Kiryat Luza

Kiryat Luza
Village
Kiryat Luza Location of Kiryat Luza
Coordinates: 32°12′12″N 35°16′12″E / 32.203399°N 35.270081°ECoordinates: 32°12′12″N 35°16′12″E / 32.203399°N 35.270081°E
Governorate	Nablus

Kiryat Luza (Arabic: قرية لوزة‎‎, Hebrew: קרית לוזה‎‎) is a Samaritan village on Mount Gerizim near Nablus, West Bank under joint Israeli and Palestinian control.^[1] It is the last wholly Samaritan village, half of their population living there,^[2] in existence and contains the museum of the Samaritans. Kiryat Luza is adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Har Bracha. Until the 1980s, most of the Samaritans resided in Nablus below Mount Gerizim. The Samaritans relocated to Kiryat Luza as a result of violence during the First Intifada. Consequently, all that remains of the Samaritan community in Nablus itself is an abandoned synagogue. The Israel Defense Forces maintains a presence in the area.^[3]

References

1. Barbati, Gabrielle (January 21, 2013). "Israeli Election Preview: The Samaritans, Caught Between Two Votes". International Business Times. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
2. Louis J. Salome, Violence, veils, and bloodlines: reporting from war zones, McFarland, , 2010 p.76.
3. http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/10/08/samaritans/index.html?iref=allsearch