Beit ar-Rush al-Fauqa (Arabic: بيت الروش الفوقا) is a Palestinian village located eighteen kilometers southwest of Hebron.The village is in the Hebron Governorate Southern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 1,385 in 2017.[1]

Beit ar-Rush al-Fauqa
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicبيت الروش الفوقا
Beit ar-Rush al-Fauqa is located in State of Palestine
Beit ar-Rush al-Fauqa
Beit ar-Rush al-Fauqa
Location of Beit ar-Rush al-Fauqa within Palestine
Coordinates: 31°27′07″N 34°55′34″E / 31.45194°N 34.92611°E / 31.45194; 34.92611
Palestine grid144/095
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateHebron
Government
 • TypeVillage council
Population
 (2017)[1]
 • Total1,385
Name meaningThe house of er Rush; personal name[2]

History edit

Al-Dimashqi (d.1327) noted one area called Bait-ras in Palestine, and A. F. Mehren thought its description matched the location of the Beit er-Rush of Robinson.[3]

Ottoman era edit

In 1838, a Beit er-Rush was noted by Edward Robinson as a place "in ruins or deserted," part of the area between the mountains and Gaza, but subject to the government of el-Khulil.[4][5]

In 1863, Victor Guérin noted about the ruins here: ”These ruins consist of a large number of heaps of irregular materials. Each of these heaps surrounds a cave hollowed in the rock, into which there is a descent of steps, or by an incline. These subterranean dwellings formed the basement of one-storied houses which stood above them. These have been pulled down and put up again several times, while the cellars are just the same as when they were cut in the rock."[6]

In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine noted here: ”Traces of ruins on a mound.”[7]

British Mandate era edit

At the time of the 1931 census of Palestine the population of the village, called Kh. Beit er Rush al Ulya, was counted under Dura.[8]

Jordanian era edit

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Beit ar-Rush al-Fauqa came under Jordanian rule. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 162 inhabitants in Beit ar-Rush al-Fauqa.[9]

Post 1967 edit

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Beit ar-Rush al-Fauqa has been under Israeli occupation.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 (PDF). Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (Report). State of Palestine. February 2018. pp. 64–82. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  2. ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 365
  3. ^ Al-Dimashqi, 1874, p. 270
  4. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, p. 6
  5. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 117
  6. ^ Guérin, 1869, pp. 347-348; as translated by Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 274
  7. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 274
  8. ^ Mills, 1932, p. 30
  9. ^ Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 22

Bibliography edit

External links edit