Bayt Nabala بيت نبالا Bayt Nabala, Beit-Nabbala | |
|---|---|
 Former schoolhouse of Bayt Nabala, presently used by theJewish National Fund inBeit Nehemia | |
| Etymology: "The house of archery"[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Bayt Nabala (click the buttons) | |
  Bayt Nabala Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:31°59′8″N34°57′24″E / 31.98556°N 34.95667°E /31.98556; 34.95667 | |
| Palestine grid | 146/154 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Ramle |
| Date of depopulation | 13 May 1948[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 15,051dunams (15.051 km2; 5.811 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 2,310[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Abandonment on Arab orders |
| Current Localities | Kfar Truman,[5] andBeit Nehemia[5] |
Bayt Nabala orBeit Nabala was aPalestinian Arab village in theRamle Subdistrict inPalestine that was destroyed during the1948 Arab–Israeli War. The village was in the territory allotted to the Arab state under the 1947UN Partition Plan, which was rejected by Arab leaders and never implemented.[6][7][8] Its population in 1945, before the war, was 2,310.
It was occupied by Israeli forces on 13 May 1948[4] and was completely destroyed by them on 13 September 1948.[9] Village refugees were scattered aroundDeir 'Ammar,Ramallah city, Bayt Tillow,Rantis, andJalazone refugee camps north of Ramallah. Some of the clans that lived in Bayt Nabala include the AlHeet, Nakhleh, Safi, AL-Sharaqa, al-Khateeb, Saleh and Zaid families. Today the area is part of the Israeli town ofBeit Nehemia.
Bayt Nabala is identical with the ancientBeth Nabala/Beth Nablata.[10]
In 1526 Bayt Nabala was part of theOttoman Empire,nahiya (subdistrict) ofRamla under the Liwa of al-Quds. According to Ottoman tax records, the village paid 500akçe annually.[11] In the 1596tax record, Bayt Nabala was categorized under theLiwa of Gaza, with a population of 54Muslim households, an estimated 297 people. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 33,3 % on a number ofcrops, includingwheat,barley,olives, fruit, as well as on goats, beehives and a press that was used for processing either olives or grapes, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 8,688akçe.[12]
In the17th century, the village received an influx of refugees from neighboringBeit Qufa, who had to abandon their home due to unsettled conditions.[13]
During the 18th and 19th centuries, Beit Nabala belonged to the Nahiyeh (sub-district) ofLod that encompassed the area of the present-day city ofModi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut in the south to the present-day city ofEl'ad in the north, and from the foothills in the east, through the Lod Valley to the outskirts ofJaffa in the west. This area was home to thousands of inhabitants in about 20 villages, who had at their disposal tens of thousands of hectares of prime agricultural land.[14] According to historianRoy Marom "Bayt Nabālā was a major hub for theQays and Yaman conflicts in the area." Bayt Nabala's first residents were the Qaysi "al-Sharāqa" clan. Local tradition holds that a Yamani immigrant called Salām came and camped in the caves near Bayt Nabālā.
When a conflict broke out between Bayt Nabālā andal-Ḥadītha, Salām took advantage of the plight of the residents of Bayt Nabālā to gain control over them, and his three “sons” – Zayd, Nakhla and Ṣāfī – settled in the village. Relations between the clans were strained, and riots broke out between them. A Qaysī leader, named ‘Ābid, from the old al-Sharāqa clan, led his forces and allies, fromJayyūs andDayr Abū Mash‘al, against the supporters of the Yaman inQibyā andDayr Ṭarīf. With the support of the powerful and influential Yamanī families – al-Khawāja fromNi‘līn and theAbu Ghosh family – Ṣāfī succeeded in persuading the authorities to arrest ‘Ābid and eliminate him. Ṣāfī then extended his control over Dayr Ṭarīf,al-Ṭīra,Qūla,Fajja andMulabbis.[15]
In 1838Edward Robinson noted Bayt Nabala from thetower inRamle.[16]
In 1870Victor Guérin visited and found the village to have about 900 inhabitants.[17]Socin found from an official Ottoman village list from about the same year that Bayt Nabala had 108 houses and a population of 427, though the population count included men, only.[18]Hartmann found thatBet Nebala had 118 houses.[19]
In 1882, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine described Bayt Nabala as being of moderate size, situated at the edge of a plain.[20]
Since the end of the 19th century, the inhabitants of Beit Nabala cultivated the lands of the deserted village ofJindas.[15]
The school was founded in 1921 and had about 230 students in 1946–47.[21]
In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, Bait Nabala had a population of 1,324 inhabitants; 1,321Muslims and 3 Christians,[22] increasing in the1931 census to 1758, all Muslims, in a total of 471 houses.[23]
In the1945 statistics, the village had a population of 2,310 Muslims,[2] while the total land area was 15,051dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[3] A total of 226dunums of village land was used forcitrus andbananas, 10,197 dunums were used for cereals, 1,733 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,[5][24] while 123 dunams were classified as built-up public areas.[25]
Benny Morris writes that the village residents abandoned it on Arab orders on 13 May 1948. However, according toWalid Khalidi, this cannot be confirmed.[5]
The Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi described the village site in 1992: "The site is overgrown with grass, thorny bushes, and cypress and fig trees. It lies on the east side of the settlement of Beyt Nechemya, due east of the road from the Lod (Lydda) airport. On its fringes are the remains of quarries and crumbled houses. Sections of walls from the houses still stand. The surrounding land is cultivated by the Israeli settlements."[5]
According to the Palestinian Heritage Foundation, Beit Nabala dresses (together with those of the village ofDayr Tarif), "were usually done on cotton, velvet or kermezot silk fabric. Taffeta inserts embroidered inBethlehem style couching-stitch in gold and silk cord were attached to the yoke, chest panel, sleeves and skirt. In the 1930s black velvet material became popular, and dresses were embroidered in couching straight on the fabric with brown or orange couching embroidery which later became famous for this area."[26]
