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{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = Aitaroun
| native_name             = عيترون
| native_name_lang        = ar<!-- ISO 639-2 code: "fr" for French, "ara" for Arabic -->
| settlement_type         = Municipality
| image_skyline           =
| image_alt               =
| image_caption           =
| pushpin_map             = Lebanon
| pushpin_label_position  =
| pushpin_map_alt         = Map showing the location of Aitaroun within Lebanon
| pushpin_map_caption     = Location within Lebanon
| coordinates             = {{coord|33|06|59|N|35|28|6|E|region:LB_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| grid_position =194/279 [[Palestine grid|PAL]]
| coordinates_footnotes   =
| subdivision_type        = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name        = {{LBN}}
| subdivision_type1       = [[Governorates of Lebanon|Governorate]]
| subdivision_name1       = [[Nabatieh Governorate]]
| subdivision_type2       = [[Districts of Lebanon|District]]
| subdivision_name2       = [[Bint Jbeil District]]
| established_title       = <!-- Founded -->
| established_date        =
| founder                 =
| leader_party            =
| leader_title            =
| leader_name             =
| area_footnotes          =
| area_total_km2          =
| area_note               =
| elevation_footnotes     =
| elevation_m             = 630
| elevation_min_m         =
| elevation_max_m         =
| population_footnotes    =
| population_total        =
| population_as_of        =
| population_density_km2  = auto
| population_note         =
| timezone1               = [[Eastern European Time|EET]]
| utc_offset1             = +2
| timezone1_DST           = [[Eastern European Summer Time|EEST]]
| utc_offset1_DST         = +3
| postal_code_type        = Postal code
| postal_code             =
| area_code_type          = [[Telephone numbers in Lebanon|Dialing code]]
| area_code               = +961
| website                 =
| footnotes               =
}}
'''Aitaroun''' (or Aytaroun; {{langx|ar|عيترون}})<ref>From personal name, according to Palmer 1881, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/66/mode/1up 66]</ref> is a municipality in southern Lebanon. It is on the northern border of [[Israel]], and 125&nbsp;km from [[Beirut]]. The majority of its population are [[Lebanese Shia Muslims|Shiite Muslims]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wedeman |first=Ben |date=2024-06-24 |title=‘This area has a geographical curse’: Residents along Lebanon’s border with Israel fear another war |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/24/middleeast/marjayoun-lebanon-israel-border-war-fears-intl-hnk/index.html |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>
== Etymology ==
The village's name origin is ''Itruma'', which means; ''"The Beautiful Smell"''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Source: civilsociety-center.org|url=https://civilsociety-centre.org/sites/default/files/vpr/aytaroun.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728225729/https://civilsociety-centre.org/sites/default/files/vpr/aytaroun.pdf|archive-date=2020-07-28|access-date=|website=}}</ref>
== History ==
=== Ottoman era ===
In 1596, it was named as a village, ''’Aytarun'' in the [[Ottoman empire|Ottoman]] ''[[nahiya]]'' (subdistrict) of [[Tibnin]] under the ''[[Liwa (Arabic)|liwa']]'' (district) of [[Safed]], with a population of 91 households and 15 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid taxes on agricultural products, such as [[wheat]], [[barley]], goats, and beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues” and a fixed sum; a total of 14,570 [[akçe]].<ref name="Hutteroth">Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 179</ref><ref>Note that Rhode, 1979, p. [https://www.academia.edu/2026845/The_Administration_and_Population_of_the_Sancak_of_Safed_in_the_Sixteenth_Century 6] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420031504/https://www.academia.edu/2026845/The_Administration_and_Population_of_the_Sancak_of_Safed_in_the_Sixteenth_Century |date=2019-04-20 }} writes that  the register that  Hütteroth and  Abdulfattah  studied was not from 1595/6, but from 1548/9</ref>
Visiting in 1875, [[Victor Guérin]] described it as a village with 200 [[Metuali]]s.<ref>Guérin, 1880, p. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr00gugoog#page/n413/mode/1up 373]</ref>
In 1881, the [[Palestine Exploration Fund|PEF]]'s [[PEF Survey of Palestine|''Survey of Western Palestine'' (SWP)]]  described it: "A large village, built of stone, containing 400 Moslems, situated in bed of wady, with olives, gardens and arable land. Water from a large birket and [[cistern]]s."<ref>Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/201/mode/1up 201]</ref>
===Israeli occupation===
In 1982 the [[1982 Lebanon War|Israeli invasion of Lebanon]] began. Until 2000, the [[Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon|Israeli army occupied southern Lebanon]].
