Rammun

{{For|other places with similar names|Rumman (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Rammun | translit_lang1 = Arabic | translit_lang1_type = [[Arabic script|Arabic]] | translit_lang1_info = رمّون | translit_lang1_type1 = [[Latin script|Latin]] | translit_lang1_info1 = Rammun (official) | type = Palestinian town | image_skyline = File:Rammun2021.jpg | image_caption = | pushpin_map = Palestine | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Rammun within [[Palestine]] | image_map = | map_caption = | coordinates = {{coord|31|55|47|N|35|17|56|E|region:PS|display=inline,title}} | grid_name = [[Palestine grid|Palestine grid]] | grid_position = 178/148 | subdivision_type = State | subdivision_name = [[State of Palestine]] | subdivision_type1 = [[Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority|Governorate]] | subdivision_name1 = [[Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate|Ramallah and al-Bireh]] | established_title = Founded | established_date = | government_footnotes =  | government_type = [[Municipality (Palestinian Authority)|Municipality]] | leader_title = Head of Village Mosque | leader_name = Abo Amir Shawakha

| unit_pref = dunam | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = | area_total_dunam = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 745 | elevation_min_m = 500 | elevation_max_m = 1600 | population_footnotes = <ref name="PrelimCensus2017">{{cite report |date=February 2018 |title=Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 |url=https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Downloads/book2364-1.pdf |department=[[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS) |publisher=[[State of Palestine]] |pages=64–82 |access-date=2023-10-24}}</ref> | population_total = 2405 | population_as_of = 2017 | population_density_km2 = auto | blank_name_sec1 = Name meaning | blank_info_sec1 = Rock Rimmon<ref>Palmer, 1881, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/241/mode/1up 241]</ref> | website = | footnotes = }}

'''Rammun''' ({{langx|ar|رمّون}}) is a [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] town in the [[Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate]] in the central [[West Bank]], located twelve kilometers east of [[Ramallah]] and three kilometers south of [[Taybeh, Ramallah|Taybeh]]. Other nearby towns include [[Deir Dibwan]] to the southwest, [[Beitin]] to the east and [[Ein Yabrud]] to the northeast.<ref name="Taha">{{cite journal | author = H. Taha | title = A Byzantine Tomb at the Village of Rammun | journal = Liber Annuus | volume = 48 | year = 1998 | pages = 335–344 | url = https://www.academia.edu/33465485}}</ref>

==History and archeology== [[Sherd]]s from [[Ancient Near East#Iron Age|Iron Age I]], [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]], [[Roman Empire|Roman]], [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]], [[Crusader states|Crusader]]/[[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]] and [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]] eras have been found.<ref name=Finkelstein538>Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 538</ref>

[[Mosaic]]s and ancient [[cistern]]s have been found.<ref name=":0">Dauphin, 1998, p. 835</ref>

[[Charles William Meredith van de Velde|Van der Velde]] (in 1854) assumed that Rammun was the place mentioned in the [[Bible]] as ''[[Rimmon]]'', Sela Rimmon. The ''Rock of Rimmon'' was where the [[tribe of Benjamin|Benjamites]] fled ([[Book of Judges|Judges]] 20:45, 47; 21:13), and where they maintained themselves for four months after the [[battle at Gibeah]].<ref>van der Velde, 1854, p. [https://archive.org/stream/narrativeajourn01veldgoog#page/n302/mode/1up 284]</ref>

It also is suggested to be the town of ''Remmon'' ({{langx|grc|Ρεμμων}}, ''Remmōn'') mentioned in the [[Onomasticon (Eusebius)|Onomasticon]] and in the [[Map of Madaba]],<ref name="Taha" /><ref name="Finkelstein538" /> located fifteen miles north of [[Jerusalem]], between [[Bethel]] and [[Jericho]].<ref name="Taha"/>

