Beit Ur al-Fauqa

Beit Ur al-Fauqa (Arabic: بيت عور الفوقا‎) is a Palestinian village located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the northern West Bank, 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) west of Ramallah and 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) southeast of Beit Ur al-Tahta. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it had a population of 864 in the 2007 census.[3]

Beit Ur al-Fauqa
Municipality type C
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicبيت عور الفوقا
 • LatinBayt ’Ur al-Fauqa (official)
Beit ’Ur al-Foqa
Bayt ‘Ūr al-Fawqā
Beit Ur al-Fauqa
Location of Beit Ur al-Fauqa within Palestine
Coordinates: 31°53′09″N 35°06′51″E
Palestine grid160/143
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateRamallah and al-Bireh
Government
 • TypeMunicipality
Elevation597 m (1,959 ft)
Population
 (2007)
 • Total864
Name meaning"Upper House of Ur"[2]

Location and Geography

Beit Ur al Fauqa is located 8.4 kilometers (5.2 mi) west of Ramallah. It is bordered by Beituniya to the east, Deir Ibzi to the north, Beit Ur at Tahta and Kharbatha al Misbah to the west, and At Tira and Beit Anan to the south.[1]

The villages of Beit Ur crown two hilltops, less than 2 miles (3.2 km) apart (with Beit Ur al-Fauqa some 245 meters (804 ft) higher than Beit Ur al-Tahta) along Route 443, the Biblical way of Bethoron. For many centuries, the villages occupying their sites dominated one of the most historic roads in history. The ridge way of Bethoron climbs from the plain of Aijalon (the modern Yalo) to Beit Ur al-Tahta at 370 meters (1,210 ft); it then carries along the ridge, with valleys lying either side, north and south, before reaching Beit Ur al Fauqa at 616 meters (2,021 ft). The ridge continues for another 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) arriving at the plateau to the north of al-Jib (Gibeon).

History

Beit Ur al-Fauqa (meaning "Upper House of Straw") preserves part of the original Canaanite name for the village,[4][5] and has been identified as the sites of Upper Bethoron.[6] Archaeological finds indicate that Lower Bethoron (Beit Ur al-Tahta) was established before Upper Bethoron; potsherds found in Beit Ur al-Fauqa date from the Iron Age onward, while potsherds from the lower town date from the Late Bronze Age.[5] A large birkeh (pond) north-east in the village is cut in rock.[7]

The Hasmoneans twice blocked the way of Hellenistic forces marching toward Jerusalem in Upper Bethoron. In the third attempt, Bacchides succeeded in subduing the Hasmoneans and fortified this strategic pass.[8] It was in the ravines near Bethoron that the 12th Roman Legion under Cestius Gallus was destroyed in 66 CE at the start of the First Jewish–Roman War.[9] After the subjugation of the Jewish Revolt in 70 CE, the Romans built a fortress in the town to guard the road to Jerusalem.[8] During the later Roman period and under the Byzantines, Beit Ur al-Fauqa lost its importance, becoming a small village by the 5th century CE.[10]

The village has been identified with the Bethoron Superior or Vetus Betor in the Crusader era. Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem gave it as a fief to Mar Saba. In 1165/64 CE, it was sold to the canons of the Holy Sepulchre.[11][12] The remains of a tower, Al-Burj, in the village is dated to this era.[12][13]

An Arabic inscription with a verse from the Qur'an was found on a ruined stone structure in Beit Ur al-Fauqa and is attributed by Moshe Sharon to the Ayyubid period of rule in Palestine.[10]

Ottoman era

Beit Ur al-Fauqa, like the rest of Palestine, was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517, and in the census of 1596, the village appeared as being in the Nahiya of Quds of the Liwa of Quds. It had a population of 5 Muslim households and paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on various agricultural products, including wheat, barley, olives, goats and/or beehives; a total of 535 akçe.[14]

In 1838 it was noted as a Muslim village, located in the Beni Malik area, west of Jerusalem.[15][16]

The French explorer Victor Guérin visited the village in 1863, and he described it as having about 150 inhabitants, and surrounded by gardens of olive trees. He also noted the remains of a small castle.[17] An official Ottoman village list from about 1870 showed that Bet Ur el-Foqa had 53 houses and a population of 159, though it only counted the men.[18][19]