=== 2006 Lebanon War ===
{{main|2006 Lebanon war}}
During the [[2006 Lebanon War]], Israel attacked Aitaroun several times. On July 16, 12 civilians from the  Akhrass family, including 7 [[Canadians|Canadian]] nationals, were killed when their Aitaroun home were destroyed in Israeli airstrikes.<ref>HRW, 2007, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=8P9-VqpNRv4C&pg=PA98 98]-100</ref> On July 18, 9 civilians from the Awada family were killed after Israeli air-strikes against their homes.<ref>HRW, 2007, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=8P9-VqpNRv4C&pg=PA100 100]-101</ref> Surviving family members reported that [[Hezbollah]] fighters had been launching rockets from a location within the village, approximately 100 to 150 meters from their house.<ref name=arsanandrew/> In general, however, Hezbollah did not place military facilities in built up areas, and instead located its bunkers in fields and valleys away from villages.<ref name=arsanandrew>{{Cite book |last=Arsan |first=Andrew |title=Lebanon: a country in fragments |date=2018 |publisher=Hurst & Company |isbn=978-1-84904-700-5 |edition=First published in the United Kingdom |location=London |pages=66-67}}</ref>
On July 19, Israel killed 6 civilians were killed and 8 wounded as they were trying to leave Aitaroun.<ref>HRW, 2007, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=8P9-VqpNRv4C&pg=PA153 153]-155</ref><ref name=arsanandrew/> The IDF had considered such movement suspicious, as it claimed that "all Lebanese civilians had observed its warnings to evacuate villages south of the Litani river" and thus there was "no need to discriminate between military objectives and civilians".<ref name=arsanandrew/>
After the war, Israeli deputy ambassador to the UN, [[Daniel Carmon]], justified attacks on civilians by stating "there is hardly any distinction between Hezbollah and the civilian population [in southern Lebanon]. This whole region was a region in which you could not make a distinction between the one and the other".<ref name=arsanandrew/>
The village lost 41 villagers to the war new figures said. Families laid flowers and read [[Quran]]ic verses at the graves on October 23, 2006, which marks the [[Eid ul-Fitr]]-holiday.<ref name="CBS10230">{{cite news|url=http://cbs4boston.com/worldwire/Mideast-MuslimHoliday_a_i_-----/resources_news_html |title=Violence casts shadow on normally festive Muslim holiday in Mideast |date=23 October 2006 |publisher=[[CBS]] }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
=== 2023–2024 conflict ===
During the [[Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)|2023-2024 Israel Hezbollah conflict]], Israel frequently attacked Shia-majority towns like Aitaroun via airstrikes and artillery barrages, reducing many of its communities to rubble.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wedeman |first=Ben |date=2024-06-24 |title=‘This area has a geographical curse’: Residents along Lebanon’s border with Israel fear another war |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/24/middleeast/marjayoun-lebanon-israel-border-war-fears-intl-hnk/index.html |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> In December 2023, the Israeli army attacked a residential neighborhood, injuring 4 people and causing significant damage to buildings.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Beyrouth |first=Ici |date=2023-12-10 |title=Intensification des bombardements au Sud: Aïtaroun durement touché |url=https://icibeyrouth.com/liban/294570 |access-date=2024-04-02 |website=Ici Beyrouth |language=fr-FR}}</ref>
==Demographics==
In 2014 [[Islam in Lebanon|Muslims]] made up 99.57% of registered voters in Aitaroun. 98.72% of the voters were [[Lebanese Shia Muslims|Shiite Muslims]].<ref> https://lub-anan.com/المحافظات/النبطية/بنت-جبيل/عيترون/المذاهب/ </ref>
Aitaroun had a total population estimated at 20,000 in 2002.  However, the actual number of residents is now considered to be significantly higher.  The non-resident population is divided between emigrants and internal migrants distributed throughout Lebanon.  Approximately 45% of the population is under the age of 30 and the average family size is 6-7 members.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aytaron BintJbeil Discrit |url=http://www.bintjbeil.gov.lb/templatemo_315_village/templatemo_315_village/detailsaytaroun.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402103709/http://www.bintjbeil.gov.lb/templatemo_315_village/templatemo_315_village/detailsaytaroun.html |archive-date=2 April 2024 |access-date=2024-11-09 |website=www.bintjbeil.gov.lb}}</ref>
== Economy ==
Most families depend on agriculture as their primary source of income.  During 1978 to 2000, the village received a significant cash flow from enlistment in the Israeli funded [[South Lebanon Army]] and through work in [[Israel]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}
== Housing and infrastructure ==
There are around 1,300 homes in the village. An electrical network was established in 1964 and access to telecommunications is fully restored since 2006. In 2005 a telephone exchange was installed in the village offering connectivity to Lebanon's telephone network. Mobile communications and internet connectivity were also fully restored.
