Khirbet Ghuwein al-Fauqa (Arabic: îñèé úÃÂÃÂÃÂàçÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂç, "Upper Ghuwein") is a Palestinian hamlet in the South Hebron Hills, within the Hebron Governorate of the southern West Bank. It lies south of Dura and northwest of as-Samu, and administratively belongs to the as-Samuÿ municipality.
Khirbet Ghuwein al-Fauqa lies in the southern Hebron hills, within the municipal jurisdiction of as-Samu. The surrounding landscape is semi-arid, characterized by dry-farming plots, cisterns, and traditional cave dwellings. Its economy is based primarily on subsistence agriculture and livestock herding.
The site has been identified with Upper Horvat Anim, the Christian counterpart to the Jewish settlement at Lower Horvat Anim (Khirbet Ghuwein al-Tahta). Classical sources, including Eusebiusâ Onomasticon, describe Anim (Greek: á¼Âýñùì) as two villages south of Hebron, one Jewish and the other Christian. Archaeological evidence suggests that a Byzantine church was constructed east of the village, connected by a pathway, reflecting the Christianisation of the rural landscape in Late Antiquity.
The village preserves the remains of earlier settlement phases, with caves, cisterns, and ruins documented by 19th-century explorers. In 1838, Edward Robinson and noted al-Ghuwein as a ruin located southwest of el-Khulil.
In 1863, Victor Guérin described Khirbet Ghuwein as a ruin with traces of ancient walls, caves, and water installations, noting that it had once been a village. In the 1870s, the Survey of Western Palestine described Khurbet el Ghuwein el Fôka as having âÂÂtraces of ruins, with caves and cisterns.âÂÂ
During the British Mandate for Palestine, Khirbet Ghuwein was classified as a hamlet within the DuraâÂÂas-Samu area. After the 1948 ArabâÂÂIsraeli War and the 1949 Armistice Agreements, it came under Jordanian administration. Since the Six-Day War in 1967, it has been under Israeli occupation.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Khirbet Ghuwein al-Fauqa is counted within the SikkaâÂÂTawas cluster, which together had a population of 204 in the 2017 census.
Khirbet Ghuwein al-Fauqa has been subjected to demolition and land confiscation measures. In September 2023, Israeli forces demolished an agricultural facility in the hamlet, including a water well and irrigation network used by local farmers.
Later that year, international media reported that residents of Khirbet Ghuwein and neighboring villages were subjected to settler attacks and military operations during the escalation of violence in the West Bank following October 2023 events. According to Palestinian news reports, homes and agricultural structures in the hamlet have been repeatedly threatened with demolition orders, leaving residents in a state of uncertainty.
In recent years, Khirbet Ghuwein al-Fauqa has faced increasing pressure from Israeli authorities, including over thirty demolition or "stop work" orders against community structures, creating a coercive environment that has driven some families to leave. The village lacks electricity and relies on an irregular water supply, conditions that also affect education. Its primary school (grades 1âÂÂ6) has been under demolition threat since October 2016, while secondary students must travel about six kilometres to as-Samuÿ, a journey that is unreliable due to the Israeli hafrada system and extensive road closures. Local residents report that children sometimes drop out of school because of the dangers and costs of travel, and that many parents prefer to have all grades taught within the community. These difficulties, combined with infrastructure deficiencies, have severely hampered children's access to education in the hamlet.