Editing Kawkaba (section)

===Ottoman era===
Kawkaba was incorporated into the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1517 with the rest of [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], and by 1596 [[Defter|tax record]] it was known as ''Kawkab'', with a population of 16 [[Muslim]] households; an estimated 88 persons. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33.3% on a number of crops, including wheat, barley, sesame, fruit trees and vineyards; a total of 2,640 [[akçe]]. 6/24 of the revenue went to a [[waqf]].<ref>Hütteroth and  Abdulfattah, 1977,  p. 145. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 122</ref>

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the area of Kawkaba experienced a significant process of settlement decline due to [[nomad]]ic pressures on local communities. The residents of abandoned villages moved to surviving settlements, but the land continued to be cultivated by neighboring villages.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Marom |first1=Roy |last2=Taxel |first2=Itamar |date=2023-01-01 |title=Ḥamāma: The historical geography of settlement continuity and change in Majdal 'Asqalān's hinterland, 1270 – 1750 CE |url=https://www.academia.edu/106637796 |journal=Journal of Historical Geography |volume=82 |pages=49–65 |doi=10.1016/j.jhg.2023.08.003|doi-access=free }}</ref>

In 1838, [[Edward Robinson (scholar)|Edward Robinson]] noted ''Kaukaba'' as a Muslim village, located in the Gaza district.<ref name="Robinsonp119">Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p.  [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/119/mode/1up 119]</ref>

In 1863 [[Victor Guérin]] found that the village has a population of five hundred inhabitants. In the interior of a [[Maqam (shrine)|oualy]] dedicated to ''Sheikh Mohammed'' he observed  mutilated fluted white marble column,  next to a [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] [[Capital (architecture)|capital]]. At the [[water well|well]], he noted two barrels, also ancient columns, one with white marble, the second gray granite, which were, he thought, exhumed in that area and did not come from elsewhere.<ref>Guérin, 1869, p. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongog02gu#page/127/mode/1up 127]</ref>

An Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed ''Kokabe'' with a population of 72, in 20 houses,  though the population count included men, only.<ref>Socin, 1879, p. [https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde01deut#page/156/mode/1up 156]</ref><ref>Hartmann, 1883, p. [https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ#page/n941/mode/1up  133],  also noted 20 houses</ref> 

In 1882, the [[Palestine Exploration Fund|PEF]]'s ''[[PEF Survey of Palestine|Survey of Western Palestine]]'' described it as a small [[adobe]] village, with a well to the west and a pool to the north.<ref>Conder and Kitchener, 1883,  SWP III, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp03conduoft#page/260/mode/1up 260]</ref> The village had a rectangular layout along the above-mentioned road, and expanded north–south alongside it.<ref name=Khalidi122/>