, and Budrus and Ni'lin to the south. A Bar Kokhba Revolt coin dated to between 134 and 136

122-707: A Jewish woman, Suzanne Kinyas, and her two children were killed by a grenade thrown into their house in the Israeli town of Yehud , some 10 kilometers (6 mi) inside of the Green Line . The attack initially drew a sharp rebuke to Jordan from the Mixed Armistice Commission. The Israeli government immediately claimed that the killings were perpetrated by Palestinian infiltrators, a charge queried by Jordanian officials, who were skeptical, and who offered to collaborate with Israel in order to apprehend

183-456: A bulletin expressing its "deepest sympathy for the families of those who lost their lives" in Qibya as well as the conviction that those responsible "should be brought to account and that effective measures should be taken to prevent such incidents in the future." The United States temporarily suspended economic aid to Israel. The Jordanian census of 1961 found 1,635 inhabitants in Qibya. Since

244-484: A considerable reduction, from 233 in the first nine months of 1952, to 172 for the same period in 1953, immediately before the attack. This marked reduction was in good part the result of increased Jordanian efficiency in patrolling. Between June 1949 and the end of 1952, a total of 57 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed by Palestinian infiltrators from the Jordanian West Bank. The Israeli death toll for

305-685: A final status accord would be established. The Areas A and B were chosen in such a way as to just contain Palestinians, by drawing lines around Palestinian population centers at the time the Agreement was signed; Area C was defined as "areas of the West Bank outside Areas A and B, which, except for the issues that will be negotiated in the permanent status negotiations, will be gradually transferred to Palestinian jurisdiction in accordance with this Agreement." Area A comprises approximately 18% of

366-600: A glimpse of their abandoned homes and fields. During the following years the vast majority came to steal crops, irrigation pipes, farm animals, or other property belonging to settlers, or to graze their flocks. Some engaged in smuggling goods or mail—certain items, such as Bedouin clothing, were often unavailable in Israel, and there were no postal services between Israel and the Arab states. Others moved through Israeli territory in order to reach other Arab countries, most frequently from

427-711: A limited operation to manage Palestinian population in the Area C of the West Bank and coordination with the Palestinian government. The Oslo II Accord divided the West Bank into three administrative divisions: the Areas A, B and C. The distinct areas were given a different status, according to the amount of self-government the local Palestinians would have over it through the Palestinian Authority , until

488-677: A minority (20%) have been executed. The remaining orders do not expire, leaving the structures in a continuous state of uncertainty. According to the Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Conventions: Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations,

549-494: A punitive raid ought to be conducted, he expressed strong disapproval of the proposal, and was deeply shocked when informed of the outcome. [1] According to the Mixed Armistice Commission report, approved on the afternoon immediately following the operation, and delivered by Major General Vagn Bennike to the UN Security Council, the raid at Qibya took place on the evening of 14 October 1953 at around 9.30 pm, and

610-545: A school, and a mosque were destroyed. Ariel Sharon wrote in his diary that "Qibya was to be an example for everyone," and that he ordered "maximal killing and damage to property". Post-operational reports speak of breaking into houses and clearing them with grenades and shooting. The attack followed cross-border raids from the West Bank . Israel framed the Qibya massacre as a response to the Yehud attack , in which an Israeli woman and her two children were killed. The massacre

671-636: A simple example: Qibya." Area C (West Bank) Area C ( Hebrew : שטח C , romanized :  Shetakh C ; Arabic : منطقة ج , romanized :  minṭaqa jīm ) is the fully Israeli-controlled and only contiguous territory in the West Bank , defined as the whole area outside the Palestinian enclaves (Areas A and B). Area C constitutes about 61 percent of the West Bank territory, containing most Israeli settlements other than those in East Jerusalem , and more than 99% of

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732-500: A thousand fedayeen and stepped up its patrolling of the border. Following the attack, the Arab Legion deployed soldiers on the border segment near Qibya to stop further infiltrations and deter further Israeli incursions. There was a brief overall reduction in incursions along the border. After this incident, Israel restricted attacks on civilian targets. Despite the U.S. request that those involved be brought to account, Sharon

793-448: A two-week period in late May and early June, four raids by Palestinian fedayeen killed 3 and wounded 6 people in Israel, at Beit Arif , Beit Nabala , Tirat Yehuda and Kfar Hess which, according to the UN, greatly concerned both the Israeli and Jordanian governments. The specific incident which the Israeli government used to justify its assault on Qibya occurred on 12 October 1953, when

