Archaeology Potsherds from the
Iron Age II,
Byzantine/
Umayyad and
Crusader/
Ayyubid periods have been found here. Additionally found at this location is a rock-cut reservoir featuring descending steps. The area was examined in 1873 by the
PEF's
Survey of Western Palestine (SWP), 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 Bidieh is an ancient ruined watch-tower.
Ottoman era In 1596, Biddya (also known as 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 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 2,700
akçe. All of the revenue went to a
Waqf. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the village formed part of the highland region known as Jūrat ‘Amra or Bilād Jammā‘īn. Situated between
Dayr Ghassāna in the south and the present
Route 5 in the north, and between
Majdal Yābā in the west and
Jammā‘īn,
Mardā and
Kifl Ḥāris in the east, this area served, according to historian
Roy Marom, "as a buffer zone between the political-economic-social units of the
Jerusalem and the
Nablus regions. On the political level, it suffered from instability due to the migration of the
Bedouin tribes and the constant competition among local clans for the right to collect taxes on behalf of the
Ottoman authorities." In 1838,
Edward Robinson noted it as a village,
Bidia, in the
Jurat Merda district, south of Nablus. French explorer
Victor Guérin passed by Beddia in 1870, and described it as a "mountain village", apparently of "some importance". In 1870/1871 (1288
AH), an Ottoman census listed the village in the
nahiya (sub-district) of Jamma'in al-Thani, subordinate to Nablus. in Biddya 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."
British Mandate era In the
1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the
British Mandate authorities, Biddya (called: Bedia) had a population of 792, all
Muslims, while in the
1931 census Biddya (including Salita) had 245 occupied houses and a population of 1,026, still all Muslim. In the
1945 statistics the population was 1,360, all Muslims, while the total land area was 13,466
dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 5,088 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 2,319 for cereals, while 47 dunams were classified as built-up areas. File:Biddya 1941.jpg|Biddya 1941 1:20,000 File:Biddya 1945.jpg|Biddya 1945 1:250,000
Jordanian era In the wake of the
1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the
1949 Armistice Agreements, Biddya came under
Jordanian rule. In 1961, the population of Biddya was 2,212.
Post-1967 Since the
Six-Day War in 1967, Biddya has been under
Israeli occupation. After the
1995 accords, 15.2% of village land was classified as
Area B, the remaining 84.8% as
Area C. The Israeli plans for the
Israeli West Bank barrier will isolate and confiscate 1,943 dunums of the southern part of village land from Biddya. By mid-2012, according to Palestinian General Election Commission, Biddya's (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. Before 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 No. 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.
Public institutions Biddya has five schools – two for each gender and a private school. Most high school graduates who attend college enroll in
an-Najah National University in Nablus or
Bir Zeit University in
Bir Zeit. There are four mosques and three health clinics in the town.
See also •
Killing of Aisha al-Rabi == Demography ==