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Bal'a

Coordinates:32°19′59″N35°06′31″E/ 32.33306°N 35.10861°E/32.33306; 35.10861
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Bal'a
Municipality type C
Arabic transcription(s)
•Arabicبلعا
•LatinBala'a (official)
Balaa (unofficial)
Southern Bal'a
Southern Bal'a
Bal'a is located in State of Palestine
Bal'a
Bal'a
Location of Bal'a withinPalestine
Coordinates:32°19′59″N35°06′31″E/ 32.33306°N 35.10861°E/32.33306; 35.10861
Palestine grid160/193
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateTulkarm
Government
• TypeMunicipality(from 1995)
• Head of MunicipalityAhmad Said Mansur
Area
• Total23,000dunams(23.0 km2or 8.9 sq mi)
Population
(2017)[1]
• Total7,822
• Density340/km2(880/sq mi)
Name meaningEither "Swallowing", or "The hole in the millstone",[2]

Bal'a(Arabic:بلعا) is aPalestiniantown in theTulkarm Governorate,located approximately nine kilometers northeast ofTulkarmin the northernWest Bankand three kilometers away from the highway connecting Tulkarm withNablus.[3]

According to thePalestinian Central Bureau of Statistics(PCBS), the town had a population of approximately 6,604 in 2007 and 7,822 in 2017.[1][4]In 1922, the town had a population of 1,259 nearly doubled to 2,220 in 1945. AfterIsrael's occupation of the town in 1967 after theSix-Day War,Bal'a inhabitants numbered 3,800 after dozens of families from nearby towns such as,Deir al-Ghusunsettled there after being expelled.

History

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A tomb was broken into near this village about the time of thePalestine Exploration Fundvisit. It consisted of a single chamber with aloculuson each of three walls. The door was an inscribed slab, with rough ornamentation.Tyrwhitt Drakefound a date, corresponding to 332 CE.[5]

Ottoman era

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Bal'a, like all ofPalestine,was incorporated into theOttoman Empirein 1517. In the 1596tax registers,it was part of thenahiya( "subdistrict" ) of Jabal Sami, part of the largerSanjak of Nablus.It had a population of 6 households, allMuslims.The inhabitants paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 1,658akçe.[6]Ceramics from the Ottoman era have been found here.[7]Based on the potsherds found there, 80% of which date to the Ottoman period and 20% to the 20th century,Zertalassumed that the village was established in the 16th–17th centuries. In Grossman[who?]opinion the residents of Bal'a hailed from the villagesBarbara,Deir al-Ghusun,andJatt.[7]

In 1838 it was noted as a village in the western Sha'rawiya administrative region, north ofNablus.[8]

In 1870/1871 (1288AH), an Ottoman census listed the village in thenahiya(sub-district) of Wadi al-Sha'ir.[9]In 1882, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine(SWP) described Bal'a as a "good-sized village on very high ground, with magnificent groves of olives to the west, and supplied bycisterns.It is apparently an ancient site, having rock-cut tombs. "[10]

British Mandate era

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In the1922 census of Palestineconducted by theBritish Mandate authorities,Bal'a's population was 1,259, all Muslims,[11]increasing in the1931 censusto 1,539 residents, still all Muslim, in a total of 344 houses.[12]In the1945 statisticsthe population of Bal'a was 2,220 Muslims.[13]and the land area was 21,151dunams,according to an official land and population survey.[14]70 dunams were for citrus and bananas, 7,766 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 2,753 used for cereals,[15]while 42 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[16]

Jordanian era

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In the wake of the1948 Arab–Israeli War,and after the1949 Armistice Agreements,Bal'a came underJordanianrule. In 1961, the population of Bal'a was 2,888.[17]

Post-1967

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After theSix-Day Warin 1967, Bal'a has been underIsraeli occupation.

Demographics

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The town's growth stunted after theSix-Day War,going from 3,400 in 1967 to just 3,800 in 1987.

In the first Palestinian census by thePalestinian Central Bureau of Statistics(PCBS) in 1997, Bal'a had a population of 5,444 inhabitants. More than 20% of the residents werePalestinian refugees.[18]The gender make-up was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.[19]In 2007, Bal'a's residents numbered 6,604.[4]In 2017, the population was 7,822.[1]

The population of Bal'a comes from different places. Some are fromBarbara,nearAshkelon,while others are fromDeir al-GhussunandJit.[20]

Economy

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Bal'a's primary source of income is agriculture. The town's land area consists of about 23,000dunamsmost of which isarable land.The town annually produces an average 10,000 tons ofolive oilwith olives being the main cash crop of Bal'a and surrounding towns and villages. Other common orchards include figs, apricots and almonds. Wheat and barley are grown during the winter while tomatoes,marrowsand green peppers are grown mostly during the summer. Livestock is a major factor in Bal'a's agriculture sector as many families own thousands of hens as well as sheep, goats and cattle.[21]

A few hundred in the town work for thePalestinian National Authority(PNA) in careers as teachers, doctors and business managers. A large number of people are in service with various PNA security branches, including thePreventive Security Service.The town's built-up area is currently about 3,600 dunams.[21]Bal'a has six schools: Two secondary, four primary. Boys and girls attend different schools. There are also three kindergartens.[22]

Notable people from Bal'a

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References

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  1. ^abcPreliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017(PDF).Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics(PCBS) (Report).State of Palestine.February 2018. pp. 64–82.Retrieved2023-10-24.
  2. ^Palmer, 1881, p.180
  3. ^LocationArchived2007-12-25 at theWayback MachineBalaa Municipality
  4. ^ab2007 PCBS census.Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics(PCBS). p. 107.
  5. ^Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p.172
  6. ^Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 127
  7. ^abZertal, 2016, pp.455-456
  8. ^Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd Appendix, p.129
  9. ^Grossman, David (2004).Arab Demography and Early Jewish Settlement in Palestine.Jerusalem: Magnes Press. p. 253.
  10. ^Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p.159
  11. ^Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Tulkarem, p.27
  12. ^Mills, 1932, p.53
  13. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p.20
  14. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics.Village Statistics, April, 1945.Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.74
  15. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics.Village Statistics, April, 1945.Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.124
  16. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics.Village Statistics, April, 1945.Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.174
  17. ^Government of Jordan, 1964, p.14
  18. ^Palestinian Population by Locality and Refugee StatusArchived2012-02-07 at theWayback MachinePalestinian Central Bureau of Statistics(PCBS).
  19. ^Palestinian Population by Locality, Sex and Age Groups in YearsPalestinian Central Bureau of Statistics(PCBS)
  20. ^Grossman, D. (1986). "Oscillations in the Rural Settlement of Samaria and Judaea in the Ottoman Period". inShomron studies.Dar, S., Safrai, S., (eds). Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House. p. 351
  21. ^abEconomical SituationArchived2007-12-25 at theWayback MachineBalaa Municipality
  22. ^EducationArchived2007-12-25 at theWayback MachineBalaa Municipality

Bibliography

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