854-477: A violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention . Israel disputes the position of the international community and the legal arguments that were used to declare the settlements illegal. The " outposts " are in contravention of Israeli law as well. The Israeli Civil Administration was established by the government of Israel in 1981, in order to carry out practical bureaucratic functions within

915-503: Is home to 385,900 Israeli settlers and approximately 300,000 Palestinians. According to the Norwegian Refugee Council , Israeli planning and zoning regimes in Area C all but prohibit Palestinian construction in almost 70 percent this zone, and render the obtaining of permits in the remaining 30 percent nearly impossible. Israel strictly controls Palestinian settlement, construction and development in Area C. in

976-565: Is home to roughly 400,000 Israeli settlers , and approximately 300,000 Palestinians, who live in more than 500 residential areas located partially or fully in Area C. The Jewish population in Area C is administered by the Israeli Judea and Samaria Area administration, into which Israeli law is "pipelined" , whereas the Palestinian population is directly administered by the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in

1037-474: Is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations. Israeli demolitions are based on British mandate planning rules, which are evoked to justify demolitions, but at the same time Israel does not employ the Mandatory provisions for the granting of construction permits, according to B'tselem . Israel defends its policy on three grounds. Firstly, it states that

1098-431: The "strongest possible censure of this action." The attack was universally condemned by the international community. The U.S. State Department issued a bulletin on 18 October 1953, expressing its "deepest sympathy for the families of those who lost their lives" in Qibya as well as the conviction that those responsible "should be brought to account and that effective measures should be taken to prevent such incidents in

1159-570: The 1922 census of Palestine , conducted by the British Mandate authorities , the village, (named Kibbia ), had a population of 694 inhabitants, all Muslims. In the 1931 census the population of Qibya was 909, still all Muslim, in 204 inhabited houses. In the 1945 statistics , the population of Qibya was 1,250, all Muslims, who owned 16,504 dunams of land according to an official land and population survey. 4,788 dunams were used for cereals, while 32 dunams were built-up (urban) land. In

1220-694: The Mixed Armistice Commission (MAC) was held in the afternoon of 15 October and a resolution condemning the regular Israel army for its attack on Qibya, as a breach of article III, paragraph 2,62/ of the Israel-Jordan General Armistice Agreement was adopted by a majority vote. The UN Security Council subsequently adopted Resolution 100 on 27 October 1953. On 24 November, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 101 and expressed

1281-589: The Ottoman Empire in 1517, and in the census of 1596, the village was located in the Nahiya of Ramla of the Liwa of Gaza . It had an entirely Muslim population of 29 households. They paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on wheat , barley , summer crops, olives , fruit trees, lintels, goats and/or beehives, in addition of taxes for a press for olives or grapes; a total of 6,000 akçe . According to Marom, in

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1342-546: The Six-Day War in 1967, Qibya has been under Israeli occupation . After the 1995 accords , 21.5% of Qibya land was classified as Area B , the remaining 78.5% as Area C . Israel has confiscated land from Qibya in order to construct the Israeli West Bank barrier . Qibya received media coverage again in the run-up to the 2001 Israeli general election when it was correctly forecast that Sharon would become

1403-521: The raid had been carried out by Israeli civilians. None deplores it more than the Government of Israel, if ... innocent blood was spilled ... The Government of Israel rejects with all vigor the absurd and fantastic allegation that 600 men of the IDF took part in the action ... We have carried out a searching investigation and it is clear beyond doubt that not a single army unit was absent from its base on

1464-709: The territories occupied by Israel since 1967 . While formally separate, it was subordinate to the Israeli military and the Shin Bet . The Civil Administration is a part of a larger entity known as Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which is a unit in the Defense Ministry of Israel . Its functions have largely been taken over by the Palestinian National Authority in 1994, however it still continues

1525-414: The 12 years from 2000 to 2012, only 211 Palestinian submissions for Israeli permits, out of 3,750 applications (5.6%) – were approved. The figure tails off for the last 4 years, 2009 through 2012 with 37 permits given from among 1,640 applications (2.3%). By contrast, the same Civil Administration figures indicate that in approximately 75% of Israeli settlements, construction was undertaken without regard for

1586-606: The 18th or early 19th centuries, residents of Qibya affiliated with the Yamani camp during the Qays and Yaman conflicts , alongside residents of Dayr Tarif and part of the residents of Bayt Nabala . They fought several skirmishes against rivals from Deir Abu Mash'al and Jayyous . In 1882, the PEF 's Survey of Western Palestine described the village (then named Kibbiah ), as "a very small hamlet with olive-trees, on high ground". In

