Aynata Explained

Aynata
Native Name:عيناتا
Native Name Lang:ara
Settlement Type:Village
Pushpin Map:Lebanon
Pushpin Map Alt:Map showing the location of Aynata within Lebanon
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within Lebanon
Coordinates:33.1288°N 35.4351°W
Grid Position:191/281 PAL
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:
Subdivision Type1:Governorate
Subdivision Name1:Nabatieh Governorate
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Bint Jbeil District
Elevation M:740
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone1:EET
Utc Offset1:+2
Timezone1 Dst:EEST
Utc Offset1 Dst:+3
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Area Code Type:Dialing code

Aynata (Arabic: عيناتا)[1] is a village in Lebanon. It is located in the southern part of the country.[2] It is a stronghold for Hezbollah and during the war with Israel in 2006, about 60% of the homes in the town were destroyed.[3]

The terrain consists of plateaus of varying heights, with the Aynata itself located at an elevation of 740m. Several valleys separate Aynata from the nearest villages. Aynata has a moderate climate, cool summers and cold winters.

History

See also: Beth-Anath. Yohanan Aharoni have suggested that Aynata was ancient En-hazor, and that it was also listed in the topographical lists of Thutmose III.[4]

Aynata was suggested to be Beth-Anath by van de Velde in 1854,[5] also by W.M. Thomson in 1859,[6] and later by Victor Guérin.[7] The same view was held by historical geographer Georg Kampffmeyer (1892).[8]

Foundations and columns of a ruined temple complex in the woods near the village were recorded by William McClure Thomson, who thought them to have once been called Kubrikha. He remarked that "the whole neighborhood is crowded with ancient but deserted sites."[6]

Ottoman era

In 1596, it was named as a village, ‘’Aynata’’ in the Ottoman nahiya (subdistrict) of Tibnin under the liwa' (district) of Safad, with a population of 111 households and 22 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid taxes on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, vineyards, fruit trees, goats and beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues" and a fixed sum; a total of 10,560 akçe.[9] [10]

In 1875, Victor Guérin found a village with 400 Metualis.[7]

In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it: "A village, built of stone, containing about 500 Metawileh. There is a Moslem school in the village; extensive vineyards and a few olives in the wady. Water supplied from birket and many cisterns.”[11]

Modern era

Aynata is the family home of Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, a prominent twelver Shia cleric.

During the 2006 Lebanon War, on July 19, an Israeli missile killed 4 civilians in the village.[12] On July 24, Israel shelled two houses in the village; killing all inside both houses. One house had 4 Hezbollah fighters, the other house had 8 civilians, aged between 16 and 77.[13]

Aaynata has a population of around 5,000 (dropping to 1,300 in the winter) and is 120 kilometers (74.568 mi) away from Beirut and sits 740 meters above sea level. The area borders Bent Jbayl, Aaitaroun, and Yaroun.[14] It was occupied by Israel and most residents emigrated to Beirut's southern suburbs. Israel pulled out of the area in 2000 and it has seen housing construction since that time. Tobacco and olives are grown in the area.

In 2024, during the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, the Israeli army attacked two vehicles. Hezbollah soldiers were traveling in one of the vehicles and in the other four family members of the journalist Samir Ayoub who were also killed in the attack.[15]

Hezbollah fatalities during 2006 Lebanon War

[16]

Bibliography

. Charles William Meredith van de Velde . Narrative of a journey through Syria and Palestine in 1851 and 1852 . 1 . 1854 . William Blackwood and son .

External links

Notes and References

  1. From personal name, according to Palmer 1881, p. 66
  2. News: Reclaiming bodies and shattered lives in Lebanon . The Boston Globe . Thanassis . Cambanis . 16 August 2006.
  3. News: Where Outsiders, and Fear, Loom Over Daily Life . The New York Times . Michael . Slackman . 11 July 2007.
  4. Freedman, et al., 2000, p. 407
  5. Van de Velde, 1854, I, p. 170
  6. Thomson, 1859, p. 315
  7. Guérin, 1880, p. 374
  8. Kampffmeyer (1892), pp. pp. 38, 42, 61, 64, 85, 87
  9. Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 179
  10. Note that Rhode, 1979, p. 6 writes that the register that Hütteroth and Abdulfattah studied was not from 1595/6, but from 1548/9
  11. Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 200
  12. HRW, 2007, pp. 105-106
  13. HRW, 2007, pp. 112-113
  14. http://www.localiban.org/article3473.html Aaynata
  15. Web site: Guerre entre Israël et le Hamas : quatre membres de la famille d'un journaliste libanais tués dans une frappe israélienne . 2024-04-02 . ladepeche.fr . fr.
  16. News: شهداء عيناثا الابرار (The noble martyrs of Aynatha) . Municipality of Aynata . Dec 28, 2011 . April 26, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120426085511/http://www.ainatha.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=8&pos=0 . dead .