Beit Hanina
Encyclopedia
Beit Hanina is a Palestinian
neighborhood in East Jerusalem
on the road to Ramallah
. It is bordered by Hizma
to the east, Shuafat
to the south, Beit Iksa
and Nabi Samwil
to the west, and Bir Nabala
, al-Jib, Kafr Aqab and ar-Ram
to the north. The total area of Beit Hanina is 20 sq. kilometers (approximately 9 sq. miles). The old village, al-Balad, is part of the Ramallah district and
governed by the Palestinian National Authority
. The new village, al-Jadid, is within the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem Municipality, although residents may vote in PNA elections. In 2007, Beit Hanina had a population of over 27,000, including 26,762 Jerusalem residents in the new village and 1,072 under PNA administration, and a land area of 16,284 dunam
s, of which 2,775 are built up.
ite period. According to the 19th century French traveler V. Guerin, author of Description de La Jude'e, Beit Hanina is the biblical Ananya of the Tribe of Binyamin. Edward Robinson
concurred, but W.F. Albright maintained that Anania is the village of al-Eizariya
in East Jerusalem
. Guerin also proclaimed that it was sometimes called Bayt Anina.
In 636, Beit Hanina was annexed by the Islamic Caliphate led by Umar Ibn al-Khattab as a result of a decisive Muslim
victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Yarmouk
. In the early centuries of Islamic rule over Palestine
, Yemenite and Qaisi Arabs migrated to Beit Hanina. The economy was agricultural, based primarily on olives, fig
s, barley and bulgur
.
In 1099, Crusader
armies captured Jerusalem
, including Beit Hanina, inflicting heavy casualties on the Muslim population and causing most of the residents to flee. They later returned to cultivate their orchards and grain fields. The town was recaptured
by the Ayyubid Dynasty
led by Salah ad-Din
. To ensure a Muslim majority and protect it from a renewed Crusader invasion, Salah ad-Din brought powerful Bedouin
tribes from the Negev
desert and the northern Hejaz
to settle in the area.
Under Ottoman control, the town declined, suffering from generations of illiteracy, poverty and high taxes. In 1596, Beit Hanina appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Quds of the Liwa
of Quds. It had a population of 28 Muslim households.
During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
Beit Hanina was captured by Jordan
ian forces, along with the rest of the West Bank
and East Jerusalem
, and became a part of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
until 1967. Under Jordanian rule, new roads and schools were built, and many of the town's émigrés invested in the development of a modern suburb, then known as Ras al-Tariq, located to the east along the Jerusalem-Ramallah highway.
After the 1967 Six-Day War
, the Israelis occupied the West Bank, along with Beit Hanina, and thousands of Beit Hanina residents migrated to the United States. Immediately after the war, Israel unilaterally expanded the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem to include the eastern section of Beit Hanina, now known as Beit Hanina al-Jadid, and formalized that policy in 1980
.
In the wake of the Second Intifada, Israel began to build the Israeli West Bank barrier
, which separated Beit Hanina from the West Bank for alleged security reasons. Due to its urban nature, the route near the town is part of the 10% which employs a concrete wall. The area has sometimes been the scene of clashes between the Israeli security forces and Palestinian militant factions.
is also located there. There are four mosques in Beit Hanina: Sultan Ibrahim Ibn Adham Mosque
, Bader Mosque, Mosque of Religion College, and Mosque of Teacher's Suburb.
Two major Christian schools exist in Beit Hanina today, the Rosary Sisters and the De La Salle. The Catholic Church has a community center and a St. Jacob's Church in Beit Hanina.
, Beit Hanina Road, was previously part of route 60
. In the 1990s a new route was built to the east of the neighbourhood, a dual carriageway with 3 lines in each direction, relieving traffic congestion
along the road. The Jerusalem Light Rail
has a stop in Beit Hanina.
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...
neighborhood in East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
on the road to 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...