1647-613: The Arab quarter of Jerusalem, tracks that led to the Scopus fence, the Israeli inspector delegated to the team denied them permission to enter the Jewish area around Mount Scopus and prosecute their investigation. For the first time, Israel accepted Jordan's offer of assistance and the tracks of the perpetrator were traced to a point 1400m over the border, to a road near Rantis, but dried up there. The United Nations observer team's investigation failed to find any evidence indicating who committed

1708-547: The Arabs that Israel was in the Middle East to stay, Ben Gurion believed, and to that end he felt strongly that his retaliatory policy had to be continued." Defense Minister Pinhas Lavon gave the order, in coordination with Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion . The Israeli elected governing cabinet was not informed, and though Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharett was privy to prior deliberations on whether or not such

1769-477: The Gaza Strip to the West Bank. Most of the infiltrators were unarmed individuals, though it appears that the proportion who came armed and in groups steadily increased after 1950. Half of Jordan's prison population at the time consisted of people arrested for attempting to return to, or illegally enter, Israeli territory, but the number of complaints filed by Israel over infiltrations from the West Bank show

1830-496: The Territories under military law. The Palestinian Authority is responsible for medical and educational services to Palestinians in Area C; however, infrastructure construction and supervision is done by Israel . The international community considers the settlements in occupied territory to be illegal, and the United Nations has repeatedly upheld the view that Israel's construction of settlements constitutes

1891-505: The West Bank and Area B about 22%, together home to some 2.8 million Palestinians. Area C was initially around 72–74% (first phase, 1995) of the West Bank. Under the 1998 Wye River Memorandum , Israel would further withdraw from some additional 13% from Area C to Area B, which officially reduced Area C to circa 61% of the West Bank. Israel, however, withdrew from only 2%, and during Operation Defensive Shield , it reoccupied all territory. As of 2013, Area C formally comprised about 63% of

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1952-512: The West Bank, including settlements, outposts and declared "state land". Including or excluding East Jerusalem, no-man's land and the Palestinian part of the Dead Sea also determines the percentage. Area C is richly endowed with natural resources, including most of Palestinian agricultural and grazing land. It is the only contiguous part of the West Bank, thus all large scale projects involve work in Area C. Area C, excluding East Jerusalem ,

2013-505: The appropriate permits. According to a UNOCHA report, "The planning and zoning regime applied by the Israeli authorities, including the ways in which public land is allocated, makes it virtually impossible for Palestinians to obtain building permits in most of Area C. Even basic residential and livelihood structures, such as a tent or a fence, require a building permit." According to B'tselem: Israel strictly limits Palestinian settlement, construction and development in Area C,while ignoring

2074-507: The area is off limits or heavily restricted for Palestinians. The area was committed in 1995 under the Oslo II Accord to be "gradually transferred to Palestinian jurisdiction" (with an option for land swaps under a final agreement), but such transfer did not happen. The area is richly endowed with natural resources . Area C (excluding East Jerusalem ), which along with Area B is under Israeli military control since June 1967,

2135-464: The cellars and back rooms, keeping quiet when the paratroopers went in to check and yell out a warning. The result was this tragedy that had happened. Uri Avnery , founder and editor of the magazine HaOlam HaZeh , relates that he had both his hands broken when he was ambushed for criticizing the massacre at Qibya in his newspaper. According to Daniel Byman , the attack, "controversial, brutal, and bloody – worked," leading Jordan to arrest more than

2196-448: The citizens of Israel. Israeli historian Avi Shlaim observed that the official Israeli version was not believed, and it did nothing to reduce the damage to Israel's image. "This was not Ben-Gurion's first lie for what he saw as the good of his country, nor was it to be the last, but it was one of the most blatant." Sharon later claimed that he had "thought the houses were empty" and that the unit had checked all houses before detonating

2257-609: The crime, and the Jordanian delegate to the Mixed Commission condemned the act in strong language on 14 October. The Chief of Staff of the Arab Legion in Amman flew to Jerusalem to ask that no retaliatory actions take place that might compromise Jordanian investigations underway on their side of the border. According to the former Time correspondent to Jerusalem, Donald Neff : "Force had to be used to demonstrate to

2318-453: The demolitions satisfy Jordanian law, which was operative at the time Israel occupied the territories. Secondly, it states that its actions satisfy Article 43 of the Hague conventions. Thirdly, it states that under the 1995 Oslo Accords, it was agreed that planning and zoning in Area C would fall under the appropriate planning committees. Israel also defends demolitions in terms of the safety of

