The Village
The Hidden and Mysterious Nisf Jubeil
The name of the village is derived from its location and size. ‘Jubeil’ meaning small mountain in Arabic, and ‘Nisf’ meaning half – describing the location and expansion of the village – a village on half of the small mountain. In 1988 the village was only 28 donums in size, while its total land area is 5054 donums. Some residents believed it became Nisf Jubeil after the great flood and torrent in the early 20th century that destroyed half the village, referring to the ‘Nisf’.
Abdel Hamid Mahmood Daghlas, although not the average villager, was one of the ruling figures in the Palestinian area of Wadi Al-Sha’ir. Abdel Hamid ruled at a time that followed the Ottoman rule of Nablus, due to the continual revolutions that took place in Nablus and Jabal Nablus.
He wore the costume of the Sheikh (Zinnar and Shal), and had a watch in his pocket. He was the only one that had a watch in Nisf Jubeil. Mohammad, his youngest son, is presumed to have the most like-ness of his father – Abdel Hamid.
Although his lineage is attested (more details below), it is known that Abdel Hamid was born and raised in Burqa, and only moved to Nisf Jubeil as an adult. He belonged to a family known as ‘Mahmoud Daghlas’ believed to be part of the clan known as ‘Al-Hofah’, which are believed to originally be part of the Otaibi family. His father Mahmoud was known to be the ruler/Mukhtar/Sheikh of Burqa at the time – which automatically makes him the ruler/Mukhtar/Sheikh of Wadi Al-Sha’ir – as Burqa was the capital of Wadi Al-Sha’ir in 1800, and became the capital of East Wadi Al-Sha’ir around 1860s.