Beitin

Coordinates: 31°55′42″N 35°14′18″E / 31.92833°N 35.23833°E / 31.92833; 35.23833
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For Bavarian Poker, see Bieten. For Beiting, see Ralph W. Beiting and Beiting Protectorate.
Beitin
Village council (from 1996)
 • Head of MunicipalityDIAB YASIN
Area
 • Total4,764 dunams (4.8 km2 or 1.9 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)[1]
 • Total2,242
 • Density470/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
 5k
house of faithcorruption of the Hebrew "Bethel",[2] house ("beth" or "beit") of God ("el")[3]

Beitin (

Ramallah-Nablus road. The Palestinian village of Dura al-Qar' and Ein Yabrud lie to the north, Rammun to the east, Deir Dibwan to the southeast and al-Bireh to the southwest. The Israeli settlement of Beit El
is northwest of Beitin.

Geography

There are several springs around Beitin, which is known for its olive,

fig and plum groves.[4]

History

Periods of settlement

Beitin is identified with the ancient village of Bethel, and preserves its ancient name. Bethel was mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, 1 Maccabees, Josephus' writings, and in several patristic texts.[5]

The site was first settled during the

Mamluk period were discovered.[8]

The village was abandoned after the 1187 defeat of the Crusaders at the hands of Saladin and the ensuing destruction of Christian sites. The village was only reestablished in the 19th century[citation needed] under Ottoman rule.

Chalcolithic period

Human settlement at the site of Beitin dates back to the Chalcolithic period. Archaeological excavations in 1950 uncovered flint tools, pottery and animal bones from that time.

Bronze Age

In the

Early Bronze Age (around 3200 BCE) normally nomadic populations settled in the area. Canaanite tombs, houses and olive presses were discovered to the north and southeast of the village. The remains of a Canaanite temple were also excavated by archaeologists.[9]

In the

Middle Bronze Age (around 1750 BCE) its status was elevated from a village to a fortified Canaanite town which is believed to be biblical Luz.[4][10] Two city gates dating to this period have been excavated, one in the northeast and the other northwest of the wall.[9] A second temple was built in Luz during this period, but was destroyed as a result of an earthquake.[9]

Iron Age

Biblical reference

Beitin has been identified as the biblical Bethel,[11] the site where Jacob slept and dreamt of the angels coming up and down a ladder (Genesis 28:19).[12] Some scholars believe that Bethel was located on the site of the ruins surrounding Beitin.[13] According to Genesis, Jacob encountered God near Luz and renamed the place Bethel or "House of God." However, based on the biblical Book of Joshua (Joshua 16:2), which says mibBeit-el Luzah ("from Bethel to Luz"), Luz and Bethel may have been two different places.[10]

Roman and Byzantine periods

Bethel was garrisoned by

Eastern Orthodox Christian and monks from the Sinai Peninsula, particularly Zosimas of Palestine, were known to have visited the town.[10] A church dating from the fifth century CE was found at the site.[5]

Early Muslim period

The church fell into ruin after the Islamic Rashidun army conquered the area.[10]

Crusader & Ayyubid periods

The church was rebuilt by the

Ayyubid forces of Saladin in 1187, the church was destroyed and the village was abandoned.[10]

Ottoman period

The ruins of Bethel in the mid-19th century

The region had been part of the Ottoman Empire since 1517 and after Beitin was reestablished, the village came under the administration of the Mutasarrif ("Governorate") of Jerusalem.[15] In the early 19th century, people from Transjordan and other places migrated to Beitin[10][16] and built a mosque near the site of the old church.[17]

In 1838 Edward Robinson noted Beitin as a place "in ruins or deserted," located immediately north of Jerusalem.[11][18]

In 1863 Victor Guérin found the village to have 400 inhabitants,[19] while an Ottoman village list from around 1870 showed that Beitin had an adult male population of 140, in a total of 55 houses (thus excluding women and children).[20][21]

In 1882 the

St. Joseph. The population is stated at 400. The place is supplied from a fine spring on the south, which wells up in a circular basin. The spring is double, and was surrounded with a large reservoir, 314 feet long north-west and south-east, by 217 feet; of massive stones. The eastern and southern walls are standing about 10 feet high. The spring is perennial..."[22]

In 1896 the population of Betin was estimated to be about 360 persons.[23]

In 1907, small gardens and a few old tombs were found in the vicinity, and the Muslim population was known for its strength and fearlessness.[24]

British Mandate period

Young people in Beitin, ca 1925-30, postcard by Karimeh Abbud

In the

Muslims,[25] increasing at the time of the 1931 census to 566, still all Muslim, in 135 houses.[26]

In the 1945 statistics the population was 690 Muslims,[27] while the total land area was 4,764 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[28] Of this, 1,348 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 1,853 for cereals,[29] while 38 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[30]

Jordanian period

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Beitin came under Jordanian rule.

