Beit Furik

Beit Furik (Arabic: بيت فوريك‎) is a Palestinian town located nine kilometers southeast of Nablus, in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 10,339 inhabitants in 2007.[2]

Beit Furik
Municipality type A (City)
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicبيت فوريك
 • LatinBayt Furik (official)
Beit Furik
Beit Furik
Location of Beit Furik within Palestine
Coordinates: 32°10′37″N 35°20′11″E
Palestine grid181/175
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateNablus
Government
 • TypeCity
Population
 (2007)
 • Total10,339
Name meaningThe house of Furik[1]

Location

Beit Furik is located 8.24 km south east of Nablus. It is bordered by Al Jiftlik to the east, Ar Rajman, Yanun, and 'Awarta to the south, Rujeib and Nablus to the west, and Beit Dajan, Salim and Deir al Hatab to the north.[3]

History

Old tombs have been found here.[4]

Neubauer, and others, suggested that it was the place called Ferka in the Talmud,[5][6] but Abel suggested locating that at Farkha.[4][7] It has also been suggested that this place is mention in the Samaritan Chronicle.[8]

In the Crusader era, it was known as Bethflori,[9][10] and in 1241 CE there was fought a battle here, according to Ibn el-Jawzi.[10]

Ottoman era

In 1517, the village was included in the Ottoman empire with the rest of Palestine, and in the 1596 tax-records it appeared as Bayt Furik, located in the Nahiya of Jabal Qubal, part of Nablus Sanjak. The population was 68 households, all Muslim. They paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and beehives, a press for olive oil or grape syrup, in addition to occasional revenues and a fixed tax for people of Nablus area; a total of 16,665 akçe.[11]

In 1838, Edward Robinson noted it on his travels in the area,[12] and as part of the El-Beitawy district, east of Nablus.[13]

In 1870, Victor Guérin noted Beit Foureik sitting on the slopes of a hill, with a belt of olives surrounding it.[14]

In 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described it as: "A small village in a nook of the hills near the plain of Salim. It has a well to the east."[15]

During the 19th century and mid-20th century, Beit Furik was the main supplier of lime to the Nabulsi soap industry based in Nablus.[16]

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Bait Furik had a population of 744 Muslims[17] increasing in the 1931 census, where Beit Furik (together with the smaller location Kh. Beita) had a population of 867 Muslims, in a total of 262 houses.[18]

In the 1945 statistics Beit Furik (including Kh. Kafr Beita) had a population of 1,240, all Muslims,[19] with 36,663 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[20] Of this, 2,645 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 12,453 used for cereals,[21] while 53 dunams were built-up land.[22]

Jordanian era

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Beit Furik came under Jordanian rule.

In 1961, the population of Beit Furik was 1,997 persons.[23]

1967, aftermath

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Beit Furik has been under Israeli occupation along with the rest of the Palestinian territories. The population in the 1967 census conducted by Israel was 2,416, of whom 7 originated from the Israeli territory.[24]

Under the interim Oslo Peace Accords, areas of the West Bank were divided into various categories. According to ARIJ, 45% of the village land is in Area B, while the remaining 55% is in Area C.[25]

Israel has confiscated 441 dunums from Beit Furik for the two Israeli settlements of Itamar and Michola. In addition it has confiscated land for Israeli military bases, Israeli settlement roads, and Israeli fence.[25]

References
  1. Palmer, 1881, p. 199
  2. 2007 PCBS Census. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. p.110.
  3. Beit Furik town profile, ARIJ, p. 4
  4. Dauphin, 1988, p. 848
  5. Neubauer, 1868, p. 275; cited in Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p.229
  6. Conder, 1877, p. 29
  7. Abel, 1938, p. 407; cited in Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 814
  8. Conder, 1876, p.196
  9. Conder, 1890, p. 32
  10. Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 814
  11. Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 132
  12. Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol. 3, p. 102
  13. Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 128
  14. Guérin, 1874, p. 455
  15. Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p.229
  16. Doumani, 1995, Soap, Class, and State
  17. Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Nablus, p. 24
  18. Mills, 1932, p. 60
  19. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 18
  20. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 59
  21. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 105
  22. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 155
  23. Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 25
  24. Perlmann, Joel (November 2011 – February 2012). "The 1967 Census of the West Bank and Gaza Strip: A Digitized Version" (PDF). Levy Economics Institute. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  25. Beit Furik town profile, ARIJ, pp. 16-17

Bibliography
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