Al-Khiyam

Etymology

According to Edward Henry Palmer, the name means tents. Haifa Nassar, a Khiyam-based journalist, cites sources that confirm this. Muhammad Qubaisi, author of a book on South Lebanon, writes that according to the Torah, Jacob moved his family and livestock to the plain of Al-Khiam, where he lived in tents.

Location

Al-Khiyam is situated approximately 100 km south from the capital city of Beirut and 35 km south-east from the city of Nabatieh. The border with Israel is 5 km to the south. Khiam lies at a height of 800 m above sea level.

History

Ottoman period

In 1596, the village of Hiyam was an Ottoman nahiya (subdistrict) of Tibnin under the liwa' (district) of Safad, with a population of 111 Muslim households and 7 bachelors. The villagers paid a tax on wheat, barley, olive trees, vineyards, goats and beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues"; a total of 6,914 akçe.

In 1838, Eli Smith writes about el-Khiyam, a Metawileh, "Greek" Christian and Maronite village in Merj 'Ayun'.

In 1875, Victor Guérin visited: "El Khiam contains two quarters: the one on the south, with a population of 700 Metawileh, and the other on the north, with 600 Christians, divided into Maronites, Greek-Orthodox, and Greek-Catholics, with some Protestants, who have founded a chapel and a school."

In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as: "A village, northeast of the Merj Ayun, built of stone, containing about 300 Christians and 200 Druze. It contains a white round Moslem holy place and a modern church. It is situated on a low ridge, surrounded by figs, olives, and arable. The water supply is from three rock-cut cisterns, one birket, and the good spring of 'Ain ed Derdarah."

French mandate period

The municipality of Al-Khiyam was established in 1928 during the French Mandate.The first municipal council, led by Haj Mohammad Haj Hussein Abdullah, was dissolved in 1931.

In 1935, Haj Ali Afandi Haj Ibrahim Abdullah was elected mayor. In 1937, he stepped down after being appointed to the Lebanese parliament.

After independence

In 1953, Haj Khalil Haidar was re-elected and served as mayor until 1957. In 1957, he was replaced by Hassan Ali Faiz who remained in this position until 1963. A new council was elected in 1963, with 16 members, and Kamel Mohammad Ali Al-Daoui as the mayor and Haj Asaad Khalil Mhana as the deputy mayor. This council continued its work until the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975.

During the 1990s, Al-Khiam was the site of the Khiam Detention Center, operated by the South Lebanon Army during the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon. Lebanese Muslim civilians were exposed to torture by Israeli and Lebanese agents in this camp and faced indefinite detention once arrested. The prison was captured by Hezbollah during the Battle of Khiam in 2000, shortly before the Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon.

The town saw a major confrontation between the Israeli Army and Hezbollah fighters in the 2006 Lebanon War, during which a United Nations post was bombed by the Israeli Army killing four United Nations Military Observers. The IDF and Hezbollah clashed in the area once again in June 2024, with fighter jets and artillery strikes.

In October 2024, the village of Al-Khiyam become the site of heavy fighting between the IDF and Hezbollah. On 29 October, Israeli tanks entered the outskirts of the Khaim, marking their deepest push into southern Lebanon since launching a ground operation in September, though ultimately failing to take the village.

Demographics

In 2014 Muslims made up 93.17% and Christians 6.48% of registered voters in Al-Khiyam. 91.29% of the voters were Shiite Muslims.

Notable people

• Ali Daher (born 1996), Lebanese footballer
• Issam Abdallah (1986-2023), Reuters video journalist
• Ali Hassan Khalil (born 1964), former Minister of Finance

References

Bibliography

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References

1. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160828025803/http://www.localiban.org/article4323.html Khiyam (archive.org)], Localiban
2. "Khiam Village Profile (UNDP 2010)".
3. Palmer, 1881, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/26/mode/1up 26]
4. (August 14, 2024). "مصادر ومراجع". Khiyam.com.
5. Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 181
6. Note that Rhode, 1979, p. [https://www.academia.edu/2026845/The_Administration_and_Population_of_the_Sancak_of_Safed_in_the_Sixteenth_Century 6] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-10-10 writes that the register that Hütteroth and Abdulfattah studied was not from 1595/6, but from 1548/9)
7. Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/137/mode/1up 137]
8. Guerin, 1880, p. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr00gugoog#page/n319/mode/1up 279]; as given in Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/88/mode/1up 88]
9. Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/88/mode/1up 88]
10. (2024). "تاريخ بلدية الخيام". Khiyam.com.
11. (2024). "تاريخ بلدية الخيام". Khiyam.com.
12. (1999-10-27). "Torture in Khiam Prison: Responsibility and Accountability".
13. HRW, 2007, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=8P9-VqpNRv4C&pg=PA114 114]-116
14. Jamal, Urooba. (2024-06-21). "Israel’s attack on makeshift camp in Gaza kills 25 Palestinians".
15. (2024-04-18). "Israel and Hezbollah: Fears of escalation after flurry of attacks". BBC News.
16. Jamal, Urooba. (2024-11-24). "Fierce ground battles goes on for Khiam in south Lebanon".
17. "المحافظات".
18. "Ali Daher - Soccer player profile & career statistics - Global Sports Archive".