Barta'a

Barta'a ( ) is an Arab village located in the northern triangle area and Nahal Iron. The Green Line separating Israel and the West Bank splits the village into two parts. Historically, the residents of Barta'a faced challenges related to this bifurcation, impacting their social and economic interactions. In recent years, efforts have been made to reunify the village, facilitating the integration of its eastern and western sections.

Barta'a ( ) is an Arab village located in the northern triangle area and Nahal Iron. The Green Line separating Israel and the West Bank splits the village into two parts. Historically, the residents of Barta'a faced challenges related to this bifurcation, impacting their social and economic interactions. In recent years, efforts have been made to reunify the village, facilitating the integration of its eastern and western sections.

History

Ceramics from the Byzantine era have been found in Barta'a.

Ottoman Empire

In 1517 Barta'a was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire with the rest of Palestine. During the 16th and 17th centuries, it belonged to the Turabay Emirate (1517–1683), which encompassed also the Jezreel Valley, Haifa, Jenin, Beit She'an Valley, northern Jabal Nablus, Bilad al-Ruha/Ramot Menashe, and the northern part of the Sharon plain. In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described it as "a ruined Arabic village on a high hill, with a spring in the valley to the north 400 feet¹ below." The village of Barta'a was established in the middle of the 19th century by members of the Kabha tribe. According to oral traditions, the tribe moved in the middle of the 18th century from Bayt Jibrin to Ya'bad. In the middle of the 19th century, some of the Kabhaites left Ya'bad in search of a living area and purchased the land of Barta'a, where they found a spring and grazing land. In time, Barta'a developed and was built around it by satellite villages, also belonging to the sons of Kabha: Umm al-Qutuf, 'Ein al-Sahala, Wadi' Ara and Tura al-Arabiya.

Israel

Barta'a enclave

The Israeli West Bank barrier passes east of Barta'a, separating the town from the rest of the West Bank. The portion of the town lying outside Israeli territory (Eastern Barta'a) is in what is known as the Seam Zone, an area between the Green Line and the barrier. Other towns and villages in this enclave include Umm ar-Rihan, Khirbet 'Abdallah al-Yunis, Khirbet Ash-Sheikh Sa'eed, Khirbet al-Muntar al-Gharbiya, Khirbet al-Muntar ash-Sharqiyya, and Dhaher al-Malik. There are no checkpoints to the west on the border with Israel, but long-term residents of the Barta'a enclave who do not have Israeli citizenship face fines if they leave the enclave to venture into Israel. Access from the Barta'a enclave to the West Bank is through two entry/exit gates: Barta'a and Shaked. People who want to enter the enclave must also apply for a permit. The market in the Barta'a enclave has become a hotspot for customers from Israel. Because the residents do not live under Israeli social system, products are cheaper than in Israel. The area is accessible for Palestinians and Israelis, and thus has become a kind of free-trade zone.

See also

West Bank closures

References

Bibliography

External links

Google map Survey of Western Palestine, Map 8: IAA, Wikimedia commons UNRWA Profile of Barta'a Sharqiya Enclave Haaretz article on Barta'a entitled, "A Surreal Visit to an Arab Israeli Town Straddling a Contested Border for the Last 50 Years" Salon article on Barta'a entitled, "Another Brick in the Wall" Times of Israel article on Barta'a, entitled "Town on Israeli-Palestinian border finds a good balance" Barta'a's entry at Palestine Remembered

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378487895 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.