There are [[Byzantine]], [[Crusades|Crusader]], [[Ayyubid]], [[Mamluk]] and Ottoman remains in the town including a mosaic in the town's [[mosque]], an ancient burial cave and sanitary pit. The burial cave dates back to Byzantine times and contained pottery lamps, sandals and cross-shaped medallions.<ref name="Taha"/> Beside the village is a cave named "The Christian's Cave".<ref>{{Citation |title=Spatial distribution of Christian and Muslim settlements in Samaria |date=1998 |work=Frankish Rural Settlement in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem |pages=241 |editor-last=Ellenblum |editor-first=Ronnie |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/frankish-rural-settlement-in-the-latin-kingdom-of-jerusalem/spatial-distribution-of-christian-and-muslim-settlements-in-samaria/5A2E3F29EACB979A56DDEF47BE966B06 |access-date=2024-02-09 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511585340.020 |isbn=978-0-521-55401-5|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Ottoman era=== In 1596, Rammun appeared in [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[Defter|tax registers]] as being in the ''[[Nahiya]]'' of the ''[[Liwa (Arabic)|Liwa]]'' of [[Al-Quds|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]].<ref>Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 116</ref> [[Sherd]]s from the early Ottoman era have been also found.<ref name=Finkelstein538/>

In 1838, [[Edward Robinson (scholar)|Edward Robinson]] noted ''Rummon'' as a Muslim village in the District of ''Beni Salim,'' east of Jerusalem,<ref name=Robinson125>Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/125/mode/1up 125]</ref> 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."<ref>Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, pp. [https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearc00smitgoog/page/n135 113], [https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearc00smitgoog/page/n142 120]</ref>

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 [[cistern]]s dug into the rock were also found. The houses were partly built with antique materials, including some large blocks cut [[ashlar]]s.<ref>Guérin, 1869, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr06gugoog#page/n64/mode/1up 51]-53, partly translated in Conder and Kitchener, 1882, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/367/mode/1up 367]</ref><ref>Guérin, 1874, p. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptionsam01gu#page/215/mode/1up 215]</ref>

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.<ref name=Socin>Socin, 1879, p. [https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde01deut#page/158/mode/1up 158]</ref><ref>Hartmann, 1883, p. [https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ#page/n923/mode/1up 115] also noted 81 houses</ref>

In the 1882, the [[Palestine Exploration Fund|PEF]]'s ''[[PEF Survey of Palestine|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)."<ref name="SWPII">Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/292/mode/1up 292]</ref>

[[File:Rimmon1.jpg|thumb|upright|Rammun, ca 1900 to 1920]] In 1896 the population of Rammun was estimated to be about 705 persons.<ref>Schick, 1896, p. [https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde19deut#page/n229/mode/1up 122]</ref>

===British Mandate era=== In the [[1922 census of Palestine]] conducted by the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate authorities]], Rammun had a population of 703, all [[Muslim]]s,<ref name="Census1922">Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramallah, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n19/mode/1up 17]</ref> while in the [[1931 census of Palestine|1931 census]], the village had 153 occupied houses and a population of 744, still all Muslims.<ref name="Census1931">Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 50].</ref>

In the [[Village Statistics, 1945|1945 statistics]] the population was 970 Muslims,<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p26.jpg 26]</ref> while the total land area was 30,043 [[dunam]]s, according to an official land and population survey.<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Ramallah/Page-065.jpg 65]</ref> Of this, 2,338 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 7,181 for cereals,<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Ramallah/Page-112.jpg 112]</ref> while 61 dunams were classified as built-up areas.<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Ramallah/Page-162.jpg 162]</ref>

===Jordanian era=== In the wake of the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], and after the [[1949 Armistice Agreements]], Rammun came under [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank|Jordanian rule]].

In 1961, the population of Rammun was 1,186 persons.<ref>Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/JordanCensusPages/JordanCensus1961-p24.pdf 24]</ref>

===Post-1967=== During the [[Six-Day War]] in 1967, Rammun came under [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|Israeli occupation]].

