The Old Town of Jinsafut

The Old Town of Jinsafut

Jinsafut is a village located approximately 16 km to the east of Qalqilya, at an elevation of around 430 meters above sea level. The village's total land area is around 9,356 dunums.

The earliest known references to Jinsafut date back to the 19th century. In 1838, the American biblical scholar Edward Robinson mentioned Jinsafut as one of the villages of the Bani Saab tribe. Similarly, the French explorer Victor Guérin referred to Jinsafut as a Bani Saab village in 1870, although he did not actually visit the site himself, instead describing it from nearby Far'ata.

Surveys of western Palestine conducted in 1882 also documented Jinsafut as a small village situated on a hill, with water wells on its northern side and olive groves.

More recent documentation of Jinsafut's historic buildings was carried out in 1997 by the organization Riwaq. Their survey identified around 63 historical structures in the old town, the majority of which (38 buildings) were attached or connected, while 21 were standalone buildings. Of the total, 37 buildings were still in use, 3 were partially used, and 23 had been abandoned.

The architectural features of Jinsafut's historic buildings include a mix of single-story (45 buildings), two-story (13 buildings), and one three-story building. The primary construction materials were limestone and lime mortar, with some use of mud as well. The roofing systems included 41 buildings with cross-vaulted ceilings, 21 with flat roofs, and 18 that utilized iron dowels.