Bani Zeid
Encyclopedia
Bani Zeid is a Palestinian
town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate
, located 22 kilometres (13.7 mi) northwest of Ramallah
in the north-central West Bank
and about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south-west of Salfit
. A town of 5,515 inhabitants, Bani Zeid was created as a merger between the villages of Deir Ghassaneh and Beit Rima. The town owes its name to a Bedouin
tribe originally from the Hejaz
that were granted ownership of the area during the 13th-14th centuries for serving in the Ayyubid army during the Crusades
. During Ottoman rule, Bani Zeid became an administrative subdivision consisting of twenty villages with Deir Ghassaneh being its capital.
and has an average elevation of 510 metres (1,673.2 ft). It is located 22 kilometres (13.7 mi) northwest of Ramallah and al-Bireh
from its southern municipal border (Beit Rima) and 26 kilometres (16.2 mi) northwest from its northern municipal border (Deir Ghassaneh). Nearby localities include Beitillu
to the south, Kobar
to the southeast, 'Abud to the southwest, al-Lubban al-Gharbi
to the west, and Kafr ad-Dik
to the north.
Bani Zeid had a total land area of 22,249 dunam
s in 1945, of which 90 dunams were classified as built-up areas (Deir Ghassaneh was larger than Beit Rima) and 8,400 dunams were planted with olive
or fig
groves.
. According to some sources, it was settled by the Arab Christian Ghassanids after it was abandoned by the Israelite
s, however this has been dismissed by a number of researchers since the Ghassanids did not have a history of settlement in Samaria
. Israeli archaeologist Moshe Sharon suggests that the name of the village is related to the Arabic
word ghassaneh which means "very handsome" or suggests "youth and beauty."
There is no mention of Deir Ghassaneh or Beit Rima in early Arabic sources, although it is known that former village was inhabited during the Mamluk
period due to the many houses there that have preserved elements of Mamluk architecture. Specific examples include the use of the ablaq technique of alternating stones of different colors, particularly red and white, that decorate the facades and gates of some houses.
of Bani Zeid, who settled in the two towns during the period of Ayyubid rule in Palestine
in the 12th century. They formed a part of the Bedouin
forces from the Hejaz
that formed the nucleus of Saladin
's army. After the Siege of Jerusalem
in 1187, Saladin's forces captured the city and the Ayyubid army was garrisoned there. The Bani Zeid temporarily resided in Jerusalem and a street was named after them, but has since been renamed.
In order for Saladin to persuade the Hejazi Arab tribes that joined his army to remain in Palestine, he offered each tribe a cluster of villages captured from the Crusader
s to settle in and govern. The Bani Zeid were granted the villages of Deir Ghassaneh and Beit Rima, as well as, the nearby towns of Kafr Ein
and Qarawat Bani Zeid
. However, it was not until 1293, after the Mamluk
s under Baibars
conquered Palestine and expelled the last of the Crusaders, that the Bani Zeid tribe settled in their villages.
In 1480, Bedouins from the Bani Zeid tribe based in Deir Ghassaneh attacked Jerusalem as retaliation for the governor's execution of some of its members accused of revolting against Mamluk authorities. In 1492, The Arab
geographer, Muhammad al-Idrisi
passed through the area and wrote, "we traveled from Dar Ghasana to Beit Reema and the generous people invited us to stay".
era of rule in Palestine, Bani Zeid was a nahiya ("subdistrict") of the sanjak
("district") of Jerusalem and had control over 20 towns and villages as well as partial control of Salfit
. While these villages were registered and organized like other villages in the Sanjak of Jerusalem, they were also treated as a group. Each village was led by a ra'is ("local chief") and the entire Bani Zeid district was headed by a sheikh
. In 1556, it was led by Sheikh Abu Rayyan bin Sheikh Manna and was succeeded by Sheikh Muhammad Abu Rabban in 1560. The sheikh was responsible for paying sums to the Ottoman authorities. Olive oil
was the primary commodity that Bani Zeid produced which was 361 kintars. It was sold to local Ottoman officials and soap factories in Nablus
. The Ottomans imposed taxes on olive oil, wheat and barley. In addition, Bani Zeid was required to pay a waqf
to the al-Aqsa Mosque
in Jerusalem and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron
.
