Biddya

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Biddya
Other transcription(s)
 • Arabic بديا
 • Also spelled Biddia (official)
Bedia (unofficial)
Biddya
Location of Biddya within the Palestinian territories
Coordinates: 32°06′51″N 35°04′39″E / 32.11417°N 35.07750°E / 32.11417; 35.07750Coordinates: 32°06′51″N 35°04′39″E / 32.11417°N 35.07750°E / 32.11417; 35.07750
Governorate Salfit
Government
 • Type Municipality
 • Head of Municipality Ramadan Shatat
Population (2007)
 • Jurisdiction 8,064
Name meaning Bidieh[1]

Biddya (Arabic: بديا‎) is a Palestinian town in the Salfit Governorate, located 32 kilometers southwest of Nablus and half that distance from Salfit in the northern West Bank.[2] According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Biddya had a population of 8,064 in 2007.[3] The town is governed by a municipal council of eleven members who each represent the prominent families of Biddya and select a mayor.[2]

Biddya is situated on the western ridge of the central mountain range that runs north-south in the West Bank. It has an elevation of 320 meters above sea level. The historical Nablus-Jerusalem road is nearby. A shrine for a local holy man, Sheikh Hamdan is located in the town.[4]

Archeology

The area was examined in 1873 by "Survey of Western Palestine", who gave the following description:
Rock-cut tombs exist here, principally rude caves. The rock is quarried in many places. South of the village is a birkeh (pool) about 30 feet by 20 feet, with a flight of 12 steps, leading down about 10 feet. It is made of rudely squared stones, about 1 foot to 1 1/2 feet in length, which are covered again with a well-made rubble almost resembling a tesselated pavement, and this again is covered with a soft white cement, containing large pieces of pottery and small stones. There is on each side of the pool (north and south) a semicircular stone buttress, 2 feet diameter, on a base about 4 feet; this perhaps indicates that the birkeh was roofed in. South-west of Biddya is an ancient ruined watch-tower.[5]

History

In 1596, Biddya (also, Beddia, Bedia, Bidya, Bedya, and Bidieh) appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the nahiya of Jabal Qubal in the liwa of Nablus. It had a population of 8 households and 1 bachelor, all Muslim. The villagers paid taxes on wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and beehives.[6]

French explorer Victor Guérin passed by Beddia in 1870, and described it as "mountain village", apparently of "some importance".[7] In the 1882 "Survey of Western Palestine", Bidieh was described as "a village of moderate size, the houses principally of stone. It is surrounded with beautiful groves of very fine old olives. It is evidently an ancient site. The water supply is from rock-cut cisterns."[8]

In a census conducted in 1922 by the British Mandate authorities, Biddya (called: Bedia) had a population of 792, all Muslims,[9] while in the 1931 census Biddya (including Salita) had 245 occupied houses and a population of 1026, still all Muslim.[10] In 1945 the population was 1,360, all Arabs, while the total land area was 13,466 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[11] Of this, 5,088 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 2,319 for cereals,[12] while 47 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[13] By mid 2012, according to Palestinian General Election Commission,[14] Biddya (بديا) population was 8,951 (not including expatriates).

Economy

Biddya depends primarily on olive groves for olive oil and Nabulsi soap production — the town's main industries. The town mostly receives food products from subsistence farming or local grocery markets.

Prior to the beginning of the Second Intifada in the fall of 2000, many residents worked in neighboring towns and cities, especially in Nablus and Ramallah, as well as for Israeli employers. The main road traversing the village, Road #505 (previously part of the Trans-Samaria Highway), was lined with many stores which served thousands of Israeli shoppers who would frequent the town each week including residents of the Israeli settlements passing through, as well as Israelis living in the Tel Aviv area who were looking for products at low prices. Unemployment was about 20%, however since the Intifada that figure has risen to 78-90%. Besides farming, some inhabitants live off their savings and others receive aid from relatives abroad.[2]

Public institutions

Biddya has four schools — two for each gender and a private school. Most graduates from high school that attend college, enroll in an-Najah National University in Nablus or Bir Zeit University in Bir Zeit. There are four mosques and a three health clinics in the town.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Palmer, 1881, 226
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Biddya Village Profile International Women's Peace Service.
  3. ↑ 2007 PCBS Census Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. p. 112.
  4. ↑ Sharon, 1999, p. 235.
  5. ↑ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, p. 306
  6. ↑ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 137.
  7. ↑ Guérin, 1875, p. 146
  8. ↑ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, p. 283-4
  9. ↑ Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-District of Nablus, p. 25
  10. ↑ Mills, 1931, p. 60
  11. ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in S. Hadawi, Village Statistics, 1945. PLO Research Center, 1970, p. 59
  12. ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in S. Hadawi, Village Statistics, 1945. PLO Research Center, 1970, p. 105
  13. ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in S. Hadawi, Village Statistics, 1945. PLO Research Center, 1970, p. 155
  14. ↑ General Election Commission - Palestine

Bibliography

External links

Municipalities

Palestinian territories
Villages
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