In 1961, a Jordanian census found the population to be 1,017.[31]

Post-1967

After the Six-Day War in 1967, Beitin has, with the rest of the West Bank, been held under Israeli occupation. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 958, of whom 134 originated from the Israeli territory.[32]

After the

Givat Asaf.[33][34]

On 19 December 2011,

IDF military base in the West Bank, injuring a top Israeli commander.[36] According to witnesses of the second incident, the Israeli army dispersed the settlers without arresting any of them,[35] presumably also those who attacked the Israeli commander, although four days earlier the incident had prompted Israeli Prime-Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to say: "We won't let them attack our soldiers. We won't let them ignite a religious war with our neighbors. We won't let them desecrate mosques. We won't let them harm Jews or Arabs."[36]

Landmarks

Church ruins

The ruins of the Byzantine church are known in Arabic as "al-Muqater" or "Khirbet al-Kenise" ("Ruins of the Church").

Holy Sepulcher.[10][38] The ruins of the church were drawn in the 1880s.[39][40]

Tower ruins ("al-Burj")

Ruins of al-Burj, 1935

Another ruin, called "al-Burj Beitin" ("the Tower of Beitin") or simply al-Burj is located in the western part of the village.

Byzantine monastery.[42] Some have believed that it was constructed on the site where Abraham built an altar.[17][43] According to biblical scholar Edward Robinson who visited Palestine in the 19th century, al-Burj Beitin consisted of dilapidated stones that used to form part of a fortress and a Greek church.[11] Al-Burj was used as a watch tower by the Crusaders.[10]

Demographics

Roadside view of Beitin, 2011

In 1997,

Palestinian refugees accounted for exactly 30% of the population, which was 1,510 at the time.[44]

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Beitin had a population of over 3,050 inhabitants in 2006.[45] In 2007, a PCBS census recorded a population of 2,143 (1,128 men and 1,015 women). There were 717 homes in the village and the average household size consisted of 4.9 family members.[46]

References

  1. ^ "Main Indicators by Type of Locality - Population, Housing and Establishments Census 2017" (PDF). Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  2. ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 226
  3. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, pp. 128 -129
  4. ^ a b "Palestinian Cultural Sites: Beitin-Ramallah". Jerusalem Media and Communications Center (JMCC). Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
  5. ^
    ISSN 0333-5844
    .
  6. ^ a b c Finkelstein and Lederman, 1997, p. 518
  7. ^ Dauphin, 1998, p. 835
  8. ^ Keio University, Archaeological Excavations and Development of Resources for Tourism at Beitin (Bethel), website of the Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage Independent Administrative Instituti. Accessed 15 April 2019.
  9. ^ a b c "Site of the Week: Beitin". This Week in Palestine. 2007-07-09. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Luza, also Bethel - (Beitin) Archived 2013-10-03 at the Wayback Machine Studium Biblicum Franciscanum - Jerusalem. 2000-12-19.
  11. ^ a b c Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol. 2, pp. 125-130.
  12. ^ Easton, 1893, p. 94
  13. ^ Trisdam, 1865, pp. 164-166
  14. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 11
  15. ^ "Palestinian Places: Beitin". Jerusalem Media and Communications Center (JMCC). Retrieved 2011-12-19.
  16. ^ Lutfiyya, 1966, p. 36
  17. ^ a b Visit Palestine: Bittin Visit Palestine.
  18. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 122
  19. ^ Guérin, 1869, pp. 14-26
  20. ^ Socin, 1879, p. 148. It was noted in the Bire District
  21. ^ Hartmann, 1883, p. 127 also noted 55 houses
  22. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, pp. 295-296
  23. ^ Schick, 1896, p. 121
  24. ^ Grant, 1907, p. 218
  25. ^ Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramallah, p. 16
  26. ^ Mills, 1932, p. 47
  27. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 26
  28. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 64
  29. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 111
  30. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 161
  31. ^ Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 24 It was further noted (note 2) that it was governed by a mukhtar.
  32. ^ Perlmann, Joel (November 2011 – February 2012). "The 1967 Census of the West Bank and Gaza Strip: A Digitized Version" (PDF). Levy Economics Institute. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  33. ^ Beitin (village profile), ARIJ, pp. 17-19
  34. ^ Nahum Barnea, 'Beitunian nights: The IDF in the West Bank', Ynet 18 March 2016.
  35. ^ a b "Settlers burn 5 cars in Ramallah village". Ma'an News Agency. 2011-12-19. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
  36. ^ a b Teibel, Amy (15 December 2011). "Jewish radicals get off hook in Israel". NewsOK.com. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  37. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 305
  38. ^ Röhricht, 1887, ZDPV 10, pp. 207, 292
  39. ^ Wilson, c1881, vol 1, pp. 219 (ill.), 221
  40. ^ Pringle, 1993, pp. 104 -105
  41. ^ Wilson, c1881, vol 1, p. 217 (ill.)
  42. ^ Finkelstein and Lederman, 1997, p. 522
  43. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 307
  44. ^ Palestinian Population by Locality and Refugee Status Archived 2008-11-19 at the Wayback Machine Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
  45. ^ Projected Mid -Year Population for Ramallah & Al Bireh Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)
  46. ^ 2007 PCBS Census. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. p.114.

Bibliography

External links

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