Qaryut

Ottoman period

Potsherds from the early Ottoman era have been found here.^[5]

In 1838, Kuriyet was noted as being located in El-Beitawy district, east of Nablus.^[10][6]

In 1870, Victor Guérin noted: "This village is divided into two distinct districts, each under the jurisdiction of a particular Sheikh. Its population is seven hundred and fifty inhabitants. In the gardens around it grow fig trees, pomegranates and vines. Several old rock formations are currently dry, and women are forced to fetch water as far as Ain Siloun ['Seilun/Seiloun spring']. In two houses, I notice some blocks with boss cut." Guérin also identified Qaryut with ancient Coreae.^[11]

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine noted that Kuriyut was: "a small village, on the top of a high chain, with a spring between it and the ruin of Seilun (Shiloh)."^[8] The Arabic for "ruin of Seilun" is Khirbet Seilun.

The current residents of Qaryut trace their ancestry back to the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia.^[4]

British Mandate

In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Qariut had a population of 530 Muslims,^[12] increasing in the 1931 census to 732; 3 Christians and 729 Muslims, in 156 houses.^[13]

In the 1945 statistics Qaryut had a population of 930, all Muslims,^[14] with 7,491 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.^[15] Of this, 2,611 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 2,803 were used for cereals,^[16] while 63 dunams were built-up land.^[17]

Jordanian military period

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Qaryut came under Jordanian rule.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 1,163 inhabitants.^[18]

1967, aftermath

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Qaryut has been under Israeli occupation.

After the 1995 accords, 23% of village land is classified as Area B, the remaining 77% is Area C.^[19]

As of 2014, Israel has confiscated 2,221 dunams of Qaryat village land for 3 Israeli settlements: Eli, Shilo and Mizpe Rahel.^[20]

Israeli settler violence

In 2013, Israeli settlers from Eli have uprooted more than 100 olive trees belonging to Qaryut village.^[21] In 2025, hundreds of olive trees were destroyed under a military security order.^[22]

On June 30, 2023, settlers escorted by soldiers entered the village near the freshwater spring; residents who gathered to defend the area were targeted with tear gas, and a soldier was filmed smashing a resident's car window.^[23]

In April 2023, settlers cut down approximately 117 fruit-yielding olive trees over a two-week period on lands northeast of the village.^[24]

On September 6, 2024, 13-year-old civilian girl, Bana Laboum, was murdered by an Israeli sniper while in her bedroom. The shooting occurred during a military raid following a settler attack on the village.^[25][26]

In October 2025, the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission reported that Israeli authorities issued a military order to seize approximately 70 dunams of privately owned land from Qaryut, Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya, and Al-Sawiya. The land is designated for a "buffer zone" around the nearby settlement of Eli.^[27][28][29]

On March 2, 2026, Mohammad Taha Maamar (52) and his brother Faheem (Fahim) Taha Maamar (48), unarmed Palestinian civilians, were shot and killed by Israeli settlers in cold blood while attempting to prevent armed settlers from uprooting and damaging olive trees and other crops on their privately owned land. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, Mohammad was shot in the head and Faheem in the pelvis, and at least three others, including another brother, were wounded in the attack. Rights groups reported that the violence erupted after a settler, operating a bulldozer near the village, was confronted by residents defending their land, prompting armed settlers to open fire. The killings are part of a broader surge in settler violence linked to efforts to seize or destroy Palestinian agricultural property, including trees and groves on privately held land. ^[30][31] Following the assault, Israeli forces entered the village, detained residents, and used tear gas on villagers, including some who were already wounded.^[32]

According to the IDF Spokesperson, the killer has been identified as active reservist in the IDF, who had his weapon taken from him and a "criminal investigation" opened against him, despite no arrests having been made.^[33] According to +972 Magazine, the soldier involved may have belonged to a regional defense unit (Hebrew: Hagmar), military units composed largely of settlers who patrol their own communities. These units were expanded by the Israeli army after 7 October 2023 due to the redeployment of personnel to Gaza, and have since been reported to be involved in multiple violent incidents in the West Bank.^[34]