Metula
Metula
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| Hebrew transcription(s) | ||
| • ISO 259 | Mṭulla | |
| • Also spelled | Metulla (unofficial) | |
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 Metula
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| Coordinates: 33°16′44″N 35°34′28″E / 33.27889°N 35.57444°ECoordinates: 33°16′44″N 35°34′28″E / 33.27889°N 35.57444°E | ||
| District | Northern | |
| Founded | 1896 | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Local council | |
| • Head of Municipality | Herzel Boker | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 9,413 dunams (9.413 km2 or 3.634 sq mi) | |
| Population (2015) | ||
| • Total | 1,614 | |
| Name meaning | “Belle vue” | |
| Website | http://www.metulla.muni.il/ | |
Metula (Hebrew: מְטֻלָּה) is a town in the Northern District of Israel. Metula is located between the sites of the Biblical cities of Dan, Abel Bet Ma'akha, and Eyon, bordering Lebanon. In 2015 it had a population of 1,614.
Traces of ancient settlement have been found here, including wine presses and a mosaic pavement. A tomb excavated in 1967 contained at least four graves dating from between the late third century and the late sixth century.
A settlement existed in the area in the Roman-Byzantine era.
In 1816, the traveller Buckingham visited "a large village, called Metully, altogether inhabited by Druses". In 1875, Victor Guérin described Methelleh or Metelleh as a village with a spring, occupied by Druzes from the Hauran who cultivated a garden to the east. Soon afterwards, in 1881, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine recorded "El Mutallah: A small village, built of stone, containing about 100 Druzes, situated on slope of hill, near a large stream, surrounded by arable land."
When the Druse Rebellion of 1895 broke out, the men of Mutallah joined its ranks. Since the women were not able to cope with the work, the owner of the land, a Christian from Sidon named Jabur Bey, sold 12,800 dunams of land to Baron de Rothschild's chief officer Joshua Ossovetski. It had been inhabited and cultivated by more than 600 Druze tenant farmers. When the Druse Rebellion was put down, the men returned and demanded their tenancy rights back. Ossovetski called in the Turkish authorities, who came to arrest the Druse as deserters and rebels, while Ossovetski offered them paltry compensation to leave the land. However many were unsatisfied and eight years of feuds and violent clashes ensued. Eventually an agreement was reached between the villagers and the Jewish Colonization Association in 1904 for an additional payment of 60,000 francs (3,000 Turkish pounds). This episode brought much criticism of the methods of Rothschild's agents, including some from other Zionists such as Ahad Ha'am.
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