In the early 18th and 19th centuries, Bani Zeid was apparently reduced to 15 villages, and was a center for the Qais
tribal-political faction. The Survey of Western Palestine in the 19th century stated Deir Ghassaneh was "a village on a ridge, with springs in the valley below. It is of moderate size, built of stone and has olives beneath it." In the second half of the 19th century, it was ruled by Sheikh Saleh al-Barghouti who belonged to a wealthy noble family, the Barghouti
s—a sub-clan of the Bani Zeid. Sheikh Saleh enjoyed a high political and social status by being the tax collector (multazim) of the Bani Zeid Sheikdom, on behalf of the central Ottoman
authorities. Deir Ghassaneh played the role of "capital" of the sheikhdom and the sheikh built his palace there. Prior to the village boundary expansion in the late 20th century, Deir Ghassaneh consisted of three quarters: Barghouti, al-Shu'aibi, and Fallaheen.
clan of Jerusalem against the al-Husayni
clan for political dominance in Palestine during the British Mandate era. In 1936, the British
Royal Air Force
struck a group of 400 local militia
men based outside of Deir Ghassaneh, killing 130 of them. The British Mandate Antiquities Authority noted in a January 1947 report that Deir Ghassaneh was "built on a medieval site" and on a hill 500 metres (1,640.4 ft) west of the village was two-domed shrine dedicated to a Sheikh Khawas.
Deir Ghassaneh and Beit Rima merged in February 1966 to form the Municipality of Bani Zeid under Jordanian rule—which ended in 1967. The municipality building is located in Beit Rima. In 1978, the Bani Zeid, was one of several Palestinian localities to append its municipal seal to the Memorandum from the masses and the institutions of the West Bank to the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization showing unity with the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO). The memorandum was a rejection of any solution, regardless of its origin, not containing a clear recognition of the right of the Palestinian people
to self-determination and to establishing an independent Palestinian national state.
In 2001, during the Second Intifada, the Israel Defense Forces
performed a military incursion into Beit Rima to capture the alleged assassins of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi
. During the course of the incursion, nine people were killed, eleven detained (two being directly involved in Zeevi's assassination) and three houses were demolished.
household head and 14 Christian household heads. In Deir Ghassaneh, there were 76 Muslim household heads.
Deir Ghassaneh and Beit Rima had a combined population of 1,180 in 1922, rising to 1,499 in 1931. In a land and population survey by Sami Hadawi
in 1945, both villages had a total population of 1,810. Beit Rima had a slightly larger population, but Deir Ghassaneh was greater in land size. In a 1961 census by Jordan
ian authorities, Deir Ghassaneh's population reached 1,461, but it declined drastically after more than half of the residents fled during the Six-Day War
in June 1967. In 1982, there were 892 inhabitants in the town. Beit Rima had 2,165 inhabitants in 1961 and unlike Deir Ghassaneh, the population continued to grow, reaching 3,451 in 1987.
In the first census taken by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
(PCBS) in 1997, Bani Zeid had a population of 4,351 inhabitants. The gender make-up was 51.8% male and 49.2% female. More than half of the population is under the age of 20 (51.1%), while 27.7% are between the ages of 20 to 39, 15% between the ages of 40 and 64, and the remainder of the population is 65 or older (6%). Palestinian refugee
s made up 6.8% of the residents in 1997.
According to the PCBS census of 2007, Bani Zeid had a population of 5,515, of which 49% were males and 51% females. There were 1,176 housing units and the average size of a household was five family members. The town's primary families are: Barghouti, al-Shu'abi, al-Rabi, Ramahi, Rimawi, Mesha'al and Rheime. Bani Zeid has an unemployment rate of 30%.
of 13 members, including the chairman (mayor) and vice-chairman under the name Municipality of West Bani Zaid. It holds election every four years, the most recent being in 2005. Hamas
won five of the municipal seats including the role of mayor which was won by a female candidate Fathiya Barghouti Rheime—who, along with Janet Mikhail
became the first woman to hold the post of municipality head. Fatah
won five seats, the Palestinian People's Party
(PPP) won one, and a socialist party won the remaining seat.
