Kafr Qaddum is a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank, located 13 kilometers west of Nablus and 17 kilometers east of Qalqilya in the Qalqilya Governorate. Surrounding towns include Jit to the east and Hajjah to the south. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of approximately 3,500 inhabitants in mid-year 2006. Kafr Qaddum's total land area consists of nearly 19,000 dunams. Its built-up area consists of 529 dunams. Olive groves make up 80% of the remaining land, 15% is used for vegetation purposes, and 5% are planted crops.
Kafr Qaddum appeared in 1596 Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Jabal Qubal of the Liwa of Nablus. It had a population of 19 households and 2 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid taxes on wheat, barley, summer crops, olives, and goats or beehives, and a press for olives or grapes; a total of 4,700 Akçe. In 1838, Kefr Kaddum was noted as a village located in the District of Jurat 'Amra, south of Nablus. In 1852, it was by noted Biblical scholar Edward Robinson on his travels in the region, and in 1882 the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine the village was described as "A good-sized village on low ground, with wells and olives; it has a watch-tower on the side of the chalk hill rising over it on the east, and is supplied by wells; the houses are of stone."
In a 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Kufr Qaddum had a population of 874 inhabitants, all Muslims, increasing in the 1931 census to 963, again all Muslim, in 234 houses. In the 1945 statistics the population was 1,240, all Muslims, with 18,931 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 2,945 dunams were for plantations or irrigated land, 7,184 for cereals, while 69 dunams were built-up land.
Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Kafr Qaddum has been under Israeli occupation. After the 1995 accords, 44.6% of village land was classified as Area B, while the remaining 55.4% was classified as Area C. Up until 2013 Israel had confiscated 2,031 dunums of village land for the Israeli settlements of Kedumim Zefon, Jit, and Giv'at HaMerkaziz; presently all part of Kedumim. Since 2003, the road between Kafr Qaddum and Nablus is blocked thus elongating the travel distance by 14 km. Since July 2011, weekly demonstrations have been held in a demand to re-open the road.
Land issues
In the Mitzpe Yishai neighborhood of Kedumim, there are accusations that the Israelis have improperly taken control of private Palestinian land. The Israeli Civil Administration calls it "theft", though it occurred in an "orderly manner", but without any official authorization.
Main entrance
In 2003, the Israeli military closed the main entrance of the village that connects it to Nablus with a permanent roadblock, in addition, a dirt mound was put one kilometer before the roadblock, isolating one family house which made it unreachable by vehicles. In 2010, after waiting for five years for an Israeli court decision, it was ruled that the roadblock is illegal, but the court also stated that the road is "too dangerous to travel" so the road remained blocked. The roadblock makes it difficult for people to reach their farmlands because they are prohibited from driving, so they must walk on foot and carry their equipment and harvest. It also delays the fifteen minute journey to Nablus to forty minutes.
Events
In 2012, an Israeli soldier was under investigation for the theft of a large sum of money and gold from during a raid against a resident of Kafr Qaddum.
On 2 January 2014, 85-year-old Saeed Jaser Alim became the "first Palestinian casualty of conflict with Israel in 2014; he died following a clash with Israeli soldiers at Kafr Qaddum near Nablus". Villagers say Israeli soldiers fired teargas canisters at them, one of which entered his home, and he subsequently died.
In January 2014, a large force of Israeli soldiers entered the village in the middle of the night, seeking "two wanted men", who turned out to be two boys, aged 11 and 13. As they were leaving, they threw stun grenades into the yards of the homes they passed.
Economy
Prior to the Second Intifada, about 50% of the Kafr Qaddum's economy depended on work in Israel as the primary source of income, 20% depended on agriculture and animal raising, while 30% depended on jobs in private and public sectors. After 2002, over 75% of the population became jobless as business became the only other alternative for income generation. Emigration has registered a record level during the past two years, ranging between 10-15% of the total population.
