View source for Barta'a

{{Infobox settlement <!--More parameter fields available at Infobox settlement-->
| official_name      = Barta'a
| image_skyline      = Busy main street of Barta'a.jpg
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = 
| native_name        = בַּרְטַעָה • برطعة
| established_date   = 
| settlement_type    = Town
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{ISR}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[Districts of Israel|District]]
| established_title  = 
| unit_pref          = Dunam
| timezone           = [[Israel Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset         = +2
| timezone_DST       = IDT
| utc_offset_DST     = +3
| other_name         = 
| subdivision_name1  = {{flag|Haifa District|name=Haifa}}
| coordinates        = {{coord|32|28|28|N|35|05|32|E|display=inline,title}}
| population_total   = 8300
| population_as_of   = 2006
| area_total_dunam   = 4320
| area_total_km2     = 4.3
| leader_name        = 
| pushpin_map        = Israel haifa
| pushpin_label_position = left
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| pushpin_mapsize    = 250
}}

Barta'a ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: בַּרְטַּעָה) is an Arab village located in the [[Triangle (Israel)|northern triangle area]] and [[Wadi Ara|'''Nahal Iron''']], which is split by the Green Line separating [[Israel]] from the [[West Bank]]. This division resulted in the separation of the village into two parts: one located within the State of Israel and the other in the West Bank. 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==
===Early history===
Ceramics from the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] era have been found in Barta'a.<ref>Dauphin, 1998, p. 749</ref>

===Ottoman era===
In 1517 Barta'a was incorporated into the [[Ottoman Empire]] with the rest of Palestine. During the [[16th century|16th]] and [[17th century|17th centuries]], it belonged to the [[Turabay dynasty|Turabay]] Emirate (1517-1683), which encompassed also the [[Jezreel Valley]], [[Haifa]], [[Jenin]], [[Beit She'an Valley]], northern [[Jabal Nablus]], [[Manasseh Hills|Bilad al-Ruha/Ramot Menashe]], and the northern part of the [[Sharon plain]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=al-Bakhīt |first=Muḥammad ʻAdnān |last2=al-Ḥamūd |first2=Nūfān Rajā |title=Daftar mufaṣṣal nāḥiyat Marj Banī ʻĀmir wa-tawābiʻihā wa-lawāḥiqihā allatī kānat fī taṣarruf al-Amīr Ṭarah Bāy sanat 945 ah |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/28579982 |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=www.worldcat.org |publisher=Jordanian University |pages=1–35 |language=en |publication-place=Amman |publication-date=1989}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Marom |first=Roy |last2=Tepper |first2=Yotam |last3=Adams |first3=Matthew |title=Lajjun: Forgotten Provincial Capital in Ottoman Palestine |url=https://www.academia.edu/101515579/Lajjun_Forgotten_Provincial_Capital_in_Ottoman_Palestine |journal=Levant |pages=1–24 |doi=10.1080/00758914.2023.2202484}}</ref>

In 1882, the [[Palestine Exploration Fund|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 feet below."<ref>Conder and Kitchener, SWP II, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/51/mode/1up 51]</ref> 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.<ref>Amara, 1999,  p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZURIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA12 12]</ref>

===British Mandate era===
In the [[1922 census of Palestine]], conducted by the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate authorities]], Barta'a had a population of 468, all Muslim,<ref name="Census1922">Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Jenin, p.  [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n32/mode/1up  30]</ref> increasing in the [[1931 census of Palestine|1931 census]] to 692, still all Muslims, in 94 houses.<ref name="Census1931">Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas   67]</ref>

In the [[Village Statistics, 1945|1945 estimates]], the village plus [[Khirbat Tura el Gharbiya]] had a population of 1,000 Muslims<ref name=DoS1945>Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p16.jpg 16] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905203337/http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p16.jpg |date=2018-09-05 }}</ref> with 20,499 [[dunam]]s of land, according to an official land and population survey.<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Jinin/Page-054.jpg 54]</ref> 464 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 1,957 dunams for cereals,<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Jinin/Page-098.jpg 98]</ref> while 1,900 dunams were non-cultivable land.<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in  Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Jinin/Page-148.jpg 148]</ref>

<gallery>
File:Barta'a 1942.jpg|Barta'a 1942 1:20,000
File:Qaffin 1945.jpg|Barta'a 1945 1:250,000
</gallery>