After the [[Oslo II Accord|1995 accords]], 1.6% of Rammun’s land was classified as [[Palestinian enclaves|Area A]], 27% was classified as [[Palestinian enclaves|Area B]], while the remaining 71.4% is classified as [[Area C (West Bank)|Area C]].<ref>[http://vprofile.arij.org/ramallah/pdfs/vprofile/Rammun_Vp_en.pdf Rammun Village Profile], ARIJ, 2012, p. 18</ref>

In 2017, there were 2,405 villagers in Rammun.<ref name="PrelimCensus2017" /> There are about 7,000 former residents and their descendants living in the diaspora, mainly in the United States. Many in the diaspora have summer homes in the village, though these homes have been frequently broken into.<ref name=h20120504/>

===2012 shootings===

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 of the Shawakhah family.<ref name=h20120504>{{cite news|title=In a Palestinian village plagued by crime, a thin line runs between burglars and IDF soldiers |url=https://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/in-a-palestinian-village-plagued-by-crime-a-thin-line-runs-between-burglars-and-idf-soldiers-1.428233 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505011629/http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/in-a-palestinian-village-plagued-by-crime-a-thin-line-runs-between-burglars-and-idf-soldiers-1.428233 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 5, 2012 |newspaper=Haaretz|date=4 May 2012|author1=Gideon Levy|author1-link=Gideon Levy|author2=Alex Levac|author2-link=Alex Levac}}</ref><ref name=b20120424>{{cite web|title=Soldiers in civilian clothing shot at Palestinians who, thinking they were being robbed, sought to defend their property; one Palestinian killed|url=http://www.btselem.org/firearms/20120424_ramun_incident|publisher=B'Tselem|date=24 April 2012}}</ref><ref name=n20120613>{{cite web|title=Stories Differ After Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/06/13/154959091/stories-differ-after-israeli-soldiers-kill-palestinian |publisher=NPR|date=13 June 2012}}</ref> All three brothers were shot multiple times in the confrontation that followed that also involved uniformed [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]] soldiers, and Rashad Shawakhah died of his wounds several days later in hospital.<ref name=h20120504/><ref name=b20120424/> Israeli Army Radio initially reported that terrorists had attacked an IDF soldier during a military operation.<ref name=h20120504/><ref name=b20120424/><ref name=n20120613/> An IDF soldier who kicked one of the wounded handcuffed men after the shooting was reportedly dismissed shortly after the incident.<ref name=b20120424/><ref name=y20120418>{{cite news|title=Soldier dismissed after kicking bound Palestinian |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4217835,00.html |newspaper=Ynet|date=18 April 2012|author=Yoav Zitun}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://972mag.com/undercover-idf-soldier-kills-palestinian-in-drill-goes-unpunished/42493/ |title=IDF Soldiers Enter Village, Kill Palestinian in Drill Gone Awry |first=Yossi |last=Gurvitz|work=[[+972 Magazine]] |publisher=Noam Sheizaf |date=2012-04-18 |access-date=2012-04-18}}</ref> [[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.<ref name=h20120504/><ref name=b20120424/> The military advocate general opened an investigation in May 2012.<ref name=h20120504/>