During the occupation, potable water in the village was provided by water wells drilled in the village by Israel. The main water source is the collection of rain water which is stored in both private and public reservoirs.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}
== Government and social services ==
There are five schools operating in Aitaroun: two public and three private. Public schools, elementary
and intermediate, encompass 250 students, with a higher percentage of girls especially for the
intermediate level. The total number of students in the private schools amount to 570 distributed among one elementary school and two intermediate schools.  The village has one health center operated by the Ministry of Social Affairs.  The municipal council in the village was established in 1961.
== Flora ==
The area is rich in wild herbs, flowers and mushrooms. Particularly prevalent are the red poppy flower, wild capers and thistles. Other flora that are believed to be more agricultural or introduced, include; grape vines, pomegranate trees, figs, cactus apple, sumac, various wild berries.
== References ==
{{Reflist|25em}}
== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|authorlink1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H.H.|authorlink2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp01conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]|volume=1}}
*{{cite book|last=Guérin|first=V.|author-link=Victor Guérin|title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptiongogr00gugoog|volume=3: Galilee, pt. 2|year=1880|publisher=L'Imprimerie Nationale|location=Paris|language=French}}
*{{cite book|author= HRW|author-link= Human Rights Watch|title= Why They Died: Civilian Casualties in Lebanon During the 2006 War|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8P9-VqpNRv4C|year= 2007|publisher= Human Rights Watch}}
*{{cite book
|last1=Hütteroth|first1=W.-D.|author-link1=Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth
|last2=Abdulfattah|first2=K. |author-link2=Kamal Abdulfattah
|title=Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqULAAAAIAAJ |year=1977 |publisher=Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft
|isbn=3-920405-41-2 }}
*{{cite book
|last=Palmer|first=E.H.|author-link=Edward Henry Palmer
|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer
|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]}}
*{{cite book
|last=Rhode |first=H. |author-link=Harold Rhode
|date=1979 |url=https://www.academia.edu/2026845 |title=Administration and Population of the Sancak of Safed in the Sixteenth Century |publisher=[[Columbia University]] |access-date=2017-12-04 |archive-date=2020-03-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301141739/https://www.academia.edu/2026845/The_Administration_and_Population_of_the_Sancak_of_Safed_in_the_Sixteenth_Century |url-status=dead }}
{{refend}}
== External links ==
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 4: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8367 IAA], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.04.jpg Wikimedia commons]
*[http://www.localiban.org/article4214.html Aaytaroun], Localiban
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=757R1AcWDP0 Video of a drive through the area]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BmL1B_a0j8 Photomontage of the area's scenery]
* http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/simpoc/lebanon/ra/tobacco.pdf
{{Bint Jbeil District}}
[[Category:Populated places in the Israeli security zone 1985–2000]]
[[Category:Populated places in Bint Jbeil District]]
[[Category:Shia Muslim communities in Lebanon]]