2379-473: The explosives. In his autobiography Warrior (1987) Sharon wrote: I couldn't believe my ears. As I went back over each step of the operation, I began to understand what must have happened. For years Israeli reprisal raids had never succeeded in doing more than blowing up a few outlying buildings, if that. Expecting the same, some Arab families must have stayed in their houses rather than running away. In those big stone houses [...] some could easily have hidden in

2440-474: The first nine months of 1953 was 32. Over roughly the same time (November 1950 – November 1953), the Mixed Armistice Commission condemned Israeli raids 44 times. For the same period, 1949–1953, Jordan maintained that it alone suffered 629 killed and injured from Israeli incursions and cross-border bombings. UN sources for the period, based on the documentation at General Bennike's disposal (prepared by Commander E H Hutchison USNR), lower both estimates. Over

2501-570: The future." The State Department described the raid as "shocking", and used the occasion to confirm publicly that economic aid to Israel had been previously suspended. The aid, as Israel had been informed on 18 September, had been "deferred" until Israel saw fit to cooperate with the United Nations in the Demilitarized Zone, in relation to its ongoing water diversion work near Bnot Ya'akov Bridge ; that site had been chosen as

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2562-610: The guilty parties, whoever and wherever they were. Moshe Sharett said later that "the Commander of the Jordan Legion , Glubb Pasha , had asked for police bloodhounds to cross over from Israel to track down the Yahud attackers". On the other hand, some weeks later, while assisting a United Nations and Jordanian team following the tracks of the person(s) who on 1 November had blown up a water-line in Jordanian territory supplying

2623-453: The inhabitants of homes it demolishes because they have been built in closed military zones or firing zones. Israel has defined roughly 20% of the entire West Bank as "closed military areas" and 60% of the demolitions in 2010 took place in the latter. Critics respond that the declaration of areas as Israeli closed military zones is a legal device adopted by the military authorities to deny Palestinians access to their land. B'tselem claims that

2684-559: The issue. In a joint meeting of army and foreign ministry officials Shmuel Bendor suggested that we say that the army had no part in the operation, but that the inhabitants of the border villages, infuriated by previous incidents and seeking revenge, operated on their own. Such a version will make us appear ridiculous: any child would say that this was a military operation. (16 October 1953) Notwithstanding Sharett's advice that broadcasting this version would make Israel appear patently "ridiculous", on 19 October Ben-Gurion publicly asserted that

2745-504: The needs of the Palestinian population. This policy means Palestinian residents must subsist in very rudimentary living conditions. They are denied any legal avenue to build homes or develop their communities, so they face the constant fear that their homes might be demolished, and that they be expelled and lose their livelihood. Israel routinely issued demolition orders on Palestinian structures built without permits. Between 1988 and 2014, Israel issued 14,087 demolition orders, of which only

2806-420: The neighbouring village of Budrus . The Israeli troops simultaneously entered the village from three sides. IDF soldiers encountered resistance from soldiers and village guards, and in the gunbattle that followed, 10–12 soldiers and guards defending the village were killed and an Israeli soldier was lightly wounded. Military engineers dynamited dozens of buildings across the village, killing scores of civilians. In

2867-579: The next Israeli Prime Minister. Qibya massacre 1954–55 incidents 1956 incidents The Qibya massacre occurred during Operation Shoshana , an Israeli so-called reprisal operation that occurred in October 1953, when IDF's Unit 101 led by future Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon attacked the village of Qibya in the West Bank , which was then under Jordanian control, and killed more than sixty-nine Palestinian civilians, two-thirds of whom were women and children. Forty-five houses,

2928-455: The night of the attack on Qibya. (Statement by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, ISA FM 2435/5) On Israeli Radio that same day, Ben-Gurion addressed the nation, repeating the accusation that the massacre had been perpetrated by Israeli civilians: The [Jewish] border settlers in Israel, mostly refugees, people from Arab countries and survivors from the Nazi concentration camps, have, for years, been

2989-568: The original location for the intake of Israel's National Water Carrier , but it would be moved downstream to the Sea of Galilee at Eshed Kinrot, following this US pressure. The international outcry caused by the operation required a formal reply by Israel. Intense discussions took place, and Moshe Sharett summed up, in his diary on 16 October, the opinion that: Now the army wants to know how we (the Foreign Ministry ) are going to explain

