Bu'eine Nujeidat (; ) is an

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

local council in the Northern District of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Made up of two villages, Bu'eine and Nujeidat, they merged in 1987 and were recognized as one local council in 1996. In its population was , the majority of which is

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

History

Bu'eine is a village located on an ancient site. A small jug from the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, and

potsherds This page is a glossary of archaeology, the study of the human past from material remains. A B C D E F ...

from the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

periods have been found here. A possible Roman or Byzantine grave is also located here. Potsherds from the early Islamic and

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

period have also been found.

Ottoman Empire

In 1517, the village was included in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

with the rest of

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, and in the 1596 tax-records it appeared as ''al-Bu'ayna'', located in the ''

Nahiya A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, 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 divisi ...

'' of Tabariyya, part of

Safad Sanjak Safed Sanjak (; ) was a '' sanjak'' (district) of Damascus Eyalet ( Ottoman province of Damascus) in 1517–1660, after which it became part of the Sidon Eyalet (Ottoman province of Sidon). The sanjak was centered in Safed and spanned the Galil ...

. The population was 38 households and 6 bachelors, all

. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, fruit trees and cotton, in addition to occasional revenues, and goats and beehives; a total of 2420

akçe The ''akçe'' or ''akça'' (anglicized as ''akche'', ''akcheh'' or ''aqcha''; ; , , in Europe known as '' asper'') was a silver coin mainly known for being the chief monetary unit of the Ottoman Empire. It was also used in other states includi ...

. A map from Napoleon's invasion of 1799 by

Pierre Jacotin Pierre Jacotin (1765–1827) was the director of the Surveying, survey for the ''Carte de l'Égypte (Description de l'Égypte)'', the first triangulation-based map of Egypt, Syria and Palestine. The maps were drafted in 1799–1800 during Napole ...

showed Bu'eine, named as ''Beni''. In 1875, when

Victor Guérin Victor Guérin (; 15 September 1821 – 21 September 1890) was a French people, French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included ...

visited, the village had at most 150 inhabitants. Guérin further noted that "below the village, on the north-east side, a curious reservoir cut in the rock, with three troughs. Steps lead down into it. Within it is covered with a thick cement, and vaulted over with cut stones. The water formerly flowed into it through a conduit now choked. The

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

of the village is an ancient church, a new door having been made in the north side. The slopes of the hill were formerly covered with houses, built in terraces. Rude characters were found traced on the rocks about 600 paces to the east of the village." In 1881 the PEF's ''Survey of Western Palestine'' (SWP) described El Baineh as, "a village built on the hillside, containing 200 Moslem inhabitants. It possesses a spring, and there are olive-groves in the plain to the north."

British Mandate

In the

1922 census of Palestine The 1922 census of Palestine was the first census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine, on 23 October 1922. The reported population was 757,182, including the military and persons of foreign nationality. The divis ...

conducted by the British Mandate authorities, ''Bu’aniyeh'' had a population of 212, all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Nazareth, p
38
/ref> increasing in the 1931 census to 349, of whom 2 were

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and the rest

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, in a total of 67 occupied houses. In the 1945 statistics the population of ''Bu'eina'' was 540, all Muslims, while the total land area was 9,214

dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...

s, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 782 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 13,223 for cereals, while 30 dunams were classified as built-up areas. All the inhabitants were Muslim.''Village Statistics April 1945,'' The Palestine Government, p
8

Israel

Bu'eine was captured by the Israeli army during the second part of Operation Dekel, 15–18 July 1948. Morris, 1987, p. 200 It remained under

Martial Law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

until 1966.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * (p. 80)

External links

Welcome To Bu'eina
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 6
IAAWikimedia commons
{{Authority control Arab localities in Israel 1987 establishments in Israel Local councils in Northern District (Israel)