Bayt Nabala
Encyclopedia
Bayt Nabala or Beit Nabala was a Palestinian
Arab
village in the district of Ramla in Mandatory Palestine
that was destroyed during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
. The village was in the territory allotted to the Arab state under the 1947 UN Partition Plan
. Its population in 1945, before the war, was 2,310.
It was occupied by Israeli forces on May 13, 1948 and was completely destroyed by them on September 13, 1948. Village refugees were scattered around Deir Ammar
, Ramallah
City, Bayt Tillow, Rantis
, and Jalazun refugee camps north of Ramallah. Some of the clans that lived in Bayt Nabala include the Nakhleh, Safi, Sharakah, al-Khateeb, and Zeid families. Today the area is part of the Israeli town of Beit Nehemia
.
, nahiya (subdistrict) of Ramlah under the Liwa of Gaza
, with a population of 297. It paid taxes on a number of crops, including wheat
, barley
, olives, fruit, as well as on goats, beehives and a press that was used for processing either olives or grapes. It had 54 Muslim families.
In the late nineteenth century, the village of Bayt Nabala was described as being of moderate size, situated at the edge of a plain.
The school was founded in 1921 and had about 230 students in 1946-47.
In 1944/45 the village had a population of 2,310. A total of 226 dunum
s of village land was used for citrus
and banana
s, 10,197 dunums were used for cereals, and 1,733 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.
, which had come under siege. The convoy carried 26 soldiers from Tel Aviv, 13 auxiliary police, two residents of Ben Shemen and 7 drivers. On the way they came under fire and several men were wounded. A passing British military vehicle picked up the injured men and all 8 vehicles continued. Near Beit Nabala, they came close to an Arab Legion
camp and a firefight ensued. According to Jewish sources, the Legion fired first; according to British sources, it was the Jews. The British vehicle and a police vehicle became stuck and received heavy fire. All of the wounded and most of the police were killed. In total 13 men died. This was one of the first confirmed involvements of the Arab Legion in the fighting in Palestine. Some sources put the death toll at 14.
Benny Morris
writes that the village residents abandoned it on Arab orders on 13 May 1948. However, according to Walid Khalidi
, this cannot be confirmed.
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."
), "were usually done on cotton, velvet or kermezot silk fabric. Taffeta inserts embroidered in Bethlehem
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."
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...
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...
village in the district of Ramla in Mandatory Palestine
Palestine (mandate)
The British Mandate for Palestine, also known as the Palestine Mandate, The British Mandate of Palestine and the Mandate for Palestine, was a legal commission for the administration of Palestine, the draft of which was formally confirmed by the Council of the League of Nations on 24 July 1922 and...
that was destroyed during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
. The village was in the territory allotted to the Arab state under the 1947 UN Partition Plan
1947 UN Partition Plan
The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was created by the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine in 1947 to replace the British Mandate for Palestine with "Independent Arab and Jewish States" and a "Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem" administered by the United...
. Its population in 1945, before the war, was 2,310.
It was occupied by Israeli forces on May 13, 1948 and was completely destroyed by them on September 13, 1948. Village refugees were scattered around Deir Ammar
Deir Ammar
Deir Ammar is a Palestinian refugee camp in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located northwest of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics , the camp had a population of 2,229 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.The Deir Ammar camp was...
, 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...
City, Bayt Tillow, Rantis
Rantis
Rantis is a Palestinian town in the West Bank, located in the northwestern Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, 33 kilometers northwest of Ramallah. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it had a population of 2,900 in mid-year 2006...
, and Jalazun refugee camps north of Ramallah. Some of the clans that lived in Bayt Nabala include the Nakhleh, Safi, Sharakah, al-Khateeb, and Zeid families. Today the area is part of the Israeli town of Beit Nehemia
Beit Nehemia
Beit Nehemia is a moshav in central Israel. Located near Shoham, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 730....
.
History
In 1596, Bayt Nabala was part of the Ottoman EmpireOttoman 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...
, nahiya (subdistrict) of Ramlah under the Liwa of Gaza
Liwa of Gaza
The Sanjak of Gaza was a sanjak of the Damascus Eyalet, Ottoman Empire. It administrative center was within the Gaza City....
, with a population of 297. It paid taxes on a number of crops, including wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, olives, fruit, as well as on goats, beehives and a press that was used for processing either olives or grapes. It had 54 Muslim families.
In the late nineteenth century, the village of Bayt Nabala was described as being of moderate size, situated at the edge of a plain.
The school was founded in 1921 and had about 230 students in 1946-47.
In 1944/45 the village had a population of 2,310. A total of 226 dunum
Dunum
Dunum is a municipality in the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany....
s of village land was used for citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
and banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s, 10,197 dunums were used for cereals, and 1,733 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.
1948 War and aftermath
On December 14, 1947 a convoy of 7 vehicles from Petach Tikva sought to relieve the Jewish settlement of Ben ShemenBen Shemen
Ben Shemen is a moshav in central Israel. Located around four kilometres east of Lod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 627....
, which had come under siege. The convoy carried 26 soldiers from Tel Aviv, 13 auxiliary police, two residents of Ben Shemen and 7 drivers. On the way they came under fire and several men were wounded. A passing British military vehicle picked up the injured men and all 8 vehicles continued. Near Beit Nabala, they came close to an Arab Legion
Arab Legion
The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th century.-Creation:...
camp and a firefight ensued. According to Jewish sources, the Legion fired first; according to British sources, it was the Jews. The British vehicle and a police vehicle became stuck and received heavy fire. All of the wounded and most of the police were killed. In total 13 men died. This was one of the first confirmed involvements of the Arab Legion in the fighting in Palestine. Some sources put the death toll at 14.
Benny Morris
Benny Morris
Benny Morris is professor of History in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Be'er Sheva, Israel...
writes that the village residents abandoned it on Arab orders on 13 May 1948. However, according to Walid Khalidi
Walid Khalidi
Walid Khalidi is an Oxford University-educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is General Secretary and co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, established in Beirut in December 1963 as an independent research and publishing center...
, this cannot be confirmed.
The Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi
Walid Khalidi
Walid Khalidi is an Oxford University-educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is General Secretary and co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, established in Beirut in December 1963 as an independent research and publishing center...
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."
Culture
According to Palestinian Heritage Foundation Beit Nabala dresses (together with those of the village of Deir TarifDayr Tarif
Dayr Tarif was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Ramla.The Romans referred to Dayr Tarif as Bethariph. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War on July 10, 1948 by the Ninth Commando Battalion of the Armored Brigade of Operation Dani...
), "were usually done on cotton, velvet or kermezot silk fabric. Taffeta inserts embroidered in Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
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."
See also
- Palestinian costumesPalestinian costumesPalestinian costumes are the traditional clothing worn by Palestinians. Foreign travelers to Palestine in the 19th and early 20th centuries often commented on the rich variety of the costumes worn, particularly by the fellaheen or village women...
- Killings and massacres during the 1948 Palestine War
- List of Arab towns and villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
External links
- Palestine Remembered - Bayt Nabala
- Bayt Nabala from Khalil Sakakini Cultural CenterKhalil Sakakini Cultural CenterKhalil Sakakini Cultural Center is an organization established in 1996. It is located at 4 Raja Street, Ramallah in the West Bank. The traditional manor that houses the centre was the former family home of Khalil Salem Salah, the mayor of Ramallah between 1947/1951, is now owned by the Palestinian...
- Bayt Nabala, from PalestineFamily.net
- Nabaly Net