3050-649: The signing of the 1949 Armistice Agreements following onset of the Nakba . Along the 1949 armistice line , infiltrations, armed or otherwise, were frequent from both sides. Many infiltrations from Jordanian territory in the West Bank consisted of unarmed Palestinian refugees attempting to rejoin their families. During 1948–49, most of the infiltrators crossed the borders to harvest crops left behind, to plant new crops in their abandoned lands, or to retrieve goods. Many others came to resettle in their old villages or elsewhere inside Israel, or to visit relatives, or simply to get

3111-463: The target of (...) murderous attacks and had shown a great restraint. Rightfully, they have demanded that their government protect their lives and the Israeli government gave them weapons and trained them to protect themselves. But the armed forces from Transjordan did not stop their criminal acts, until [the people in] some of the border settlements lost their patience and after the murder of a mother and her two children in Yahud, they attacked, last week,

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3172-451: The time showed that Sharon personally ordered his troops to achieve "maximal killing and damage to property", and post-operational reports speak of breaking into houses and clearing them with grenades and shooting. UN observers noted that they observed bodies near doorways, and bullet marks on the doors of demolished houses, and later concluded that residents might have been forced by heavy fire to stay in their homes. An emergency meeting of

3233-409: The time was a Major in the IDF and the commander of Unit 101. The attack began with a mortar barrage on the village until Israeli forces reached the outskirts of the village. Israeli troops employed Bangalore torpedoes to breach the barbed-wire fences surrounding the village, and mined roads to prevent Jordanian forces from intervening. At the same time at least 25 mortar shells were fired into

3294-527: The village of Kibya across the border, that was one of the main centers of the murderers' gangs. Every one of us regrets and suffers when blood is shed anywhere and nobody regrets more than the Israeli government the fact that innocent people were killed in the retaliation act in Kibya. But all the responsibility rests with the government of Transjordan that for many years tolerated and thus encouraged attacks of murder and robbery by armed powers in its country against

3355-455: The wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements , Qibya came under Jordanian rule. In October 1953 Qibya was the target of an Israeli raid known as the Qibya massacre by Unit 101 commanded by Ariel Sharon which resulted in the death of 67 or 69 unarmed civilians and large-scale destruction of the village. On October 18, 1953, the U.S. State Department issued

3416-526: The words of historian Rashid Khalidi , the operation “blew up forty-five homes with their inhabitants inside." At dawn, the operation was considered complete, and the Israelis returned home. Ariel Sharon later wrote in his diary that he had received orders to inflict heavy damage on the Arab Legion forces in Qibya: "The orders were utterly clear: Qibya was to be an example for everyone." Original documents of

3477-480: The year leading up to the raid, Israeli forces and civilians had conducted many punitive expeditions, causing destruction of infrastructure and crops and many civilian casualties against Palestinian villages, with Latrun , Falameh (Falāma, Falamya), Rantis , Qalqiliya , Khirbet al-Deir , Khirbet Rasm Nofal, Khirbet Beit Emin, Qatanna , Wadi Fukin , Idhna , and Surif being the most notable examples. Meanwhile, Palestinian guerilla raids into Israel continued. Over

3538-467: Was condemned by the U.S. State Department, the UN Security Council, and by Jewish communities worldwide. The State Department described the raid as "shocking" and used the occasion to confirm publicly that economic aid to Israel had been suspended previously, for other non-compliance regarding the 1949 Armistice Agreements . The attack took place in the context of border clashes between Israel and neighbouring states, which had begun almost immediately after

3599-567: Was found in a Karst cave near this village, suggesting that Jews who rebelled against the Roman Empire had found refuge in this cave. Potsherds from the Roman /Byzantine, Byzantine Empire , Mamluk and early Ottoman period have been found in the village. A building, possibly dating to the Crusader era have been found here. Qibya, like the rest of Palestine, was incorporated into

3660-516: Was not prosecuted. The independence of Unit 101 was cancelled and several weeks later it was dismantled altogether. Defense Minister Pinhas Lavon 's words to the General Staff in July 1954 were, "Guys, you have to understand [that] there can be the greatest and most successful military operation, and it will turn into a political failure, meaning eventually a military failure as well. I'll give

3721-453: Was taken by roughly half a battalion strength of soldiers from the Israeli regular army. Later sources state the force consisted of 130 IDF troops of whom a third came from Unit 101 . The American chairman of the Mixed Armistice Commission in his report to the UN Security Council estimated that between 250 and 300 Israeli soldiers were involved in the attack. The raid was personally led by future Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon , who at

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