Surda | |
---|---|
Arabic transcription(s) | |
• Arabic | سردا |
Location of Surda within Palestine | |
Coordinates: 31°56′29″N 35°12′12″E / 31.94139°N 35.20333°E | |
Palestine grid | 169/150 |
State | State of Palestine |
Governorate | Ramallah and al-Bireh |
Government | |
• Type | Municipality |
Population (2017)[1] | |
• Total | 1,308 |
Name meaning | possibly from a Syriac word which can be translated to mean fear and isolation,[2] or possibly from Zerada[3] |
Surda (Arabic: سردا, romanized: Surdā) is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located northeast of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 1,308 inhabitants in 2017.[1]
Surda is located 3.7 kilometers (2.3 mi) north of Ramallah. It is bordered by Al-Bireh and Dura al-Qar' to the east, Jifna to the north, Abu Qash to the west, and Ramallah and Al Bireh to the south.[2] Surda is 838 meters above sea level.
Pottery sherds from the Byzantine and the Mamluk eras have been found here.[4]
In 1517, the village was included in the Ottoman empire with the rest of Palestine, and in the 1596 tax-records it appeared as Surda, located in the Nahiya of Quds of the Liwa of Al-Quds. The population was 10 households, all Muslim. They paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, olive trees, vineyards, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 1,660 akçe.[5] Pottery sherds from the early Ottoman era have also been fond here.[4]
In 1838, it was noted as the village Surada, in the Beni Harith district.[6]
An Ottoman village list of about 1870 indicated 13 houses and a population of 63, though the population count included men, only.[7][8]
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Surdah as: "A small village on a hillside, with a garden to the south of it, and the spring 'Ain Jelazun on the east."[9]
In 1896 the population of Surda was estimated to be about 108 persons.[10]
In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Surda had a population of 125 Muslims,[11] increasing in the 1931 census to 179 Muslims, in 43 houses.[12]
In the 1945 statistics the population of Surda was 250 Muslims,[13] while the total land area was 3,726 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[14] Of this, 1,002 dunums were used for plantations and irrigable land, 1,244 for cereals,[15] while 20 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[16]
In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Surda came under Jordanian rule.
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 415 inhabitants in Surda.[17]
After the Six-Day War in 1967, Surda has been under Israeli occupation.
After the 1995 accords, 95.4% of village land has been defined as Area B land, while the remaining 4.6% is Area C.[18]
Surda is the birthplace of the Palestinian diplomat Hasan Abdel Rahman.