== See also == *[[Rimonim]], an Israeli settlement nearby with related etymology

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} *{{cite book | editor =Barron, J.B. | title = Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922 |url=https://archive.org/details/PalestineCensus1922 |publisher = Government of Palestine | year = 1923}} *{{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H.H.|author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1882|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp02conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]|volume=2}} *{{cite book |last= Dauphin |first = C.|author-link= Claudine Dauphin | title = La Palestine byzantine, Peuplement et Populations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FC1mAAAAMAAJ |volume = III : Catalogue | series = BAR International Series 726 | year = 1998 | publisher = Archeopress | location = Oxford|language =fr|isbn= 0-860549-05-4}} *{{cite book|editor1=Finkelstein, I. | editor1-link= Israel Finkelstein|editor2=Lederman, Zvi|year=1997|title=Highlands of many cultures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wb4xmgEACAAJ |location=[[Tel Aviv]]|publisher= Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University Publications Section| isbn = 965-440-007-3}} *{{cite book | title = First Census of Population and Housing. Volume I: Final Tables; General Characteristics of the Population | author = Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics | year = 1964|url=http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/JordanCensus1961bits.pdf}} *{{cite book|title=Village Statistics, April, 1945 |url=http://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/Hebrew/library/Pages/BookReader.aspx?pid=856390|author=Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics|year=1945}} *{{cite book|last=Guérin|first=V.|author-link=Victor Guérin|title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptiongogr06gugoog|volume=1: Judee, pt. 3|year=1869|publisher= L'Imprimerie Nationale|location=Paris|language=fr}} *{{cite book|last=Guérin|first=V.|author-link=Victor Guérin|title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptionsam01gu|volume=2: Samarie, pt. 1|year=1874|publisher= L'Imprimerie Nationale|location=Paris|language=fr}} *{{cite book|title=Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine|url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|first=S.|last=Hadawi|author-link=Sami Hadawi|year=1970|publisher=Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center}} *{{cite journal | last = Hartmann | first =M.| author-link = Martin Hartmann | title = Die Ortschaftenliste des Liwa Jerusalem in dem türkischen Staatskalender für Syrien auf das Jahr 1288 der Flucht (1871) | journal = Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins | volume = 6 | pages = 102–149 | url =https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ | year = 1883}} *{{cite book | last1= Hütteroth |first1=W.-D.|author-link1=Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth |first2=K. | last2=Abdulfattah |author-link2=Kamal Abdulfattah| title = Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wqULAAAAIAAJ | year = 1977 | publisher = Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft|isbn= 3-920405-41-2}} *{{cite book|editor = Mills, E.|title = Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas |url=https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas | publisher = Government of Palestine | location = Jerusalem | year = 1932}} *{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=E.H.|author-link=Edward Henry Palmer|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]}} *{{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=http://archive.org/details/biblicalresearc00smitgoog |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838| location=Boston|publisher=[[Crocker & Brewster]]|volume=2}} *{{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838| location=Boston|publisher=[[Crocker & Brewster]]|volume=3}} *{{cite journal | last = Schick | first =C.| author-link = Conrad Schick | title = Zur Einwohnerzahl des Bezirks Jerusalem | journal = Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins | volume = 19 | pages = 120–127 | url =https://archive.org/details/zeitschriftdesde19deut | year = 1896}} *{{cite journal | last = Socin | first =A.| author-link = Albert Socin| title = Alphabetisches Verzeichniss von Ortschaften des Paschalik Jerusalem | journal = Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins | volume = 2 | pages = 135–163 | url = https://archive.org/details/zeitschriftdesde01deut | year = 1879}} *{{cite book|last=Velde, van de |first=C.W.M.|author-link=Charles William Meredith van de Velde |title=Narrative of a journey through Syria and Palestine in 1851 and 1852|url=https://archive.org/details/narrativeajourn01veldgoog |volume=2 |year=1854|publisher=William Blackwood and son}} {{refend}}

==External links== *[http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/Rammun_1510/index.html Welcome To Rammun] *Survey of Western Palestine, Map 14: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8376 IAA], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.14.jpg Wikimedia commons] *[http://vprofile.arij.org/ramallah/pdfs/factsheet/Rammun%20_vp_eng.pdf Rammun Village (Fact Sheet)], [[Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem]] (ARIJ) *[http://vprofile.arij.org/ramallah/pdfs/vprofile/Rammun_Vp_en.pdf Rammun Village Profile], ARIJ *[http://vprofile.arij.org/ramallah/images/english/Rammun_ap_en.jpg Rammun aerial photo], ARIJ *[http://vprofile.arij.org/ramallah/pdfs/needsfordevelopment/Rammun%20_vp_en.pdf Locality Development Priorities and Needs in Rammun Village], ARIJ *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120506131719/http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/unnecessary-killing-in-west-bank-1.428439 Unnecessary killing in West Bank. Why does the IDF have to infiltrate a peaceful Palestinian village in the dead of night to train among its houses? Those responsible must be called to account for the unnecessary killing in Ramun.] Haaretz Editorial, May 6, 2012

[[Category:Villages in the West Bank]] [[Category:Municipalities of Palestine]]