Beit Ur al-Tahta ( ar, بيت عور التحتى, lit. "Lower house of straw") is a
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
village located in the central
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS; ar, الجهاز المركزي للإحصاء الفلسطيني) is the official
statistical institution of the State of Palestine. Its main task is to provide credible statistical figures ...
, Beit Ur at-Tahta had a population of 4,372 inhabitants in mid-2007.
Deir Ibzi
Deir Ibzi ( ar, دير إبزيع) is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located west of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 2,069 inh ...
Beit Sira
Beit Sira ( ar, بيت سيرا) is a Palestinian people, Palestinian village in the central West Bank, located 22 kilometers west of Ramallah and is a part of the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate. The village is situated along the Green Line (Isr ...
to the west, and Kharbatha al Misbah to the south.
The old center of Beit Ur al-Tahta is located in the southern part of the village, while the northern part is marked by wide terraces and is the site of several of the village's archaeological pieces. The total area of the village is 5,653 dunams, of which 773 dunams were built-up areas.Beit ‘Ur at Tahta Village Profile /ref>
History
Ancient and classical periods
Beit Ur al-Tahta has been identified as the site of Lower
Bethoron
Bethoron ( he, בֵית־חוֹרֹ֔ן, lit=house of Horon; grc, Ὡρωνείν), also Beth-Horon, was the name of two adjacent ancient towns strategically located on the Gibeon-Aijalon road, guarding the "ascent of Beth-Horon". The towns are ...
. The modern Arabic name
preserves
Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread.
There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...
part of the biblical name for the village, believed to be the namesake of the
Canaanite deity
The Canaanite religion was the group of ancient Semitic religions practiced by the Canaanites living in the ancient Levant from at least the early Bronze Age through the first centuries AD. Canaanite religion was polytheistic and, in some cases ...
Horon.
Archaeological findings indicate that Lower Bethoron was established before Upper Bethoron ( Beit Ur al-Foqa);
potsherds
This page is a glossary of archaeology, the study of the human past from material remains.
A
B
C
D
E
F
...
found in Beit Ur al-Fauqa date from the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
onward, while potsherds from the lower town date from the
Late Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
.
In January 2001, a burial cave was discovered on the southern outskirts of the village. The cave consisted of two chambers and an arched doorway. Artifacts inside the cave included several pottery fragments, a cooking pot, a bowl and goblet dating to the 1st century BCE–1st century CE.
Byzantine period
To the west of the village is the ruins of a chapel, apparently from the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
period, and ceramics from the same period have also been found.
Crusader period
During the Crusader period, the place was mentioned in the 12th century as a
fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...
In 1596 the village appeared in Ottomantax registers under the name of ''Bayt 'Ur as-Sufla'' and was part of the ''
Nahiya
A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...
'' ("Subdistrict") of Quds of the '' Liwa'' ("District") of Quds. It had a population of 20 Muslim households who paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on various agricultural products, including wheat, barley, olives, goats and/or beehives; a total of 3,700 akçe.
In 1838 it was noted as a Muslim village, located in the ''Beni Malik'' area, west of Jerusalem.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p 124 /ref>
A 19th-century traveler visiting the town found the remains of ancient foundations, rock-cut cisterns and a tomb that was said to have contained treasures. Father P.M. Séjourné, revisiting the site, noticed the ruins of a large church: "The mosaic pavement of an important church located northeast of the village has disappeared, at least for the moment, under a watermelon field. The scattered spoils of the Christian building have enriched the neighbouring modern mosque and many hovels nearby. Fragments of a graceful frieze, capitals with
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to:
*Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible:
**First Epistle to the Corinthians
**Second Epistle to the Corinthians
**Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox)
*A demonym relating to ...
acanthus carved in white marble, columns and dressed stones lie unused along the roads." Another researcher,
Victor Guérin
Victor Guérin (15 September 1821 – 21 Septembe 1890) was a French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included Greece, Asia Min ...
, saw two columns from the church inside the local mosque. Based on these finds, it was concluded that the village was once Christian, and had a large three-
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
church.
An official Ottoman village list from about 1870 showed that ''Bet Ur et-Tatha'' had 35 houses and a population of 185, though it only counted the men.
In 1883, the PEF's ''
Survey of Western Palestine
The PEF Survey of Palestine was a series of surveys carried out by the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) between 1872 and 1877 for the Survey of Western Palestine and in 1880 for the Survey of Eastern Palestine. The survey was carried out after the ...
