The village is one of the towns in the Ramallah and Al-Bireh area, located 13 kilometers (8.1 mi) to the northeast ofRamallah. It sits at about 937 meters above sea level. To the north isSinjil andTurmus Ayya, to the east isKhirbet Abu Falah andKafr Malik, to the south isDeir Jarir, to the south and west isSilwad, and to the west isJilijliya.[1]
In 1517, the village was included in theOttoman empire with the rest ofPalestine, and in the 1596tax-records it appeared asMazra'at Abu Tasa, located in theNahiya of Jabal Quds of theLiwa ofAl-Quds. The population was 29 households, allMuslim. They paid a fixed tax rate of 33.3% on agricultural products, which included wheat, barley, olive trees, vineyards and fruit trees, occasional revenues, goats and beehives; a total of 3,500akçe.[8][9]
In 1838el-Mezra'ah was noted as a Muslim village, part ofBeni Murrah district, located north of Jerusalem.[10]
An Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed that “el-Mezraa” had 177 houses and a population of 641, though the population count included men, only. It also noted that it is located south ofTurmus Ayya.[11][12]
In 1882, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine described Al-Mazra'a ash-Sharqiya as: "A large village on a hill-top, the hill-sides covered with vineyards; there are also olives and figs. The houses are of stone andadobe."[13]
In 1896 the population ofMezraa, located in theBeni Murra region, was estimated to be about 801 persons.[14]
In the1945 statistics the population was 1,400 Muslim,[17] while the total land area was 16,333dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[18] Of this, 7,082 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 3,831 for cereals,[19] while 91 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.[20]
After the1995 accords, 10.1% of village land was classified asArea A, 71% asArea B, the remaining 18.9% asArea C. The Israelis have confiscated village land for the construction of Israeli bypass roads, to various Israeli military bases.[22]
The town's many enormous and elaborate mansions have led it to be called the "Miami of the West Bank", according to theBBC. The wealth is not from local sources, but from the Palestinian diaspora.[23][24]
^Note that Toledano, 1984, p. 296, did not identify Mazra'at Abu Tasa with Al-Mazra'a ash-Sharqiya, but had it instead located at 35°08′35″E 31°57′15″N. He further noted that the place was not mentioned in the 1525-6 or 1538-1539 registers.
^Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p.125
^Socin, 1879, p.157 It was noted in theBeni Murrah district
