Balata al-Balad
Encyclopedia
Balata al-Balad is a Palestinian
village in the Nablus Governorate
in the northeastern West Bank
, located 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) east of Nablus
.
village, which was preserved by local residents. Its pseudonymn, al-Balad (meaning "the village"), is used to distinguish it from the Palestinian refugee
camp of Balata
which lies to the west and was established in 1950.
The village's name is transcribed in the writings of Eusebius (d. circa 339) and Jerome
(d. 420), as Balanus or Balata. In the Samartian chronicles, its Arabic names are transcribed as Balata ("a pavement of flat stone slabs") and Shejr al-Kheir ("tree of grace"). In the writings of Yaqut al-Hamawi
(d. 1229), the Syrian geographer, its name is transcribed as al-Bulāṭa.
One theory holds that balata is a derivation of the Aramaic
word Balut, meaning "acorn" (or, in Arabic, "oak"), while another theory holds that it is a derivation of the Byzantine
-Roman era, from the Greek
word platanos, meaning "terebinth
", a type of tree that grew around the village spring.
, the village is situated on the southern part of Tell Balata
, and covers about one-third of the tell
. The built-up area was made up of 2.5 hectare
s (25 dunams) in 1945, and increased to more than 10 hectares (100 dunams) in 1980. To the east, is a vast plain, with the ways running east-west leading out through the pass from Jerusalem to Nablus and the coast, and the way to the northeast around Mount Ebal
leading down to Wadi Fa'rah
and the ford across the Jordan River at Jisr el-Damiyah.
and Joseph's Tomb
. Benjamin of Tudela
, the Navarrese
traveller, who visited the site in 12th century, places it "A sabbath-way distance from Sichem
," and says it contains Joseph's sepulcher. The church built around Jacob's Well and the lands of the village of Balata belonged to the Benedictine
nuns of Bethany
in the 12th century. Written documentation from this time of the Crusades
indicates that, Balata, also known as Balathas, was a Frankish
settlement.
During the rule of the Ottoman Empire
over Palestine
, an 1894 report by Conrad Schick
for the Palestine Exploration Fund
describes Balata as a hamlet
made up of a few huts surrounded by gardens that lay to the west of Jacob's Well and its accompanying church complex, at that time in ruins.
, the Palestinian refugee camp of Balata
was established directly adjacent to the village in 1950. Its population is significantly larger than that of the village of Balata. During the First Intifada
, whenever the refugee camp was placed under curfew
by the Israel
i occupying authorities, so too was the village.
The village contains an old mosque, five schools, and the village spring, which served as the main water source, is known as Ain el-Khidr. Education and medical services in the Balata refugee camp are provided by UNRWA. While electricity and running water supplies were often irregular, the camp was better off in terms of public services than the village of Balata, which lacked piped water, and depended upon private electricity generators and Israeli-run education and medical services, until some after the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority
following the signing of the Oslo Accords
in 1993.
USAID sponsors a flagship program involving the Balata Al-Balad Women's Society in the village that seeks to increase coordination between community-based organizations and the Palestinian Ministry of Health to improve the provision of health care services.
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
village in the Nablus Governorate
Nablus Governorate
The Nablus Governorate is an administrative district of the Palestinian National Authoritylocated in the Central Highlands of the West Bank, 53km north of Jerusalem. It covers the area around the city of Nablus which serves as the muhfaza of the governorate...
in the northeastern West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, located 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) east of Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
.
Etymology
The village's name is Balata, the name of an ancient ArabArab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
village, which was preserved by local residents. Its pseudonymn, al-Balad (meaning "the village"), is used to distinguish it from the Palestinian refugee
Palestinian refugee
Palestinian refugees or Palestine refugees are the people and their descendants, predominantly Palestinian Arabic-speakers, who fled or were expelled from their homes during and after the 1948 Palestine War, within that part of the British Mandate of Palestine, that after that war became the...
camp of Balata
Balata
Balata Camp is a Palestinian refugee camp established in the northern West Bank in 1950, adjacent to the city of Nablus. It is the largest refugee camp in the West Bank. Balata Camp is densely populated with 30,000 residents in an area of 0.25 square kilometers.-History:In 1950, the UN gave the...
which lies to the west and was established in 1950.
The village's name is transcribed in the writings of Eusebius (d. circa 339) and Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
(d. 420), as Balanus or Balata. In the Samartian chronicles, its Arabic names are transcribed as Balata ("a pavement of flat stone slabs") and Shejr al-Kheir ("tree of grace"). In the writings of Yaqut al-Hamawi
Yaqut al-Hamawi
Yāqūt ibn-'Abdullah al-Rūmī al-Hamawī) was an Islamic biographer and geographer renowned for his encyclopedic writings on the Muslim world. "al-Rumi" refers to his Greek descent; "al-Hamawi" means that he is from Hama, Syria, and ibn-Abdullah is a reference to his father's name, Abdullah...
(d. 1229), the Syrian geographer, its name is transcribed as al-Bulāṭa.
