Muhaibib

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Muhaibib محيبيب
Municipality
Muhaibib Location within Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°09′17″N35°30′20″E / 33.15472°N 35.50556°E / 33.15472; 35.50556
Grid position	197/284 PAL
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	Nabatieh Governorate
District	Marjayoun District
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Dialing code	+961

Muhaibib (Arabic : محيبيب), also spelled Mhaibib, is a municipality in the Marjayoun District in southern Lebanon.

Muhaibib holds a shrine to Benjamin, who Islam considers a prophet, which attracts pilgrims and visitors. As of October 2024, it is unclear whether the shrine remains intact following Israel's demolition of the village. ^{[1] [2]}

Etymology

E. H. Palmer wrote that the name Neby Muheibîb meant "the prophet Muheibîb", "beloved". ^[3]

History

In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Neby Muheibib as: "a small village [a]round the stone Neby, containing about seventy Moslems, situated on top of ridge, with olives and arable land; there are two cisterns in the village." ^[4]

During the 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) released footage of themselves destroying nearly the entirety of Muhaibib. ^{[5] [6]} The New York Times connected a statement in which the IDF claimed that they had 'dismantled a tunnel network used by Hezbollah's elite Redwan Forces' to the destruction of the village. ^[5] Al Jazeera published footage of Israeli soldiers they claimed were celebrating the destruction of the village. ^[7]

The spokesperson for the US Department of State, Matthew Miller, said that "we do not want to see entire villages destroyed", nor "civilian homes". ^[8] He claimed that there was potential for Hezbollah presence inside civilian homes. ^[5] He then said: "I don't know what was in those buildings, I don't know what was potentially underneath those buildings." ^[9]

Demographics

In 2014 Muslims made up 99.55% of registered voters in Muhaibib. 97.91% of the voters were Shiite Muslims. ^[10]

References

1. Triebert, Christiaan; Ward, Euan (18 October 2024). "Israel Destroys Nearly All of a Lebanese Village, Photos and Videos Show". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 October 2024. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
2. "Israel military demolishes historic neighbourhood in southern Lebanese town, video reveals". Middle East Monitor. 16 October 2024. Archived from the original on 16 October 2024. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
3. Palmer, 1881, p. 92
4. Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 202
5. Triebert, Christiaan; Ward, Euan (18 October 2024). "Israel Destroys Nearly All of a Lebanese Village, Photos and Videos Show". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 October 2024. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
6. "Lebanese village of Mhaibib destroyed by Israeli forces". The Daily Telegraph. 17 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024– via YouTube.
7. "Israeli soldiers celebrate destruction of Lebanese village". Al Jazeera. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
8. Chehayeb, Kareem; Zaatari, Mohammad (16 October 2024). "Israeli strikes kill 27 in Lebanon, including in a town with a dark history of civilian deaths". Associated Press. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
9. "Matt Lee pressed Matt Miller on Israel blowing up an entire village in southern Lebanon". Dawn. 17 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024– via YouTube.
10. "التوزيع حسب المذاهب للناخبين/ناخبات في بلدة محيبيب، قضاء مرجعيون محافظة النبطية في لبنان".

Bibliography

• Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 1. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
• Palmer, E.H. (1881). 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. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.

External links

• Survey of Western Palestine, Map 4: IAA, Wikimedia commons