built by Saladin in 1187 to commemorate his victory over the Crusaders. In 2007, an Israeli-Palestinian advocacy organization, Zochrot, protested development plans that encroach on the site and threaten to "swallow up the abandoned remains of the Hittin village." Nabi Shu'ayb shrine, the tomb of Jethro Ali of Herat wrote (c. 1173) that both Jethro and his wife were buried in Hittin. Yaqut al-Hamawi (1179–1229) wrote that another shrine near Arsuf that claimed to be the tomb of Shu'aib was misidentified. Sunni Muslims and Druze would make ziyarat pilgrimages to Hittin to the Tomb of Shu'ayb, and the Druze celebration at the site attracted members of their religion from other parts of the region of Syria. Demographics In 1596 Hittin had a population of 605. In the 1922 census of Palestine Hittin had a population of 889, which rose to 931 in the 1931 census. There were 190 houses that year. In 1945 the population was estimated at 1,190 Arabs. The village had a number of large and influential families; Houran(I), Rabah, 'Azzam, Chabaytah, Sa'adah, Sha'ban, and Dahabra. See also Depopulated Palestinian locations in Israel List of villages depopulated during the Arab–Israeli conflict Religious significance of the Syrian region References Bibliography (p.152 ) External links Welcome To Hittin Hittin, Zochrot Survey of Western Palestine, Map 6: IAA, Wikimedia commons Hittin, from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War District of Tiberias Ancient Jewish settlements of Galilee Late Neolithic