During an Israeli raid in Bani Zeid in 2007, two members of the municipal council and representing Hamas were arrested by Israeli authorities with dozens of other Palestinian mayors, parliament members and ministers belonging to Hamas. The arrest of the two put the number of West Bani Zeid Municipality Hamas members to three, (member 'Ala Rimawi was elected to his post while serving a prison sentence).
In 2000, Bani Zeid was incorporated into Area A giving the Palestinian National Authority
full control—security and civilian affairs—over the town.
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate
Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate
The Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate is one of 16 Governorates of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It covers a large part of the central West Bank, on the northern border of the Jerusalem Governorate. Its district capital or muhfaza is the city of al-Bireh.According to the Palestinian Central...
, located 22 kilometres (13.7 mi) northwest of Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
in the north-central West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south-west of Salfit
Salfit
Salfit also spelled Salfeet is a Palestinian town in the central West Bank. Salfit is located at an altitude of in the central Samarian highlands adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Ariel. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the City had a population of 8,796 in 2007....
. A town of 5,515 inhabitants, Bani Zeid was created as a merger between the villages of Deir Ghassaneh and Beit Rima. The town owes its name to a Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
tribe originally from the Hejaz
Hejaz
al-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
that were granted ownership of the area during the 13th-14th centuries for serving in the Ayyubid army during the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
. During Ottoman rule, Bani Zeid became an administrative subdivision consisting of twenty villages with Deir Ghassaneh being its capital.
Geography
Bani Zeid is located in the central highlands of the West Bank, off the southwestern cliffs of the mountainous spine that run from the Hebron Hills to JeninJenin
Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
and has an average elevation of 510 metres (1,673.2 ft). It is located 22 kilometres (13.7 mi) northwest of Ramallah and al-Bireh
Al-Bireh
al-Bireh or el-Bira is a Palestinian city adjacent to Ramallah in the central West Bank, north of Jerusalem. It is situated on the central ridge running through the West Bank and is above sea level, covering an area of...
from its southern municipal border (Beit Rima) and 26 kilometres (16.2 mi) northwest from its northern municipal border (Deir Ghassaneh). Nearby localities include Beitillu
Beitillu
Beitillu is a Palestinian town located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the northern West Bank, 19 kilometers Northwest of Ramallah. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it had a population of approximately 3,083 in mid-year 2006...
to the south, Kobar
Kobar
Kobar is a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the northern West Bank, located northwest of Ramallah. The village is situated on a hill at an altitude of 640 meters above sea level and is along Highway 37. Its built-up area consists of about 1,300 dunams and a total...
to the southeast, 'Abud to the southwest, al-Lubban al-Gharbi
Al-Lubban al-Gharbi
Al-Lubban al-Gharbi is a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located 21 kilometers northwest of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 1,476 inhabitants in 2007.Al-Lubban al-Gharbi has...
to the west, and Kafr ad-Dik
Kafr ad-Dik
Kafr ad-Dik is a Palestinian town located 9.5 kilometers west of Salfit in the Salfit Governorate, in the northern West Bank and eight kilometers east of the Green Line...
to the north.
Bani Zeid had a total land area of 22,249 dunam
Dunam
A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...
s in 1945, of which 90 dunams were classified as built-up areas (Deir Ghassaneh was larger than Beit Rima) and 8,400 dunams were planted with olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
or fig
Ficus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
groves.
History
Deir Ghassaneh has been identified as the ancient Saredah, hometown of JeroboamJeroboam
Jeroboam was the first king of the northern Israelite Kingdom of Israel after the revolt of the ten northern Israelite tribes against Rehoboam that put an end to the United Monarchy....
. According to some sources, it was settled by the Arab Christian Ghassanids after it was abandoned by the Israelite
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
s, however this has been dismissed by a number of researchers since the Ghassanids did not have a history of settlement in Samaria
Samaria
Samaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
. Israeli archaeologist Moshe Sharon suggests that the name of the village is related to the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
word ghassaneh which means "very handsome" or suggests "youth and beauty."