===Israel===
After the [[1948 Arab-Israeli War]], the village of Barta'a was divided by the [[1949 Armistice Agreements|1949 armistice]] into eastern and western parts. The western part fell under [[Israel]]i control, while the eastern part fell under [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank|Jordanian control]]. From 1949 to 1967, travel between the two halves was practically impossible. In the armistice agreements at the end of the War of Independence, the village was divided into two, on the basis of the Wadi al-Umiya outline, which crosses the village and constitutes a convenient natural border. Its north-western part was transferred to Israel with about a third of the population (500 people), while its eastern-southern part, which is located on the hilltop, was incorporated into [[Jordan]] with about 1,000 residents. The distance between the houses of Barta'a in Israel and the houses of Barta'a in Jordan was a few dozen meters and in some places only a few meters. In the first years after the 1948 War the villagers moved almost freely between the two parts of the village. The residents of Barta'a used to go to the mosque in the Jordanian section, and the mukhtar was in charge of the two parts of the village. As a result, the village was a convenient place for meetings between Israeli Arabs and their relatives who lived in Jordan. In May 1955, the Jordanian authorities evacuated the refugees who settled in East Barta'a from the area, in order to make it difficult to smuggle into Israel. In March 1956, a serious border incident occurred in which an Israeli policeman and four Arabs from Jordan were killed. During the incident, most residents of East Barta'a fled their homes.{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}}

Following the 1967 [[Six-Day War]], Israel captured the [[West Bank]] and the two parts of the town were informally reunited, operating as one municipal unit. Since many of the residents in both parts of the town belong to the same extended family (the Kabha family), the [[de facto]] "reunification" was viewed positively by town residents.<ref name="Haaretz">{{cite journal |author=Vered Lee |date=2007-02-19 |title=There's no EKG - but there is reflexology |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/there-s-no-ekg-but-there-is-reflexology-1.212698 |url-status=live |journal=TheMarker |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070512122250/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/824565.html |archive-date=12 May 2007 |accessdate=11 May 2007}}</ref> Residents of East Barta'a began to work in Israel and agriculture became a source of secondary income. Thanks to the proximity to Israel, the standard of living in East Barta'a rose faster than in the rest of the West Bank. In 1978, East Barta'a was connected to electricity from generators, and in 1984, it was connected to the Israeli electricity grid.<ref>{{cite book|author=Einar Ingvald Haugen |author-link=Einar Ingvald Haugen| title=Language and its ecology: essays in memory of Einar Haugen| year=1997| page=41}}</ref> Barta'a students study at high schools in Ya'abed and Jenin, In 1995, an outline plan for East Barta'a, intended to meet the expansion needs of East Barta'a by 2015, came into effect.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files/06/080/104/Z07/06104080.z07.htm |title=פסק-דין בתיק בג"ץ 10408/06 |website=elyon1.court.gov.il |access-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121218160852/http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files/06/080/104/Z07/06104080.z07.htm |archive-date=18 December 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Following the [[Al-Aqsa Intifada|second intifada]], the village of Barta'a became an important commercial center for the residents of [[Wadi Ara]] and a large part of the Galilee residents to buy cheap goods at the prices of the Palestinian Authority after the entry of Israelis into the West Bank. Many businessmen from the West Bank relocated their businesses to East Barta'a as part of the Palestinian Authority but have access to and proximity to the target market for goods in the Wadi Ara area. With the construction of the [[Israeli West Bank barrier|separation fence]], East Barta'a was included in an enclave located on the Israeli side of the fence, and the trend of Israelis traveling to Barta'a for cheap shopping increased. Many of the houses in the village became stores and warehouses for merchandise, and many of the villagers became rich.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Economist|title=The Duty Free of the Seam Line|date=November 17, 2008}}</ref> However, there were also allegations of harm to residents of the village who are forced to move to the towns of Yabed and Jenin via an IDF checkpoint.<ref>http://www.phr.org.il/uploaded/%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%91%D7%9C%D7%A2%D7%AA%20%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%98%D7%A2%D7%94.pdf {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref>

The development of Barta'a into an important commercial center resulted in many workers' from the West Bank settling in the village regularly. This led to social tension between foreign workers and residents, who saw workers as a threat to their livelihood. In addition, the prolonged stay of workers, most of whom are young without families, has long been viewed by many as a threat to the conservative customs of the residents. In the absence of recreation and welfare centers in the village, workers tend to spend their free time on the streets of the village and next to the residential areas of the local residents. The proximity between parts of Barta'a was exploited by the terrorist organizations to smuggle people into the State of Israel. For example, the suicide bomber who carried out the attack at the Maxim restaurant crossed the Green Line in Barta'a.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files/05/260/098/n09/05098260.n09.htm |title=פסק-דין בתיק ע"פ 9826/05 |access-date=2017-05-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091105191332/http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files/05/260/098/n09/05098260.n09.htm |archive-date=2009-11-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==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.<ref name=CBC>{{cite web|title=Indepth Middle East:Israel's Barrier|author=Margaret Evans|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]|date=2006-01-06|accessdate=11 May 2007|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/middleeast/israel_barrier.html| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070518071453/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/middleeast/israel_barrier.html| archive-date= 18 May 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> 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.<ref name=UNRWA2>{{cite web|title=Case Study: UNRWA's access to Barta'a enclave disrupted by IDF restrictions|author=Operations Support Officer Programme West Bank|publisher=[[UNRWA]]|date=2005-02-14|accessdate=2007-08-28|url=https://www.un.org/unrwa/emergency/barrier/case_studies/bartaa_feb2005.pdf}}</ref>