In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Beit Ur Al Foka as "A small village built of stone at the end of a spur on a knoll. The ground falls very steeply to the west. The water supply is artificial, and on the north and south are deep valleys. The west view is very extensive, including the sea, the plains of Lydda and Ramleh, and part of the valley of Ajalon."[20]

British Mandate era
Aerial view of Beit Ur al-Fauqa, 1931

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Beit 'Ur al-Fuqa had a population of 147, all Muslim.[21] By the time of the 1931 census, Beit 'Ur al-Fauqa had 47 occupied houses and a population of 173, still all Muslim.[22]

In the 1945 village statistics the population was 210, all Muslims,[23] while the total land area was 3,762 dunams (3.762 km2; 1.453 sq mi), according to an official land and population survey.[24] Of this, 989 dunams (98.9 ha; 244 acres) were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 1,277 dunams (127.7 ha; 316 acres) for cereals,[25] while 26 dunams (2.6 ha; 6.4 acres) were classified as built-up (urban) areas.[26]

Jordanian era

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Beit Ur al-Fauqa came under Jordanian rule.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 362 inhabitants here.[27]

Israeli occupation

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Beit Ur al-Fauqa had been under Israeli occupation. The population of Beit Ur Fouqa in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 298, of whom 37 originated from the Israeli territory.[28]

After the 1995 accords, 12.1% of village land was classified as Area B, while the remaining 87.9% was classified as Area C. Israel has confiscated 863 dunams (86.3 ha; 213 acres) of land from the village in order to construct the Israeli settlement of Beit Horon.[29]

After a settlement road denied them land access to their school, the children of the village now commute to the local al-Tira Beit Ur al-Fuqa high school, which is surrounded by the Israeli separation wall on three sides, through sewage channels.[30] Many village families use to dwell in nearby caves, but to improve their lives they built homes, many of which are now subject to a demolition order after Israel decided to define their area as an archaeological site.[31]

Notable people
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References
  1. Beit ‘Ur al Fauqa Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 4
  2. Palmer, 1881, p. 287
  3. 2007 PCBS Census. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. p.115.
  4. Alternate English transliterations use Bayt for Beit, Ur for Ur, el for al and Fauqa, Fawka for, Foqa, and in any combination thereof.
  5. Eugenio Alliata (2000-12-19). "Bethoron (Bayt Ur)". Studium Biblicum Franciscanum. Archived from the original on 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
  6. John Gray (January 1949). "The Canaanite God Horon". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 8 (1): 27–34. doi:10.1086/370902. JSTOR 542437.
  7. Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 86
  8. Sharon, 1999, p. 165
  9. Goodman, 2007, p. 14
  10. Sharon, 1999, p. 166
  11. de Roziére, 1849, p. 279, cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, pp. 106-107, No 409
  12. Pringle, 1997, p. 29
  13. Beyer, 1942, identified Vetus Betor with Beit Ur al-Tahta, according to Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 304
  14. Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 112
  15. Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 124
  16. Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, p. 59
  17. Guérin, 1868, pp. 346-347
  18. Socin, 1879, p. 148 It was also noted to be in the Beni Malik district
  19. Hartmann, 1883, p. 118 also noted 53 houses
  20. Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 17
  21. Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramallah, p. 16
  22. Mills, 1932, p. 47.
  23. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 26
  24. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 64
  25. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 111
  26. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 161
  27. Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 24 It was further noted (note 2) that it was governed by a mukhtar.
  28. Perlmann, Joel (November 2011 – February 2012). "The 1967 Census of the West Bank and Gaza Strip: A Digitized Version" (PDF). Levy Economics Institute. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  29. Beit ‘Ur al Fauqa Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 16
  30. 'School students use sewage channels to reach school', Ma'an News Agency, 24 March 2015
  31. Hagar Shezaf, an Archaeological ‘Find’ Can Evict Palestinians From Their Home,' Haaretz 23 June 2020
  32. Meet Rashida Tlaif's grandma, The Washington Post (Archived)
  33. Rashida Tlaib's family disappointed but not surprised by Israeli ban, 15 August 2019, Middle East Eye

Bibliography
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