There is no mention of Deir Ghassaneh or Beit Rima in early Arabic sources, although it is known that former village was inhabited during the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
period due to the many houses there that have preserved elements of Mamluk architecture. Specific examples include the use of the ablaq technique of alternating stones of different colors, particularly red and white, that decorate the facades and gates of some houses.
Establishment of Bani Zeid in Palestine
The town receives its name from the Arab tribeTribes of Arabia
Tribes of Arabia refers to Arab clans hailing from the Arabian Peninsula.Much of the lineage provided before Ma'ad relies on biblical genealogy and therefore questions persist concerning the accuracy of this segment of Arab genealogy...
of Bani Zeid, who settled in the two towns during the period of Ayyubid rule in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in the 12th century. They formed a part of the Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
forces from the Hejaz
Hejaz
al-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
that formed the nucleus of Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
's army. After the Siege of Jerusalem
Siege of Jerusalem (1187)
On July 4, 1187 the Kingdom's army was defeated at the Battle of Hattin by Saladin and only Balian of Ibelin commanding a small number of soldiers remained in Jerusalem. The Siege of Jerusalem lasted from September 20 to October 2, 1187. On October 2, 1187 Balian of Ibelin surrendered Jerusalem to...
in 1187, Saladin's forces captured the city and the Ayyubid army was garrisoned there. The Bani Zeid temporarily resided in Jerusalem and a street was named after them, but has since been renamed.
In order for Saladin to persuade the Hejazi Arab tribes that joined his army to remain in Palestine, he offered each tribe a cluster of villages captured from the Crusader
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
s to settle in and govern. The Bani Zeid were granted the villages of Deir Ghassaneh and Beit Rima, as well as, the nearby towns of Kafr Ein
Kafr Ein
Kafr Ein is a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located northwest of Ramallah in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics , Kafr Ein had a population of 1,743 inhabitants in 2007...
and Qarawat Bani Zeid
Qarawat Bani Zeid
Qarawat Bani Zeid is a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located 22 kilometers northwest of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics , Qarawat Bani Zeid had a population of 2,915 inhabitants in 2007...
. However, it was not until 1293, after the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s under Baibars
Baibars
Baibars or Baybars , nicknamed Abu l-Futuh , was a Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. He was one of the commanders of the forces which inflicted a devastating defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France and he led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, which marked...
conquered Palestine and expelled the last of the Crusaders, that the Bani Zeid tribe settled in their villages.
In 1480, Bedouins from the Bani Zeid tribe based in Deir Ghassaneh attacked Jerusalem as retaliation for the governor's execution of some of its members accused of revolting against Mamluk authorities. In 1492, The Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
geographer, Muhammad al-Idrisi
Muhammad al-Idrisi
Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani al-Sabti or simply Al Idrisi was a Moroccan Muslim geographer, cartographer, Egyptologist and traveller who lived in Sicily, at the court of King Roger II. Muhammed al-Idrisi was born in Ceuta then belonging to the Almoravid Empire and died in...
passed through the area and wrote, "we traveled from Dar Ghasana to Beit Reema and the generous people invited us to stay".
Ottoman rule
During the OttomanOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
era of rule in Palestine, Bani Zeid was a nahiya ("subdistrict") of the sanjak
Sanjak
Sanjaks were administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. Sanjak, and the variant spellings sandjak, sanjaq, and sinjaq, are English transliterations of the Turkish word sancak, meaning district, banner, or flag...
("district") of Jerusalem and had control over 20 towns and villages as well as partial control of Salfit
Salfit
Salfit also spelled Salfeet is a Palestinian town in the central West Bank. Salfit is located at an altitude of in the central Samarian highlands adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Ariel. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the City had a population of 8,796 in 2007....
. While these villages were registered and organized like other villages in the Sanjak of Jerusalem, they were also treated as a group. Each village was led by a ra'is ("local chief") and the entire Bani Zeid district was headed by a sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
. In 1556, it was led by Sheikh Abu Rayyan bin Sheikh Manna and was succeeded by Sheikh Muhammad Abu Rabban in 1560. The sheikh was responsible for paying sums to the Ottoman authorities. Olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
was the primary commodity that Bani Zeid produced which was 361 kintars. It was sold to local Ottoman officials and soap factories in Nablus
Nabulsi soap
Nabulsi soap is a type of castile soap produced only in Nablus in the West Bank, Palestine. An olive oil-based soap, it is made up of three primary ingredients: virgin olive oil, water, and a sodium compound...