Access from the Barta'a enclave to the West Bank is through two entry/exit gates: Barta'a and Shaked.<ref name=UNRWAProfile>{{cite web|title=UNRWA Profile: Barta'a Sharqiya Enclave|publisher=UNRWA|date=June 2005|url=https://www.un.org/unrwa/emergency/barrier/profiles/bartaa.html}}</ref> People who want to enter the enclave must also apply for a permit.<ref name=UNRWAProfile/>

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.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/arab-town-both-israeli-and-palestinian-divided-by-shopping-1.410313 Arab town, both Israeli and Palestinian, divided by shopping], Haaretz on 1. February 2012</ref>

== Holy sites ==
In the Palestinian area of Barta'a, the shrine known as ''ash-Seikh Barta'a'', or ''Muhammad al-Barta'wi'', stands without a domed structure or gravestone. Instead, it features two prominent stone blocks, the foremost of which is marked by four rock-cut steps. Adjacent to this shrine is a sacred tree, under which the villagers traditionally performed their rituals. Legend holds that the sheikh was a warrior under [[Saladin]], acting as a lookout during battles with the [[Crusades|Crusaders]] along the coastal plain. Several traditions exist concerning the origin of the saint's name, alongside reports of miraculous events at the site.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Tal |first=Uri |title=Muslim Shrines in Eretz Israel: History, Religion, Traditions, Folklore |publisher=Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi |year=2023 |isbn=978-965-217-452-9 |location=Jerusalem |pages=111}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[West Bank closures]]

==References==
{{Reflist|25em}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book|title= Politics and sociolinguistic reflexes: Palestinian border villages|author=Amara, Muhammad Hasan |publisher= John Benjamins Publishing Company|year=1999}}
*{{cite book | editor =Barron, J. B. | title = Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922 |url=https://archive.org/details/PalestineCensus1922   |publisher = Government of Palestine | year = 1923}}
*{{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H. H.|author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1882|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp02conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]|volume=2}}  
*{{cite book | last= Dauphin |first = C.|author-link= Claudine Dauphin | title = La Palestine byzantine, Peuplement et Populations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FC1mAAAAMAAJ |volume = III : Catalogue | series = BAR International Series 726 | year = 1998 | publisher = Archeopress | location = Oxford|language =French|isbn= 0-860549-05-4}}
*{{cite book|title=Village Statistics, April, 1945 |url=http://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/Hebrew/library/Pages/BookReader.aspx?pid=856390|author=Department of Statistics|year=1945|publisher=Government of Palestine}}  
*{{cite book |title=Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine|url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|first=S.|last=Hadawi|author-link=Sami Hadawi|year=1970|publisher=Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center}} 
*{{cite book|editor = Mills, E.|title = Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas |url=https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas | publisher = Government of Palestine | location = Jerusalem | year = 1932}}  
*{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=E. H.|author-link=Edward Henry Palmer|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]}}  
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*[https://www.google.com/maps/@32.4750773,35.0681434,14z Google map]
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 8: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8389 IAA], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.08.jpg Wikimedia commons] 
*[https://www.un.org/unrwa/emergency/barrier/profiles/bartaa.html UNRWA Profile of Barta'a Sharqiya Enclave]
*[https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-the-arab-town-straddling-a-contested-border-for-last-50-years-1.5480149 Haaretz article on Barta'a entitled, "A Surreal Visit to an Arab Israeli Town Straddling a Contested Border for the Last 50 Years"]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080307130552/http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2002/07/11/wall/index.html Salon article on Barta'a entitled, "Another Brick in the Wall"]
* [http://www.timesofisrael.com/town-on-israeli-palestinian-border-finds-a-good-balance/ Times of Israel article on Barta'a, entitled "Town on Israeli-Palestinian border finds a good balance"]
*[http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/Barta_a_837/index.html Barta'a's entry at Palestine Remembered]
{{Arab localities in Israel footer|uncollapsed}}
{{Jenin Governorate}}
{{Haifa District}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Seam Zone]]
[[Category:Villages in the West Bank]]
[[Category:Jenin Governorate]]
[[Category:Haifa District]]
[[Category:Wadi Ara]]
[[Category:Divided cities]]
[[Category:Populated places in Haifa District]]