Ijnisinya

Infobox Palestinian Authority muni
name=Ijnisinya


imgsize=
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arname=اجنسنيا
meaning=
founded=
type=mund
typefrom=
altOffSp=Ajnisinya
altUnoSp=
governorate=nb
population=560
popyear=2006
area=
areakm=
mayor=Abdul Jabbar Shayeb [http://www.anera.org/newsResources/documents/Spring07.pdf All Washed Up] American Near East Refugee Aid. p.3.]

Ijnisinya ( _ar. اجنسنيا, "‘Ijnisinyâ" ) is a Palestinian village located twelve kilometers northwest of Nablus in the Nablus Governorate. Most of the working-age inhabitants live as farmers. [http://www.jmcc.org/palculture/sites.htm#ijnisiya Ijnisinya Village - Nablus] Jerusalem Media and Communications Centre.] It has a population of about 560. Ijnisinya is governed by a village council. The village's history dates back to Byzantine rule in Palestine.

History

The Roman Empress Helena of Constantinople who temporarily resided in nearby Sebastiya (Sebastia) used to swim in the lake in Ijinsinya with her maids. The area at the time was a small lake surrounded by gardens. Men were forbidden from entering the area by Queen Helena in order to guarantee her and her maids privacy. The name "Ijnisinya" derives from Greek, translating as "the Eden of women" reflecting the original use of the village site. Ijinsinya's mosque dates back to the days of Umar ibn al-Khattab and is currently part of the village school.

Roman remains

There is an Ancient Roman building named "Sheikh Shu'la" lies atop of a hill overlooking three villages, including Ijnisinya as well as, Sebastiya, and an-Naqura. The building is originally said to be a Roman monastery seven floors high. The remains of the monastery include stone closets, a prison, galleys, secret passageways, and several wells. Its name, "Shu'leh" is one of a number of Arabic words meaning "fire". The building was named thus because the Ayyubid sultan Saladin used it and similar buildings to transmit messages using fire.

The Romans used some of the village lands for a cemetery after Christianity became the Roman Empire's official religion. It is popular belief that these graves contain treasures. The graves are generally referred to as "Christian graves", or "Khallet Issa".

Geography

Ijnisinya is located twelve kilometers northwest of Nablus. It is adjacently east of Sebastiya, northeast of an-Naqura, south of Beit Imrin, north of Zawata. [ [http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/Ijnisinya_1188/SatelliteView.html Satellite View of Ijnisinya] PalestineRemembered.] Ijnisinya has an elevation of 460 meters above sea level.

It has a total land area of 6,547 dunams, of which around two-thirds is cultivable. Its built-up area consists of only 30 dunams, olive trees cover 900 dunams, while cereals make-up the majority of the remaining cultivable land. On August 4, 2001, Israeli forces burned over 200 olive trees belonging to Ijnisinya and Zawata. [Parfrey, Adam. [http://www.dilettantepress.com/articles/islam/index.htm Extreme Islam, Anti-American Propaganda of Muslim Fundamentalism] Dilettante Press.]

Demographics

In the British Mandate census in 1922, Ijnisinya had only 119 residents. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/Ijnisinya_1188/index.html Welcome To Ijnisinya] Palestine Remembered.] The population slowly grew in 1945, when a land and population survey by Sami Hadawi recorded a population of 200.Hadawi, Sami. (1970). [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Nablus/Page-060.jpgNablus District Stats] from [http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine] The Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center.] In a 1997 census by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), there were 418 inhabitants, of which 70 (16.7%) were refugees. The gender distribution was exactly even; 50% were males and 50% were females. [ [http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabID=3830&lang=en Nablus Governorate Statistics] : [http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/nab_t6.aspx Palestinian Population by Locality and Refugee Status] and [http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/nab_t1.aspx Palestinian Population by Locality, Sex and Age Groups in Years] Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).] According to the PCBS, Ijnisinya had a population of 559 inhabitants in 2006. [ [http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/populati/pop06.aspx Projected Mid -Year Population for Nablus Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006] Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).]

Previously, many of the village's residents were Christian, but following disagreements with its Muslim residents they emigrated to villages with large Christian populations, particularly Zababdeh near Jenin and Bir Zeit near Ramallah.

Water supply

Underneath the village mosque is a wide Roman reservoir for underground water which, until recently, was still used by the residents of the village as a water source. Queen Helena built an aqueduct to carry water from Ijnisinya to Sebastiya but it fell into ruin during a drought in Palestine. The aqueduct is named after her, and it starts from Nablus through Ein Beit al-Ma', Ijnisinya, and then to Sebastiya.

In 2007, the village pump — constructed in 1977 — broke down and the village residents were without water, forced to travel to Asira al-Qibliya to borrow water from that village's pump. A few months later, the Ijnisinya Village Council with the help of the American Near East Refugee Aid, constructed a new pump.

References