. The Ottomans imposed taxes on olive oil, wheat and barley. In addition, Bani Zeid was required to pay a waqf
Waqf
A waqf also spelled wakf formally known as wakf-alal-aulad is an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law, typically denoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious or charitable purposes. The donated assets are held by a charitable trust...
to the al-Aqsa Mosque
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Al-Aqsa Mosque also known as al-Aqsa, is the third holiest site in Sunni Islam and is located in the Old City of Jerusalem...
in Jerusalem and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
.
In the early 18th and 19th centuries, Bani Zeid was apparently reduced to 15 villages, and was a center for the Qais
Qais
Qais , also spelled Qays or Kais, were an Arabian tribe branched from the Mudhar Adnani groups.-Main branches of Qais:The main branches of the Qais tribes are the Banu Sulaym, Hawazin and the Banu Ghatafan. These three main groups remained in the Eastern Hejaz until the 7th century...
tribal-political faction. The Survey of Western Palestine in the 19th century stated Deir Ghassaneh was "a village on a ridge, with springs in the valley below. It is of moderate size, built of stone and has olives beneath it." In the second half of the 19th century, it was ruled by Sheikh Saleh al-Barghouti who belonged to a wealthy noble family, the Barghouti
Barghouti
Barghouti is the last name of a prominent Palestinian family...
s—a sub-clan of the Bani Zeid. Sheikh Saleh enjoyed a high political and social status by being the tax collector (multazim) of the Bani Zeid Sheikdom, on behalf of the central Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
authorities. Deir Ghassaneh played the role of "capital" of the sheikhdom and the sheikh built his palace there. Prior to the village boundary expansion in the late 20th century, Deir Ghassaneh consisted of three quarters: Barghouti, al-Shu'aibi, and Fallaheen.
Modern era
In the 1920s-30s, Sheikh Saleh was succeeded by his son Umar Salih al-Barghouti who aligned Bani Zeid with the NashashibiNashashibi
Nashashibi is the name of a prominent Palestinian family based in Jerusalem. Many of its members held senior positions in the government of Jerusalem. Raghib al-Nashashibi was Mayor of Jerusalem .- History :...
clan of Jerusalem against the al-Husayni
Al-Husayni
Husayni is the name of a prominent Palestinian Arab clan formerly based in Jerusalem. Several members of the clan held important political positions such as Mayor and Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and founded and led many Palestinian Arab Islamist groups such as the Holy War Army, the Palestine Arab...
clan for political dominance in Palestine during the British Mandate era. In 1936, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
struck a group of 400 local militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
men based outside of Deir Ghassaneh, killing 130 of them. The British Mandate Antiquities Authority noted in a January 1947 report that Deir Ghassaneh was "built on a medieval site" and on a hill 500 metres (1,640.4 ft) west of the village was two-domed shrine dedicated to a Sheikh Khawas.
Deir Ghassaneh and Beit Rima merged in February 1966 to form the Municipality of Bani Zeid under Jordanian rule—which ended in 1967. The municipality building is located in Beit Rima. In 1978, the Bani Zeid, was one of several Palestinian localities to append its municipal seal to the Memorandum from the masses and the institutions of the West Bank to the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization showing unity with the Palestine Liberation Organization
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
(PLO). The memorandum was a rejection of any solution, regardless of its origin, not containing a clear recognition of the right of the Palestinian people
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
to self-determination and to establishing an independent Palestinian national state.
In 2001, during the Second Intifada, the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
performed a military incursion into Beit Rima to capture the alleged assassins of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi
Rehavam Zeevi
' 20 June 1926 - 17 October 2001) was an Israeli general, politician, and historian who founded the right-wing nationalist Moledet party, mainly advocating population transfer....
. During the course of the incursion, nine people were killed, eleven detained (two being directly involved in Zeevi's assassination) and three houses were demolished.
