Beit Dajan | |
|---|---|
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | بيت دجن |
| • Latin | Bayt Dajan (unofficial) |
 Beit Dajan, fromBeit Furik | |
| Coordinates:32°11′32″N35°22′16″E / 32.19222°N 35.37111°E /32.19222; 35.37111 | |
| Palestine grid | 185/177 |
| State |  Palestine |
| Governorate | Nablus |
| Government | |
| • Type | Village council |
| • Head of Municipality | Nasr Khalil Abu Jeish |
| Population (2017)[1] | |
• Total | 4,460 |
| Name meaning | The house of Dagon[2] |
| Website | www.beitdajan.org.ps |
Beit Dajan (Arabic:بيت دجن) is aPalestinian village in theNablus Governorate in the north centralWest Bank, located 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) east ofNablus. According to thePalestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it had a population of approximately 4,460 in 2017.[1]
Beit Dajan is located east ofNablus. It is bordered byFurush Beit Dajan to the east,Al Aqrabaniya to the north,Deir al Hatab andSalim to the west, andBeit Furik to the south.[3]
Potterysherds fromIron Age I (12-11th centuries BCE),Iron Age II,Hellenistic,Roman,Byzantine eras have been found here.[4]
It has been suggested that this was the place namedDagon, inhabited bySamaritans in the 7th century CE.[5]
According toTsvi Misinai,male circumcision is performed on the seventh day of birth, following the Jewish and Samaritan traditions, rather than the Muslim custom.[6]
Sherds from theCrusader/Ayyubid periods have also been found here.[4]
In 1517, Beit Dajan was incorporated into theOttoman Empire with the rest ofPalestine. In 1596, it appeared in Ottomantax registers as being in theNahiya of Jabal Qubal, part of theSanjak of Nablus. It had a population of 53 households, allMuslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 33,3 % on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, olives, and goats or beehives, and for a press for olives or grapes; a total of 10,292akçe. All of the revenue went to awaqf.[7] Pottery sherds from the early Ottoman era have also been found here.[4]
In 1838,Beit Dejan was noted in theEl-Beitawy district, east of Nablus.[8][9]
In 1850-51 it was called a "considerable" village,[10] while in 1870,Victor Guérin found it to have 400 inhabitants. Guérin also noted a small and ancientmosque, and a number ofcisterns hollowed out of rock, which still served the needs of the villagers.[11]
In 1882, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine described Beit Dajan as: "A small village, evidently an ancient site, with rock-cut tombs andwells to the east. It stands at the eastern end of the plain which runs belowSalim. This place, likeAzmut, is surrounded with olive-trees."[12] They further noted: "The ruin on the east is a watch-tower, apparently ancient; near the village arecisterns and heaps of stones, and rock-cut tombs."[13]
In the1922 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities,Bait Dajan had a population of 487; all Muslims,[14] increasing slightly in the1931 census to 548 Muslims, in a total of 118 houses.[15]
In the1945 statistics, the population (includingBeit Dajan Jiflik andKhirbat Furush) was 750, all Muslims,[16] with a total of 44,076dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[17] Of this, 6 dunams were for citrus and bananas, 2,789 for plantations or irrigated land, 17,625 for cereals,[18] while 48 dunams were built-up land.[19]
In the wake of the1948 Arab–Israeli War Beit Dajan came underJordanian rule.
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 926 inhabitants in Beit Dajan.[20]
Since theSix-Day War in 1967, Beit Dajan came underIsraeli occupation.
After the1995 accords, 38% of the village land is defined as being inArea B, while the remaining 62% isArea C.[21]
Israel has confiscated 199 dunams of village land for twoIsraeli settlements;Hamra andMekhora.[21]
In March, 2021, a localimam, Atef Hanaisheh, was shot in the head and killed by theIsraeli military. The killing occurred during a protest in the village against a nearby Israeli unauthorized settler outpost.[22]
Local accounts suggest that the majority of the population originated fromJurish, with others hailing fromHauran andTransjordan. The village was already established prior to their arrival. They used to be nomadic shepherds who roamed the fringes of the desert.[23]
