Hunin
| Hunin | |
|---|---|
 Hunin
|
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| Arabic | هونين |
| Name meaning | from personal name, |
| Subdistrict | Safad |
| Coordinates | 33°12′52″N 35°32′41″E / 33.21444°N 35.54472°ECoordinates: 33°12′52″N 35°32′41″E / 33.21444°N 35.54472°E |
| Palestine grid | 201/291 |
| Population | 1,620 (1945) |
| Area | 14,224 dunams |
| Date of depopulation | 3 May 1948 and September 1948 |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Fear of being caught up in the fighting |
| Secondary cause | Expulsion by Yishuv forces |
| Current localities | Margaliot |
Hunin (Arabic: هونين) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Galilee Panhandle part of Mandatory Palestine close to the Lebanese border. It was the second largest village in the district of Safed, but was depopulated in 1948.
The castle named Chastel Neuf or Castellum Novum in Frankish chronicles, Qal'at Hunin in Arabic, and (Horvat) Mezudat Hunin in Modern Hebrew, was built in two phases by the Crusaders during the 12th century, and was rebuilt by Zahir al-Umar in the 17th century.
In 1752, a mosque was constructed in Hunin. The inscription dedication has been tentatively found to be dedicated to the Ja'far al-Sadiq, the sixth Shia Imam.
The village was badly damaged in the earthquake in 1837, according to Edward Robinson who visited in 1856. In 1875, Victor Guérin visited.
In 1881, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described Hunin: "A village, built of stone, joining on to ruined Crusading castle [..], and containing about 100 Moslems. The situation is on a low ridge just before the hills drop down to the east to the Huleh Valley ; the hills round are uncultivated, covered with low- scrub, but in the valleys there is some arable land. Water is obtained from numerous cisterns ; a birket and spring to the south-east."
Hunin was one of the seven Shiite villages, and 17 other villages, that were transferred from the French to the British spheres in 1924 on the basis of the border agreement of 1923.
In the 1931 census of Palestine, the population of Hunin was 1,075, all Muslims, in a total of 233 houses.
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