. It is bordered by Hizma
Hizma
Hizma is a Palestinian town located in the Jerusalem Governorate, located half a kilometer from the city of Jerusalem. Its land area is approximately 9,350 dunums, of which 4,787 dunums were confiscated by Israel for Israeli settlements and the West Bank barrier.The town, located in Area B, is...
to the east, Shuafat
Shuafat
Shu'fat , also Shuafat and Sha'fat, is a Palestinian Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem, forming part of north-eastern Jerusalem. Located on the old Jerusalem-Ramallah road about three miles north of the Old City, Shuafat has a population of 35,000 residents...
to the south, Beit Iksa
Beit Iksa
Beit Iksa is a Palestinian village in the Jerusalem Governorate, located 6 kilometers northwest of Jerusalem in the West Bank. Beit Iksa, a village of 1,600 inhabitants, was classified as "Area B" as a result of the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1995...
and Nabi Samwil
Nabi Samwil
An-Nabi Samwil also al-Nabi Samuil is a Palestinian village of nearly 220 inhabitants in the West Bank, within the Jerusalem Governorate, located four kilometers north of Jerusalem...
to the west, and Bir Nabala
Bir Nabala
Bir Nabala is a Palestinian town in the West Bank located eight kilometers northeast of Jerusalem. In mid-year 2006, it had an estimated population of 6,100 residents...
, al-Jib, Kafr Aqab and ar-Ram
Ar-Ram
A-Ram or al-Ramm is a Palestinian village which lies northeast of Jerusalem, just outside the city's municipal border. The village is part of the built-up urban area of Jerusalem, the Atarot industrial zone and Beit Hanina lie to the west, and Neve Ya'akov borders it on the south. with a ...
to the north. The total area of Beit Hanina is 20 sq. kilometers (approximately 9 sq. miles). The old village, al-Balad, is part of the Ramallah district and
governed by 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...
. The new village, al-Jadid, is within the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem Municipality, although residents may vote in PNA elections. In 2007, Beit Hanina had a population of over 27,000, including 26,762 Jerusalem residents in the new village and 1,072 under PNA administration, and a land area of 16,284 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, of which 2,775 are built up.
Etymology
Literally, Beit Hanina means "House of Hanina," suggesting that it is named after a person, possibly a woman. Some scholars say that "Hanina" is derived from the Assyrian "Han-nina" which means the one that deserves pity (hanan). It could also be derived from the word hana meaning "camped."History
Beit Hanina may date back to the CanaanCanaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
ite period. According to the 19th century French traveler V. Guerin, author of Description de La Jude'e, Beit Hanina is the biblical Ananya of the Tribe of Binyamin. Edward Robinson
Edward Robinson
-Elected officials:*Edward Robinson , American Whig politician*Edward Robinson , Irish-born Canadian Liberal politician...
concurred, but W.F. Albright maintained that Anania is the village of al-Eizariya
Al-Eizariya
Al-Eizariya or al-Izzariya , sometimes referred to by its medieval name of Bethany, is a city in the West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it is the second largest Palestinian city in the Jerusalem Governorate , with a population of 17,606 inhabitants.Located on the...
in East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
. Guerin also proclaimed that it was sometimes called Bayt Anina.
In 636, Beit Hanina was annexed by the Islamic Caliphate led by Umar Ibn al-Khattab as a result of a decisive Muslim
Muslim
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...
victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Yarmouk
Battle of Yarmouk
The Battle of Yarmouk was a major battle between the Muslim Arab forces of the Rashidun Caliphate and the armies of the East Roman-Byzantine Empire. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River, along what is today the border...
. In the early centuries of Islamic rule over 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....
, Yemenite and Qaisi Arabs migrated to Beit Hanina. The economy was agricultural, based primarily on olives, 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...
s, barley and bulgur
Bulgur
Bulgur is a cereal food made from several different wheat species, most often from durum wheat. In the United States it is most often made from white wheat. Its use is most common in Middle Eastern cuisine, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Armenia and Bulgaria...
.
In 1099, Crusader
First Crusade
The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
armies captured Jerusalem
Siege of Jerusalem (1099)
The Siege of Jerusalem took place from June 7 to July 15, 1099 during the First Crusade. The Crusaders stormed and captured the city from Fatimid Egypt.-Background:...
, including Beit Hanina, inflicting heavy casualties on the Muslim population and causing most of the residents to flee. They later returned to cultivate their orchards and grain fields. The town was recaptured
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...
by the Ayyubid Dynasty
Ayyubid dynasty
The Ayyubid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin, founded by Saladin and centered in Egypt. The dynasty ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The Ayyubid family, under the brothers Ayyub and Shirkuh, originally served as soldiers for the Zengids until they...
led by Salah ad-Din
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...
