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Battir (31°46′N, 35°14′E; Arabic: بتير) is an ancient village located four kilometers from Bethlehem to the southeast, and Jerusalem to the northeast. It has a population of almost 5,000 inhabitants. Battir sits just above the main railroad from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which also served as the armistice line between Israel and Jordan from 1948 to 1967. Today Battir is administered by the Palestinian National Authority.
[edit] Geography
Battir is located on a hill above Wadi el-Jundi, which runs southwest through Palestine hills to the coastal plain. At an altitude of around 720 meters, Battir's summers are temperate, and its winters mild with the occasional snowfall.
[edit] History
[edit] Bar Kokhba revolt
Battir is identified with the ancient Jewish town of Betar (Hebrew: ביתר), which was a stronghold during the 2nd century Bar Kokhba revolt against Roman rule in Judea. Located on a steep hill to the west of Battir, the remains of the ancient town are known today as Khirbet al-Yahud, Arabic for "ruin of the Jews." Jewish sources indicate that following the destruction of the village and massacre of its population along with Bar Kokhba and his followers, Roman colonists inhabited the site. According to legend preserved in the Talmud, the earth was so thick with the blood of those massacred that the colonists did not have to fertilize the fields for the first seven years thereafter. To this day, remains of Bar Kokhba's fortress and the square outline of the Roman military siege camp (similar to those at Masada) are still visible.
[edit] Modern times
Fellahin on Battir going to market in 1913
In modern times, Battir's development was linked to its location alongside the railroad to Jerusalem, which provided both access to the city's opportunities as well as direct income from passengers who would disembark when the locomotives stopped to take on water.[1] After the 1948 war, the armistance line fell along the railroad, and Battir ended up just meters to the east of Jordan's border with Israel. After the 1967 War, Battir passed to Israeli control along with the rest of the West Bank, though after the 1995 signing of the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, it has been administered by the Palestinian Authority. There is some concern that the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier might negatively impact the environment in the area, especially due to Battir's proximity to the Green Line.[2]
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