Local residents believe that their ancestors arrived in the early 14th century in Beit Duqqu from the village ofUmm Walad, in the south of Syria. Villagers belong to the families of Badr, Ali Hussein, Rayyan, Morrar, Dawood and Muslih.[4]
Ottoman era
In 1517, the village was included in theOttoman empire with the rest ofPalestine and in the 1596tax-records it appeared asBayt Duqqu, located in theNahiya of Jabal Quds of theLiwa ofAl-Quds. The population was 3 households, allMuslim. They paid a tax rate of 33.3% on agricultural products, which included wheat, barley, olive and fruit trees, goats and beehives in addition to "occasional revenues"; a total of 2,730Akçe.[5]
In 1838, it was noted as a Muslim village, located in theBeni Malik district, west of Jerusalem.[6][7]
In 1870,Guérin described it as a "small village, situated on the top of a high hill."[8]Socin found from an official Ottoman village list from about the same year (1870) that Beit Duqqu had a population of 125, with a total of 36 houses, though the population count only included men.[9][10]
In 1883, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as "A village of moderate size, standing high on a ridge, with a spring to the north-west and olives to the north. This was also afief like [Beit 'Anan]."[11]
In 1896, the population ofBet dukku was estimated to be about 114 persons.[12]
In the1945 statistics Beit Duqqu had a population of 420 Muslims,[15] with 5,393dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[16] Of this, 1,610 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 1,767 used for cereals,[17] while 27 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[18]
In 1961, the population of Beit Duqqu was 537.[19]
Post-1967
The barrier in northern Jerusalem, with the "Biddu enclave" to the left
Since theSix-Day War in 1967, Beit Duqqu has been underIsraeli occupation. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 438, of whom 16 were refugees.[20]
Beit Duqqu along with 9 other Palestinian villages,Biddu,Beit 'Anan,Beit Surik,Qatanna,al-Qubeiba,Beit Ijza,Kharayib Umm al Lahimand andat Tira form the "Biddu enclave" which, according toTanya Reinhart, are "imprisoned" behind a wall, cut off from their orchards and farmlands that are being seized in order to form the real estate reserves of theJerusalem Corridor and to create a territorial continuity withGiv'at Ze'ev.[23] The enclave will be linked to Ramallah by underpasses and a road that is fenced on both sides. From the "Biddu enclave" Palestinians will travel along a fenced road that passes under a bypass road toBir Nabala enclave, then on a second underpass underBypass 443 toRamallah.[24]
The main source of living is agriculture, mainly of apricots, olives and grapes.[25]
