Bayt 'Itab

Bayt 'Itab بيت عطاب Beit 'Atab, Bait 'Itab
Bayt 'Itab
Etymology: ""House of Atab"[1]
1870s map 1940s map modern map 1940s with modern overlay map A series of historical maps of the area around Bayt 'Itab (click the buttons)
Bayt 'Itab Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 31°44′06″N 35°03′11″E / 31.73500°N 35.05306°E / 31.73500; 35.05306
Palestine grid	155/126
Geopolitical entity	Mandatory Palestine
Subdistrict	Jerusalem
Date of depopulation	21 October 1948[4]
Area [3]
• Total	5,447 dunams (5.447 km2 or 2.103 sq mi)
Population  (1945)
• Total	540[2][3]
Cause(s) of depopulation	Military assault by Yishuv forces
Current Localities	Nes Harim[5]

Bayt ʿIṭāb (Arabic: بيت عطاب) was a Palestinian Arab village located in the Jerusalem Subdistrict. The village is believed to have been inhabited since the biblical period. An ancient tunnel which led to the village spring is associated with the story of Samson.^{[citation needed]} Both during and after its incorporation into Crusader fiefdoms in the 12th century, its population was Arab. Sheikhs from the Lahham family clan, who were associated with the Qays tribo-political faction, ruled the village during Ottoman era. In the 19th century, this clan controlled 24 villages in the vicinity. The homes were built of stone. The local farmers cultivated cereals, fruit trees and olive groves and some engaged in livestock breeding.

After a military assault on Bayt ʿIṭāb by Israeli forces in October 1948, the village was depopulated and demolished.^[6] Many of the villagers had fled to refugee camps in the West Bank less than 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the village. In 1950, an Israeli moshav, Nes Harim, was established north of the built up portion of Bayt 'Itab, on an adjacent peak.^[7]