Beit Iba

Beit Iba ( ar, بيت إيبا) is a Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in the North central West Bank, located 7 kilometers northwest of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the village had a population of 3,268 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.

Location

Beit Iba is located west of Nablus. It is bordered by Nablus and Beit Wazan to the east, An-Naqura and Zawata to the north, Deir Sharaf and Qusin to the west, and Sarra and Beit Wazan to the south.

History

Ceramics from the Byzantine era have been found here.

Ottoman era

In 1517, the village was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire with the rest of Palestine, and in 1596, Beit Iba appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in ''nahiya'' (subdistrict) of Jabal Qubal under the ''liwa''' (district) of Nablus. It had a population of 20 households, all Muslims. They paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and/or beehives, in addition to occasional revenues and a tax on people in the Nablus district; a total of 9,000 akçe. Half to the revenue went to a Waqf.

In 1838, in the Biblical Researches in Palestine, ''Beit Iba'' was located in the District of ''Jurat 'Amra'', south of Nablus.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p.
127
/ref>

In 1882, the PEF's ''Survey of Western Palestine'' described Beit Iba as: "A village of moderate size in low ground, with olives; it is of mud and stone, with a good spring ('Aines Subian); to the north. The olive groves in the valley are very fine and ancient; here and there is a small mill, and in spring a stream of water.

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Beit Iba had a population of 456; all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Nablus, p
24
/ref> increasing slightly in the 1931 census to 470 Muslims, in a total of 121 houses.

In the 1945 statistics, the population was 630, all Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p
18
with 5,063 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 762 dunams were for plantations or irrigated land, 3,368 for cereals, while 41 dunams were built-up land.

Jordanian era

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Beit Iba came under Jordanian rule.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 1,069 inhabitants in Beit Iba.

1967 and aftermath

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Beit Iba has been under Israeli occupation.

After the 1995 accords, 45% of the village land is defined as being in Area A, 34% is Area B, while the remaining 21% Area C.Beit Iba Village Profile
ARIJ, p. 15

References

Bibliography

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External links

*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 11:
IAAWikimedia commonsBeit Iba Village profile
Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem, ARIJ
Beit Iba, aerial photo
ARIJ
Development Priorities and Needs in Beit Iba
ARIJ
{{Nablus Governorate

Nablus Governorate
Villages in the West Bank
Municipalities of the State of Palestine