Kafr Qasim 5.18

Kafr Qasim, also known as Kafr Qassem, Kufur Kassem, Kfar Kassem and Kafar Kassem, is a hill-top Israeli Arab city located about 20km east of Tel Aviv, near the Green Line separating Israel and Judea & Samaria, on the southern portion of the "Little Triangle" of Arab-Israeli towns and villages. In its population was. The town was the site of the Kafr Qasim massacre, in which the Israel Border Police killed 49 civilians on October 29, 1956. On February 12, 2008, Israeli Minister of the Interior Meir Sheetrit declared Kafr Qasim a city in a ceremony held at the town.HistoryThe town's area was populated in ancient times, based on remains from the Middle Paleolithic period found in the Qesem Cave. Cisterns, a winepress and terraced fields have also been documented, together with remains from the Byzantine era.Ottoman periodIn 1838, it was noted as a Muslim village, Kefr Kasim, in Jurat Merda, south of Nablus.Charles van de Velde visited the site in 1851–2, noting "the many ancient stones used in the construction of the present houses and many other remains indicating an ancient site."