As Simiya


As Simiya Simiya is a Palestinian village located 15 kilometers west of Dura in Hebron. The village is located in the Hebron Governorate in the southern West Bank. In 2018 Simiya and Deir Sammit had one municipal council.

Geography and boundaries of the village

The village is located to the west of the city of Dura and within its lands. The town of As Simiya is located at an altitude of 460 meters above sea level.
In 1961, the population of Khirbet Simiya or Khirbet Simia was 196. In the first Palestinian census in 1997, the population was 1,225.

History

It includes village ruins, remnants of buildings, water cisterns, carved door lintels, and rock-cut tombs with columns.

Ottoman period

In tax records from the Ottoman empire, Khirbet Simia was mentioned as land cultivated by farmers in the area.
In 1838, it was registered as a place and ruin, part of the district of Hebron.
In 1863, Victor Guérin named the site Khirbet Simia.

British Mandate

It fell under the British Mandate for Palestine in 1922.

Jordanian rule

It fell under Jordanian administration after the 1948 war, as a result of the 1949 armistice agreements.
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 196 inhabitants in As Simiya, which it called Sumayyeh.

1967 war

The village fell under Israeli occupation after the Six-Day War in 1967.

Palestinian authority

After the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, the village fell under its rule.

Facilities and services

It includes an elementary school, a government health clinic, a Palestinian Red Crescent Society emergency center serving the Deir Sammit and Simiya areas, and a Simiya mosque. It was established in 1990 in the name of sahaba Shurahbil ibn Hasana.

Water

In the village, there is a freshwater spring called Ain Nab' As Simiya or Bir Simiya.

Antiquities

In 2000, all the old buildings, passages, caves, and historical and archaeological vaults were demolished to make way for a school construction project. Only a few of the old village buildings remain.