Potsherds from the
Byzantine,
Mamluk and early
Ottoman period have been found. A 1982 survey found two pillars and remnants of an
olive press, along with another pillar located in one of the courtyards. The
Mandatory DOA documented a medieval structure in ruins, characterized by
vaults, alongside a white
mosaic floor, a damaged pillar, a
winepress, a rock-cut
reservoir, and burial caves. (In 1883, the
PEF's
Survey of Western Palestine mentioned that "[t]o the east are
cisterns, wine-preses, and a pond (el-Balûā), which contains water in winter. On the north and east are
rock-cut tombs with well-cut entrances, but blocked up."). To the east are
cisterns,
wine-presses, and a pond (el-Balûā), which contains water in winter. On the north and east are rock-cut tombs with well-cut entrances, but blocked up.
Crusader period In 1883, the
PEF's
Survey of Western Palestine suggested that Beitunia was the
Crusader village
Uniet, which was one of 21 villages given by King
Godfrey as a
fief to the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre. However, in 1887,
Röhricht identified Beitunia with
Beitiumen, another fief given by the King to the Holy Sepulchre.
Conder found this to be "evidently correct" and hence "very doubtful" that Beitunia was
Uniet.
Abel, writing in 1931, suggested that Beitunia was
Beit Uniet, mentioned in an early 12th-century text.
Ottoman period Beitunia, like the rest of
Palestine, was incorporated into the
Ottoman Empire in 1517, and in the
census of 1596, the village was located in the
Nahiya of Quds of the
Liwa of
Quds. The population was 75 households and 5 bachelors, all
Muslim. They paid a fixed tax rated of 33,3% on wheat, barley, olives, vineyards, fruit trees, goats and/or beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 23,000
akçe. In 1738
Richard Pococke called it "a place called Bethany to the north." The American scholar
Edward Robinson noted it in 1838, as a Muslim village, part of the
El-Kuds district. In 1870 the French explorer
Victor Guérin found that Beitunia contained six hundred inhabitants.
Socin found from an official Ottoman village list from about the same year (1870) that Beitunia had a total of 147 houses and a population of 481, though the population count included men, only. Several inscriptions, dating to 1873-74 and forwards, have been described from the house of the village
Mukhtar. In 1883, the PEF's
Survey of Western Palestine described Beitunia as "A good-sized village of stone, surrounded by olives, standing high on a flat rocky ridge, with a plain to the east. To the east are
cisterns,
wine-presses, and a pond (el-Balûā), which contains water in winter. On the north and east are rock-cut tombs with well-cut entrances, but blocked up."
British Mandate In the
1922 census of Palestine conducted by the
British Mandate authorities, Beitunia had a population of 948 Muslim, increasing in the
1931 census to 1,213, still all Muslim, in 277 houses. Due to a lack of economic opportunities in the early 20th century, many people emigrated. Some went to the
Chicago area, and were involved in the startup of the
Bridgeview Mosque. In the
1945 statistics the population was 1,490, all Muslims, while the total land area was 23,366
dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 7,854 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 8,381 for cereals, while 77 dunams were classified as built-up areas.
Jordanian period In the wake of the
1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the
1949 Armistice Agreements, Beitunia came under
Jordanian rule. In 1961, the population of
Beituniya was 2,216.
Post-1967 Since the
Six-Day War in 1967, Beitunia has been under
Israeli occupation. After 1995, under the
Oslo Accords, 3,759
dunums (17.8%) of the town's lands were classified as
Area A, 472 dunums (2.2%) were classified as
Area B, while the remaining 16,896 dunums (80%) were classified as
Area C. Israel has confiscated land from Beitunia in order to construct two
Israeli settlements:
Beit Horon and
Giv'at Ze'ev.
Second Intifada: Israeli West Bank barrier, killings The
Second Intifada took place between September 2000 and February 2005. In June 2002, Israel began building the
West Bank barrier. Beitunia's land area consists of 2, 617.4 hectares (26,174 dunams) of which 336.2 hectares is built-up area. The Israeli West Bank barrier separates the urban area from 66% of the town's lands, however, most of the cut-off territory (
Seam Zone) is made-up of forest and open spaces making it prime agricultural and grazing land. According to the Oslo Accords, the
IDF is prevented from entering areas A (an area under full
Palestinian Authority control), but
Operation Defensive Shield in March to May 2002 abolished this distinction when the IDF searched that year in Beitunia for a suspect who wanted to make himself a "martyr." The IDF-search extended to
Qalandiya,
Bayt Surik,
Bayt Deko,
al-Judeirah, and
Hizma. Fadel Abu Zahira (9 years old) was shot and killed on 18 April 2002 in his own home in Beitunia. The bullet came from an armored vehicle and went through the window. Hussein Mahmoud 'Awad 'Alian (17 years old) was killed by Israeli gunfire on 16 April 2004 during demonstrations against the barrier. and was later under a plea deal sentenced to 9 months in jail.
Salah ad-Din Mosque Salah ad-Din Mosque is located to the west of the city and was established in 2002. It is named related to the old Muslim leader
Salah ad-Din al-Ayubi. It is considered one of the main mosques in the area. It consists of 3 floors and has a capacity for approximately 500 persons. ==References==