Hableh - History

History

Ancient remains of a mosque and houses have been found in the village. During the period of Ottoman rule over Palestine, Hableh appeared in Ottoman tax registers in 1596, where it is listed as forming part of the Nahiya of Jabal Qubal in the Liwa of Nablus. It had a population of 41 Muslim households.

Edward Robinson and Eli Smith visited Hableh in the mid-19th century and describe it as being situated along the southern side of a low rocky ridge overlooking a plain on which could be seen the villages of Kilkilieh, Kfer Saba, Jiljulieh, and Ras al Ain. Camping on the ground to the south of the village and north of a wali on a low rocky hill, Robinson and Smith found themselves surrounded by cisterns dug into the rock. Most of these had round openings, some with one or two steps by which one could descend into them to draw water. All appeared to be ancient, and only one was still in use. There was also a sepulcher with an arched vault and an ancient wine press made up of two vats, one shallower and smaller than the other in which grapes would have been trodden with the juice going down through a hole to the larger, deeper vat directly adjacent and slightly below.

V. Guérin, who visited Hableh later that same century, said it contained 800 inhabitants, and that a few of the houses, but principally the village mosque, were built using large stones of apparent antiquity. He too noted the presence of ancient rock-cut formations around the village.

In the wake of World War I, British military governors were established in Palestine's major cities and the deputy for the governor in Nablus was stationed in Habla. During the mandate period, Hableh formed part of the sub-district of Tulkarm. At the time of the 1931 census, Hableh had 86 inhabited houses with a population of 397 Muslims. By the end of the mandate period in 1945, the population had increased to 580.

Inhhabitants of Habla were among the 10,000 Palestinians displaced as a result of the 1967 war. According to Nur Masalha, Israeli forces evicted civilians and deliberately destroyed Habla among a number of other villages during the war (such as Imwas, Yalu, Bayt Nuba, Bayt Marsam, Bayt 'Awa, al-Burj, and Jiftlik).