Abu Shukheidim


Abu Shukheidim was a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate.
In 2005 it merged with the village of Al-Mazra'a al-Qibliya to form the town of Al-Zaitounah.

History

Pottery sherds from the Hellenistic/Roman, Byzantine, Crusader/Ayyubid and the Mamluk eras have been found here.

Ottoman era

Sherds from the early Ottoman era has also been found here.
In 1838, it was noted as a Muslim village, Abu Shukheidim, in the Bani Harith district, north of Jerusalem.
In 1863 Victor Guérin found it consisting of a dozen houses. A birket was lined on the inside with good cement, but needed repairs. Near the birket were several very old buildings. The villagers were compelled to stock up on water at a well located at the bottom of the mountain whose village occupies the summit.
An Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed that Abu Schechedim had 14 houses and a population of 76, though the population count included men, only.
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Abu Shukheidim as a village resembling Abu Qash, and supplied by the same well.
In 1896 the population of 'Abu schechedim was estimated to be about 204 persons.

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, the population of Abu Iskhajdam was 139 Muslims, increasing in the 1931 census to 201 Muslims, in 47 houses.
In 1945 statistics Abu Shukheidim had a population of 250 Muslims, and a total land area of 1,430 dunams. Of this, 781 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land, 178 were for cereals, while 23 dunams were built-up areas.

Jordanian era

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Abu Shukheidim came under Jordanian rule.
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 1,358 inhabitants.

Post-1967

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Abu Shukheidim has been under Israeli occupation.
After the 1995 accords, 54.2% of Al-Zaitounah land was defined as Area B, while the remaining 45.8% was defined as Area C. Israel has confiscated 308 dunams of land from Al-Zaitounah in order to construct two Israeli settlements, Talmon and Nahl'iel.