Hula, Lebanon

Hula (Hule, Houla, Arabic: حولا‎)[1] is a small Muslim village in southern Lebanon, on the southern side of the Litani river near the Lebanese-Israeli border. A common family name there is the family of Ktaish (قطيش). It is located 900 meters above sea-level.

Village Tradition of Making Bread
Hula

حولا
Village
Village of Houla, Southern Lebanon
Hula
Location within Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°13′N 35°31′E
Grid position198/290 PAL
Country Lebanon
GovernorateNabatieh Governorate
DistrictMarjeyoun District
Elevation
750 m (2,460 ft)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Dialing code+961
Websitehttp://houla.net

The village maintains its cultural traditions to the present day, and holds village festivals. The inhabitants of the village speak the Southern Lebanese dialect of Arabic.

Plaque Commemorating Deaths from 1948 Houla Massacre
Clouds in Houla

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war two officers from the IDF carried out the Hula massacre in the village, killing over 80 civilians of ages 15–60.[2]

History

The Survey of Western Palestine (1881) mentions several ancient lintels and one olive-press having been found at Hula.[3]

Ottoman period

In 1875 Victor Guérin explores the geographical location of Houla and other Southern villages of Lebanon bordering Palestine, and found that Hula had 300 Muslim inhabitants.[4]

In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as: "A village, built of stone, containing about 500 Muslims, one of the most prominent objects in which is a Sheikh's tomb. It is situated on the hill-top, and is surrounded by olives, vines, and arable land. There are several cisterns, two birkets (one rock-cut), and a spring."[5] It also mentions that a small central mosque is situated on top of one of the hills in the village.[3]

Modern era

In October 24, 1948, the city fell in Israeli's occupation without resistance, children and women were expelled, and men aging from 15 to 60 were gathered in a house. Between October 30, and November 1 these men were shot dead by lieutenant Shmuel Lahis and his friend, and then they blow the house on their dead bodies. an incident which is known as the Hula massacre. During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, on July 15, Israel killed 2 young women in an air-strike against a home in Hula.[6] On August 7, 2006, an Israeli airstrike on Houla killed another civilian.[7][8]

Notable people
  • The first Lebanese businessman (Abdel-Karim Yassine عبد الكريم ياسين) to start a clothing business in Kuwait.[9]
  • Sheikh Mohammed bin Sulaiman Jawad bin Sheikh Hassan Al-Sulaiman: Writer and poet
  • Ibn Najm al-Din al-Atarawi, a scholar of the eighth century AH, and one of the students of the martyr, Muhammad bin Jamal al-Din Makki.
  • Sheikh Najm al-Din bin Abd al-Imam bin Sheikh Shams al-Din[10][11]

References
  1. Meaning: "properly dark green herbage", according to Palmer, 1881, p. 21
  2. Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. VII, no. 4 (summer 1978), no. 28, pp. 143-145
  3. Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 116
  4. Guerin, 1880, pp. 382-383
  5. Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 87
  6. HRW, 2007, p. 91
  7. HRW, 2007, p. 136
  8. Booth, Jenny; agencies (August 7, 2006). "Israel threatens to widen offensive in Lebanon". The Times.
  9. "تاريخ الكويت". www.kuwait-history.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  10. اخبار (2016). "حولا".
  11. "حولا", ويكيبيديا، الموسوعة الحرة (in Arabic), 2018-10-27, retrieved 2018-11-08

Bibliography
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