. To ensure a Muslim majority and protect it from a renewed Crusader invasion, Salah ad-Din brought powerful 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:...
tribes from the Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
desert and the northern 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...
to settle in the area.
Under Ottoman control, the town declined, suffering from generations of illiteracy, poverty and high taxes. In 1596, Beit Hanina appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Quds of the Liwa
Liwa (arabic)
Liwa or Liwa is an Arabic term meaning district, banner, or flag, a type of administrative division. It was interchangeable with the Turkish term "Sanjak" in the time of the Ottoman Empire. After the fall of the empire, the term was used in the Arab countries formerly under Ottoman rule...
of Quds. It had a population of 28 Muslim households.
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...
Beit Hanina was captured 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 forces, along with the rest of the 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 East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
, and became a part of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Rule of the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Jordan
The West Bank and East Jerusalem were occupied by Jordan for a period of nearly two decades starting from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. In 1950, the British extended formal recognition to the union between the Hashemite Kingdom and of that part of Palestine under Jordanian occupation and control -...
until 1967. Under Jordanian rule, new roads and schools were built, and many of the town's émigrés invested in the development of a modern suburb, then known as Ras al-Tariq, located to the east along the Jerusalem-Ramallah highway.
After the 1967 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...
, the Israelis occupied the West Bank, along with Beit Hanina, and thousands of Beit Hanina residents migrated to the United States. Immediately after the war, Israel unilaterally expanded the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem to include the eastern section of Beit Hanina, now known as Beit Hanina al-Jadid, and formalized that policy in 1980
Jerusalem Law
The Jerusalem Law is a common name of Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel passed by the Knesset on July 30, 1980 .It began as a private member's bill proposed by Geula Cohen, whose original text stated that "the integrity and unity of greater Jerusalem in its boundaries after the Six-Day War...
.
In the wake of the Second Intifada, Israel began to build the Israeli West Bank barrier
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...
, which separated Beit Hanina from the West Bank for alleged security reasons. Due to its urban nature, the route near the town is part of the 10% which employs a concrete wall. The area has sometimes been the scene of clashes between the Israeli security forces and Palestinian militant factions.
Education
The College of Daawa and Religious Principles was established in Beit Hanina in 1978. A branch of al-Quds UniversityAl-Quds University
Al-Quds University is a Palestinian university with campuses in Jerusalem, Abu Dis, and al-Bireh. It was founded in 1984, but its official constitution was written in 1993 when Mohammed Nusseibeh, its first Chancellor and Chancellor of the College of Science and Technology, announced its...
is also located there. There are four mosques in Beit Hanina: Sultan Ibrahim Ibn Adham Mosque
Sultan Ibrahim Ibn Adham Mosque
The Sultan Ibrahim Ibn Adham Mosque is the largest mosque in the Palestinian town of Beit Hanina, located northeast of Jerusalem. It is named after a Muslim who lived in the town and worked as collector of olive products. An engraving in a stone in front of the mosque reads, "this mosque was built...
, Bader Mosque, Mosque of Religion College, and Mosque of Teacher's Suburb.
Two major Christian schools exist in Beit Hanina today, the Rosary Sisters and the De La Salle. The Catholic Church has a community center and a St. Jacob's Church in Beit Hanina.
Transportation
The neighbourhood’s Main StreetMain Street
Main Street is the metonym for a generic street name of the primary retail street of a village, town, or small city in many parts of the world...
, Beit Hanina Road, was previously part of route 60
Highway 60 (Israel)
Highway 60 is a north-south intercity road in Israel and the West Bank that stretches from Beersheba to Nazareth.-Route:The route is also known as the "Route of the Patriarchs" since it follows the path of the ancient highway that runs along the length of the central watershed, and which...
. In the 1990s a new route was built to the east of the neighbourhood, a dual carriageway with 3 lines in each direction, relieving traffic congestion
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
along the road. The Jerusalem Light Rail
Jerusalem Light Rail
The Jerusalem Light Rail is a light rail line, the first of several rapid transit lines planned by Israel for Jerusalem, Israel's capital city. Construction began in 2002 and ended in 2010, when the testing phase began. It was built by the CityPass consortium, which has a 30-year concession to...
has a stop in Beit Hanina.
External links
- http://www.beithanina.us/
- http://www.beithanina.org/
- http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=874