'' described Beit 'Ur et Tahta as "A village of moderate size on a low ridge with
wells
Wells most commonly refers to:
* Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England
* Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground
* Wells (name)
Wells may also refer to:
Places Canada
*Wells, British Columbia
England
* Wells ...
to the west. In the middle of the village is the sacred place of ''Neby 'Or'', with a palm tree in the courtyard: near it is a well in the street.Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p 17 /ref>
British Mandate period
In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Beit Ur al-Tahta had a population of 470, all Muslims, while at the 1931 census, Beit 'Ur al-Tahta had 117 occupied houses and a population of 611, still all Muslim.Mills, 1932, p 47
In the 1945 statistics the population was 710, all Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p 26 /ref> while the total land area was 4,619 dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 2,045 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 1,780 for cereals, while 41 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.
File:el Misbah 1944.jpg, Beit Ur al-Tahta 1944 1:20,000 from 1919 survey
File:Burj 1945.jpg, Beit Ur al-Tahta 1945 1:250,000 (bottom right quadrant)
1949 Armistice Agreements
The 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt,Jordanian rule.
In 1961, the population was 1,198 persons.
Post-1967
Since the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...
in 1967, Beit Ur al-Tahta has been under
Israeli occupation
Israeli-occupied territories are the lands that were captured and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. While the term is currently applied to the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights, it has also been used to refer to a ...
. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was of 920, of whom 60 originated from the Israeli territory.
In the 1980s and 1990s, lands belonging to Beit Ur al-Tahta were confiscated by the
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
Aharon Barak
Aharon Barak ( he, אהרן ברק; born Erik Brick, 16 September 1936) is an Israeli lawyer and jurist who served as President of the Supreme Court of Israel from 1995 to 2006. Prior to this, Barak served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Is ...
who ruled that under
international law
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
, a military government have the right to infringe private property if a number of conditions are fulfilled, stating that "The step is taken for the benefit of the local population". Highway 443 initially served as a main approach road linking the 25,000 inhabitants of six villages to each other's and to Ramallah. After the outbreak of the Second Intifada, the
Israeli military
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branc ...
prevented Palestinian use of the road and blocked some parts of it without a legal order, and the construction of the
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. It is a contentious element of the Israeli–Palestinian ...
closed off access to the old road, which lengthened the journey. In 2007, the
Israeli High Court of Justice
ar, المحكمة العليا
, image = Emblem of Israel dark blue full.svg
, imagesize = 100px
, caption = Emblem of Israel
, motto =
, established =
, location = Givat Ram, Jerusalem
, coordinat ...
ordered the state of Israel to explain why the road has been blocked for seven years without a legal order and why Palestinians are prevented from using it.
After the 1995 accords, 36.7% of village land was classified as
Area B
The Palestinian enclaves are areas in the West Bank designated for Palestinians under a variety of U.S. and Israeli-led proposals to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The enclaves are often compared to the nominally self-governing black ...
land, and the remaining 63.3% as Area C. Israel has confiscated land from the village in order to construct the Israeli settlement of Beit Horon.
In October 2009, infrastructure improvements were completed in Beit Ur al-Tahta that included improved roads and street lighting. The project was funded by American Charities for Palestine, the
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 b ...
In September 2021, a Palestinian gardener was shot dead near the village when he apparently lit up a cigarette near a group of
Kfir Brigade
The 900th "Kfir" Brigade ( he, חֲטִיבַת כְּפִיר, ''lit.'' "Lion Cub Brigade"), is the youngest and largest infantry brigade of the Israel Defense Forces. It is subordinate to the 340th "Idan" Armoured Division of Israel's Centra ...
soldiers sitting nearby in ambush for potential Molotov bomb throwers.
Gideon Levy
Gideon Levy ( he, גדעון לוי; born 2 June 1953) is an Israeli journalist and author. Levy writes opinion pieces and a weekly column for the newspaper '' Haaretz'' that often focus on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories ...
,
Alex Levac
Alex Levac (Hebrew: אלכס ליבק, born 1944, Tel Aviv) is an Israeli photojournalist and street photographer. He was awarded the Israel Prize for photography in 2005.Haaretz photographer Alex Levac wins Israel Prize
By Smadar Sheffi and ...
Farouk Shami
Farouk Shami is a Palestinian-American businessman and founder of the hair-care and spa products company, Farouk Systems located in Texas.
Wikimedia commons
Wikimedia Commons (or simply Commons) is a media repository of free-to-use images, sounds, videos and other media. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation.
Files from Wikimedia Commons can be used across all of the Wikimedia projects in ...
Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem
The Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ; ar, معهد الابحاث التطبيقية - القدس) is a Palestinian NGO founded in 1990 with its main office in Bethlehem in the West Bank. ARIJ is actively working on research proje ...
