A displaced Palestinian village that rose above one of the mountains of Jerusalem to the southwest of it. Most of its houses were built of stone and mud. During the 1948 war, the Jews took control of Beit Atab, expelled its Arab residents, destroyed its homes, and then established the “Prajora” settlement to its east, and the “Nes Harim” settlement to its north.
the site
The village of Beit Attab is located to the west of the city of Jerusalem, with a slight deviation to the south. It is 17 kilometers away from it, and is 650 meters above sea level.
Several roads led to the village, including the railway station road to the village of Deir al-Sheikh, a land road connecting Beit Attab to Deir al-Sheikh and then Jerusalem, and also the road leading to Bab al-Wad and the link between Jaffa and Jerusalem.
It is bordered to the north by the lands of the villages of Deir al-Sheikh, Safali, Jarash, and Deir al-Hawa, to the west by the lands of the villages of Deir al-Hawa, Safali, and Jarash, to the south it is bordered by the villages of Alar and Beit Natif, and to the east it is bordered by the lands of the villages of Deir al-Sheikh and Allar.
Population
The population – according to documents of the Ottoman Empire – in the sixteenth century in 1538 was estimated at about 70 people, while in 1553 it was about 266 people.
In 1596-1597, they reached approximately 500 people. In 1838, Edward Robinson visited it and estimated its population at about 600 people.
In 1870, the number of inhabited houses in Beit Attab reached 89, and the population was about 450. In 1922, their number was about 504, and in 1931, they reached 606, including 300 males and 306 females, all Muslims. They had 187 houses, and their population reached 1870. 1945 about 540 people.
During the year of the Nakba, their number was 626 people, and their number increased according to statistics from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in 2008 to 5,564 people.
The Al-Lahham family resides in this village, and they became prominent during the time of feudalism in the 19th century AD.
the date
Residents of the village mention that its original name was “Bayt al-Ataa,” meaning the House of Generosity, and it was changed over time to “Bayt Attab.”
At the beginning of the Ottoman era, its names were Beit Attab Al-Sofa and Al-Fawqa, but it turned out that they were two neighboring villages, and it was called Beit “Attab Al-Fawqa” because it was higher above sea level than Beit Attab Al-Fawqa. Then, Beit Attab Al-Fawqa began to be called Beit Attab, and Beit Attab Al-Sulfa was called Sofa. At the beginning of the 18th century.
Village landmarks
There was an old mosque in the village in which Friday prayers and Eid prayers were held. Before the Nakba, the village school teachers were the ones in charge of preaching and Friday prayers, as they were graduates of Al-Azhar, and Eid prayers were held above the mosque or its courtyards due to the large number of worshipers.
There were a number of shrines in Beit Atab, most of which have disappeared, and only two shrines remain: “The Maqam of Sheikh Marouf,” which is in the west of the town, and “The Maqam of Sheikh Hassan,” which is in the east of it, and only a few traces of it remain. There are two cemeteries in the village, the first in the east and the second in the west.
The people of Beit Attab took care of the cultural aspect. They had a school in the village before the school was built. The school was built before the British Mandate. In 1921, it was expanded and included up to the sixth grade. It was located to the west of the town and had a large playground with trees planted around it. It also had a small library.
One of the prominent figures of the village is Sheikh Othman Badwan Al-Lahham, who was the sheikh of the Arqoub district since the beginning of the 18th century AD.
Economy
Beit Atab was fertile with its crops, and agriculture topped the list of the village’s economies, followed by livestock raising and a number of jobs.
The area of Beit Atab’s lands is 8,757 dunums, of which the Jews own nothing. In addition to their village lands, the residents of Beit Atab owned vast lands in the coastal plain area, which were used for growing grains. While they invested their village lands in growing grains, olive trees, grapes and other fruits.
As much as the people of Beit Attab were interested in cultivating the land, they were interested in livestock, and the farmer’s lifestyle was to raise sheep, cows, camels, horses, and donkeys, and they used them to transport and plow the land.
There were all kinds of poultry birds in the town, including chickens, pigeons, ducks, and turkeys, and most of the houses in the village had beehives. The town had a number of shops and shops for carpenters, blacksmiths, barbers, and welders.
The role of the Al-Lahham family in Attab’s house
The Al-Laham Al-Qaysiyyah clan ruled in the name of the Ottoman Sultan the Al-Arqoub district, which extended from the south of Jerusalem to the outskirts of the city of Hebron. The village of Beit Attab was the center of the Al-Laham clan’s rule, and it was called “The Chair of Al-Laham.”
The Al-Lahham clan was able to mobilize from 8,000 to 10,000 fighters and put them at the disposal of the Ottomans upon request, including Sheikh Melhem Al-Lahham, whom the British historian Alexander Schulz described as one of the most powerful sheikhs and rulers of the Jerusalem countryside.
Schulz mentioned that when Ibrahim Pasha wanted to occupy the Levant, he requested a meeting with 3 leaders of the Jerusalem countryside in his tent to ensure that they would stand on his side. The meeting was attended by Sheikh Melhem Al-Laham, Sheikh Ibrahim Abu Ghosh, and Sheikh Ismail Al-Samhan.
Historical sources mention that the knights of the Al-Lahham clan (from the meaning of the word Al-Lahham: the knight who firmly confronts his enemies) contributed to attacking the French army’s supply convoys during Napoleon Bonaparte’s campaign against Acre, and they provided many martyrs.
Other sources mentioned about the Al-Lahham clan that they were the leaders of the Qays in the south of the city of Jerusalem. Among their leaders at the time were Sheikh Othman Badwan Al-Lahham and his cousin Muhammad Atallah Al-Lahham, who were exiled to Cyprus in 1853 after a dispute with Soraya Pasha, the governor of Jerusalem, and then returned from exile later.
Occupying the village and displacing its residents
Beit Atab was one of a series of villages in the Jerusalem corridor that were occupied after the second armistice in the 1948 war. Israeli historian Benny Morris says that it was occupied on October 21, 1948 during Operation Hahar (The Mountain). This operation was integrated with Operation Yoav, which was the simultaneous attack on the southern front aimed at pushing towards the Negev.
Settlements on village lands
In 1950, the Israeli occupation state established the “Nes Harim” settlement on land belonging to the village to the north of its location.
Beit Attab village after displacement
The site of the village after its displacement is covered with large amounts of rubble from its destroyed houses, and the remains of the Crusader castle are still visible there.
There are two cemeteries, one west of the village and the other east of it, some of their graves are excavated.
Almond, carob, and olive trees grow in the lower village site, and aloe vera grows at its southern edge. Israeli farmers exploit part of the agricultural land surrounding the site.
