Isfay al-Tahta

  1. Home
  2. Wiki
This article is about the hamlet Isfay al-Tahta in Masafer Yatta. For the nearby hamlet, see Isfay al-Fauqa.
Isfay al-Tahta
اصفي التحتا
Isfey al-Tahta; Isfey at-Tahta; Isfay al-Tehta; Khirbet Isfay al-Tahta
Hamlet
Isfay al-Tahta is located in West Bank
Isfay al-Tahta
Isfay al-Tahta
Location within the West Bank, Palestine
Coordinates: 31°23′58″N 35°11′12″E / 31.399354°N 35.186613°E / 31.399354; 35.186613
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateHebron Governorate
AreaMasafer Yatta
Elevation
635 m (2,083 ft)
Time zoneUTC+2
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3

Isfay al-Tahta (Arabic: اصفي التحتا, also transliterated Isfey al-Tahta / Isfay al-Tehta) is a small Palestinian herding hamlet in the South Hebron Hills, within the Masafer Yatta cluster of communities in the Hebron Governorate of the southern West Bank. Like other Masafer Yatta localities, it lies in Area C; since the 1980s, much of the surrounding area has been designated Firing Zone 918, constraining planning, service connections and access to land.[1] It is distinct from the nearby, higher-lying hamlet of Isfay al-Fauqa.

Geography

[edit]
Isfay al-Tahta, Masafer Yatta

Isfay al-Tahta stands at about 635 metres above sea level at approximately 31°23′58″N 35°11′12″E / 31.399354°N 35.186613°E / 31.399354; 35.186613, in the arid uplands east of Yatta.[2] It is one of several paired localities in the South Hebron Hills (taḥta = lower, fawqa = upper), with Isfay al-Fauqa situated nearby on higher ground. The hamlet forms part of the dispersed cave-dwelling and herding landscape that characterizes Masafer Yatta.[1]

History

[edit]
1880s PEF Survey of Palestine map of Masafer Yatta

In the 14th century Isfay was called al-Safiyah (الصافية) and it is mentioned, alongside neighboring Jinba, as a stop on the Gaza-Hebron-al-Karak road.[3]

Isfay and its caves appear on the map of the 1870s Survey of Western Palestine[1]

The broader Masafer Yatta region (Arabic masāfer, “travelling”) has long supported semi-sedentary pastoralism adapted to caves and cistern-based water storage; families in Isfay al-Tahta maintain herding livelihoods and seasonal use of rangelands consistent with this pattern.[1]

Isfay is a hamlet of Masafer Yatta where families traditionally resided in caves alongside stone animal pens and cultivated terraces. Though not always listed in every historical survey due to its small size, the village appears in several demographic and geographic studies from the late Ottoman and Mandate periods. Oral history and archaeological remains confirm its permanence as part of the Yatta hinterland.[4]

Legal–administrative context

[edit]
Massafer Yatta in the Hebron Hills, West Bank

Following the 1967 war, the area came under Israeli occupation and was later categorized as Area C under the Oslo Accords. In the 1980s, large parts of Masafer Yatta were declared Firing Zone 918, restricting civilian construction, service connections and access to land, and placing residents at risk of forcible transfer.[1]

Access and services

[edit]
  • Road access: Access is by unpaved agricultural tracks linking neighboring hamlets; humanitarian sources note recurrent access constraints typical of firing-zone localities.[1]
  • Water and power: Households rely on rain-fed cisterns and trucked water; electricity is typically provided by small solar installations rather than grid connections.[1]
  • Planning and structures: A community profile lists Isfey at-Tahta among Area C localities in the Hebron district; information gathered notes a resident community of roughly 25 families with mixed building typologies (tents, tin shacks, stone rooms).[5]
Children playing in Isfay al-Tahta, Masafer Yatta

Population and livelihoods

[edit]

While detailed census figures for the hamlet are limited, field profiles indicate around 25 families residing in Isfay al-Tahta.[5] Livelihoods are based on small-ruminant herding (goats and sheep), seasonal grazing and limited dryland plots, in line with broader Masafer Yatta patterns.[1]

Notable incidents

[edit]
  • 30 October 2023: UN OCHA reported settlers broke into the Isfey al-Tahta herding community and set fire to a donor-funded residential structure; the hamlet lies inside Firing Zone 918.[6]

See also

[edit]
[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Fact sheet: Masafer Yatta communities at risk of forcible transfer". UN OCHA. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  2. ^ "Isfey al Tihta, Hebron – Elevation Map (coords & elevation)". ElevationMap.net. Retrieved 24 August 2025. Latitude 31.399354, Longitude 35.186613; Elevation ≈635 m
  3. ^ al-ʿUmarī, Ibn Faḍl Allāh (1988). التعريف بالمصطلح الشريف (in Arabic). Vol. 1. Beirut: دار الفكر. p. 247. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  4. ^ Amira Hass, "Israel Blew Up Their Houses in 1966. Now It Claims Their Village Never Existed," Haaretz, 27 April 2021
  5. ^ a b "Isfey at-Tahta". Bimkom – Planners for Planning Rights. Retrieved 24 August 2025. Resident community; Number of families: 25
  6. ^ "Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #25". UN OCHA. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2025. On 30 October, settlers broke into the Isfey al Tahta herding community in southern Hebron and set fire to a donor-funded residential structure.