One theory holds that balata is a derivation of the Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
word Balut, meaning "acorn" (or, in Arabic, "oak"), while another theory holds that it is a derivation of the Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
-Roman era, from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word platanos, meaning "terebinth
Pistacia palaestina
Pistacia palaestina is a tree or shrub common in the Levant region . It is called terebinth in English, a name also used for Pistacia terebinthus, a similar tree from the western Mediterranean Basin.-Description:...
", a type of tree that grew around the village spring.
Location
A suburb of the city of NablusNablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
, the village is situated on the southern part of Tell Balata
Tell Balata
Tell Balata is the site of the remains of an ancient city located in the Palestinian West Bank. The built-up area of Balata, a Palestinian village and suburb of Nablus, covers about one-third of the tell, and overlooks a vast plain to the east....
, and covers about one-third of the tell
Tell
A tell or tel, is a type of archaeological mound created by human occupation and abandonment of a geographical site over many centuries. A classic tell looks like a low, truncated cone with a flat top and sloping sides.-Archaeology:A tell is a hill created by different civilizations living and...
. The built-up area was made up of 2.5 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s (25 dunams) in 1945, and increased to more than 10 hectares (100 dunams) in 1980. To the east, is a vast plain, with the ways running east-west leading out through the pass from Jerusalem to Nablus and the coast, and the way to the northeast around Mount Ebal
Mount Ebal
Mount Ebal is one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank , and forms the northern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated, the southern side being formed by Mount Gerizim...
leading down to Wadi Fa'rah
Wadi Fa'rah
Wadi Fa'rah, a river in the northern West Bank that empties into the Jordan River at Jisr Damiya. It passes through the Palestinian village of Wadi al-Far'a...
and the ford across the Jordan River at Jisr el-Damiyah.
History
The history of the village of Balata is tied to that Jacob's WellJacob's Well
Jacob's Well is a deep well hewn of solid rock that has been associated in religious tradition with Jacob for roughly two millennia...
and Joseph's Tomb
Joseph's Tomb
Joseph's Tomb is a funerary monument located at the eastern entrance to the valley that separates Mounts Gerizim and Ebal, 325 yards northwest of Jacob's Well, on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Nablus, near Tell Balāṭa, the site of biblical Shechem...
. Benjamin of Tudela
Benjamin of Tudela
Benjamin of Tudela was a medieval Jewish traveler who visited Europe, Asia, and Africa in the 12th century. His vivid descriptions of western Asia preceded those of Marco Polo by a hundred years...
, the Navarrese
Kingdom of Navarre
The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....
traveller, who visited the site in 12th century, places it "A sabbath-way distance from Sichem
Shechem
Shechem was a Canaanite city mentioned in the Amarna letters, and is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as an Israelite city of the tribe of Manasseh and the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel...
," and says it contains Joseph's sepulcher. The church built around Jacob's Well and the lands of the village of Balata belonged to the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
nuns of Bethany
Bethany
Bethany, in the Bible, was the name of a village near Jerusalem - see Bethany - mentioned in the New Testament as the home of the siblings Mary, Martha, and Lazarus and, according to the Gospel of John, the site of a miracle in which Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead...
in the 12th century. Written documentation from this time of the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
indicates that, Balata, also known as Balathas, was a Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
settlement.
During the rule of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
over Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, an 1894 report by Conrad Schick
Conrad Schick
Conrad Schick was a German architect, archaeologist and Protestant missionary who settled in Jerusalem in the mid-nineteenth century.-Biography:...
for the Palestine Exploration Fund
Palestine Exploration Fund
The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society often simply known as the PEF. It was founded in 1865 and is still functioning today. Its initial object was to carry out surveys of the topography and ethnography of Ottoman Palestine with a remit that fell somewhere between an expeditionary...
describes Balata as a hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
made up of a few huts surrounded by gardens that lay to the west of Jacob's Well and its accompanying church complex, at that time in ruins.
Modern era
Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
, the Palestinian refugee camp of Balata
Balata
Balata Camp is a Palestinian refugee camp established in the northern West Bank in 1950, adjacent to the city of Nablus. It is the largest refugee camp in the West Bank. Balata Camp is densely populated with 30,000 residents in an area of 0.25 square kilometers.-History:In 1950, the UN gave the...
was established directly adjacent to the village in 1950. Its population is significantly larger than that of the village of Balata. During the First Intifada
First Intifada
The First Intifada was a Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. The uprising began in the Jabalia refugee camp and quickly spread throughout Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem....
, whenever the refugee camp was placed under curfew
Curfew
A curfew is an order specifying a time after which certain regulations apply. Examples:# An order by a government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time...
by the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i occupying authorities, so too was the village.
The village contains an old mosque, five schools, and the village spring, which served as the main water source, is known as Ain el-Khidr. Education and medical services in the Balata refugee camp are provided by UNRWA. While electricity and running water supplies were often irregular, the camp was better off in terms of public services than the village of Balata, which lacked piped water, and depended upon private electricity generators and Israeli-run education and medical services, until some after the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
following the signing of the Oslo Accords
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
in 1993.
USAID sponsors a flagship program involving the Balata Al-Balad Women's Society in the village that seeks to increase coordination between community-based organizations and the Palestinian Ministry of Health to improve the provision of health care services.