|
al-Karmil () is a Palestinian village located twelve kilometers south of Hebron. The village is in the Hebron Governorate Southern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 3,741 in 2007.[1] The primary health care facilities for the village are designated by the Ministry of Health as level 2.[2] History There are three references to al-Karmil in the Bible. "Carmel" is mentioned as a city of Judah, also as the place where Saul erects a monument after the expedition against the Amelek and where Nabal the Carmelite resides.[3][4][5] After the Bar Kochba revolt Khirbet al-Karmil was used as a Roman garrison town. The Jews of the town being uncomfortable with the Roman presence moved their settlement 2 km southeast, occupying a hilltop ridge. The new Jewish settlement prospered until the Persian army of Chosroes forced the Roman garrison of Heraclius's army to quit Palestine. The Persian army was, in its turn, shortly destroyed by the Rashidun Caliphate. Al-Muqaddasi describes it 985 as "a village in the further limits of the Hebron territory, in Jund Filastin. This is the Carmel mentioned in Joshua xv.55."[6] With a lack of market for their wine, the Jewish settlement declined with the synagogue finally being abandoned in the 9th Century. The abandoned synagogue is one of the best preserved ancient synagogues in the West Bank.[7] Footnotes External links he: -
| 
Encyclopedia
top