Demographics
According to Ottoman tax records, Beit Rima had roughly 200 residents in 1596. There were 54 MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
household head and 14 Christian household heads. In Deir Ghassaneh, there were 76 Muslim household heads.
Deir Ghassaneh and Beit Rima had a combined population of 1,180 in 1922, rising to 1,499 in 1931. In a land and population survey by Sami Hadawi
Sami Hadawi
Sami Hadawi was a Palestinian scholar and author. He is known for documenting the effects of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War on the Arab population in Palestine and published statistics for individual villages prior to Israel's establishment. Hadawi worked as a land specialist until he was exiled from...
in 1945, both villages had a total population of 1,810. Beit Rima had a slightly larger population, but Deir Ghassaneh was greater in land size. In a 1961 census by Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
ian authorities, Deir Ghassaneh's population reached 1,461, but it declined drastically after more than half of the residents fled during the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
in June 1967. In 1982, there were 892 inhabitants in the town. Beit Rima had 2,165 inhabitants in 1961 and unlike Deir Ghassaneh, the population continued to grow, reaching 3,451 in 1987.
In the first census taken by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics is the statistical organization under the umbrella of the Palestinian Cabinet of the Palestinian National Authority....
(PCBS) in 1997, Bani Zeid had a population of 4,351 inhabitants. The gender make-up was 51.8% male and 49.2% female. More than half of the population is under the age of 20 (51.1%), while 27.7% are between the ages of 20 to 39, 15% between the ages of 40 and 64, and the remainder of the population is 65 or older (6%). Palestinian refugee
Palestinian refugee
Palestinian refugees or Palestine refugees are the people and their descendants, predominantly Palestinian Arabic-speakers, who fled or were expelled from their homes during and after the 1948 Palestine War, within that part of the British Mandate of Palestine, that after that war became the...
s made up 6.8% of the residents in 1997.
According to the PCBS census of 2007, Bani Zeid had a population of 5,515, of which 49% were males and 51% females. There were 1,176 housing units and the average size of a household was five family members. The town's primary families are: Barghouti, al-Shu'abi, al-Rabi, Ramahi, Rimawi, Mesha'al and Rheime. Bani Zeid has an unemployment rate of 30%.
Government
Bani Zeid is governed by a municipal councilMunicipality (Palestinian Authority)
In the territories administrated by the Palestinian Authority, a municipality is an administrative unit of local government similar to a city. They were established and decided after the creation of the Local Government Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority in 1994. All municipalities are...
of 13 members, including the chairman (mayor) and vice-chairman under the name Municipality of West Bani Zaid. It holds election every four years, the most recent being in 2005. Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
won five of the municipal seats including the role of mayor which was won by a female candidate Fathiya Barghouti Rheime—who, along with Janet Mikhail
Janet Mikhail
Janet Mikhail or Janet Michael, sometimes known as Janet Khouri is the mayor of Ramallah in the West Bank.She is the first woman to hold this post. She was head teacher of the girls' school in Ramallah for 20 years, now retired...
became the first woman to hold the post of municipality head. Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
won five seats, the Palestinian People's Party
Palestinian People's Party
The Palestinian People's Party , founded in 1982 as the Palestinian Communist Party, is a socialist political party in the Palestinian territories and among the Palestinian diaspora....
(PPP) won one, and a socialist party won the remaining seat.
During an Israeli raid in Bani Zeid in 2007, two members of the municipal council and representing Hamas were arrested by Israeli authorities with dozens of other Palestinian mayors, parliament members and ministers belonging to Hamas. The arrest of the two put the number of West Bani Zeid Municipality Hamas members to three, (member 'Ala Rimawi was elected to his post while serving a prison sentence).
In 2000, Bani Zeid was incorporated into Area A giving the Palestinian National Authority
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
full control—security and civilian affairs—over the town.
Mayors
Bani Zeid has had five mayors since the establishment of the municipality in 1966.- Adib Mohammed Rimawi (1966–1972)
- Fa'eq Ali Rimawi (1972–1976)
- Yunus Yahya Rimawi (1976–1996)
- Abdel-Karim Jasser Rimawi (1996–2004)
- Fathiya Barghouti Rheime (2005–present day)