Bardala
| Bardala | |
|---|---|
| Other transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | بردلة |
Bardala
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 Bardala
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| Coordinates: 32°23′10.73″N 35°28′55.08″E / 32.3863139°N 35.4819667°ECoordinates: 32°23′10.73″N 35°28′55.08″E / 32.3863139°N 35.4819667°E | |
| Palestine grid | 195/199 |
| Governorate | Tubas |
| Founded | 1500 BC |
| Government | |
| • Type | Village council (from 1996) |
| Area | |
| • Jurisdiction | 20,000 dunams (20.0 km2 or 7.7 sq mi) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Jurisdiction | 1,637 |
| Name meaning | "Berdeleh", a personal name |
Bardala (Arabic: بردلة) is a Palestinian village in the northern Jordan Valley of the West Bank, consisting of 1,637 inhabitants. The town lies in the Tubas Governorate, located thirteen kilometers northeast of Tubas and 28 kilometers northeast of Nablus. The Israeli settlement of Mehola lies nearby.
Bardala's history dates back to 1500 BCE.
The main periods of settlement evidenced by archaeological excavation are the Byzantine, Early Islamic, Medieval, Ottoman and Modern ones; Roman-period finds were also present. A Byzantine church was built here around the year 400. On top of the remains of the church, of which the mosaic floor and column bases were excavated, stood a bathhouse from the Early Islamic period.
The name Bardala derives from Bardaweel — the name of a prince who ruled the area in ancient times. In the town lies a palace named after him.
Bardala's water reservoirs are known to be the oldest in the Jordan Valley. Other archaeological sites include tombs from various periods. The al-Khader shrine is the oldest building in the village.
The residents of Bardala originally came from nearby Tubas to exploit its cultivable and grazing land, and in 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described the village as "though ruined, is inhabited in spring by peasants from the hill villages, who descend to find pasture and to cultivate melons and other vegetables round the springs."
In 1945, the population of Bardala was counted with that of Tubas and Kashda, according to an official land and population survey. The population surged after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, which left many Palestinians homeless in the wake of the destruction of nearby villages.
Archaeologists have discovered evidence of an abundance of ground water resources in the area in ancient times. After Israel conquered the area in the 1967 Six-Day War, the village was connected to the Israeli water grid. During the Second Intifada, the residents of Bardala stopped paying both water and electricity bills to the Palestinian National Authority, and, as a consequence the Palestinian authorities have delayed implementing infrastructural works, such as a dam and a water network for the village. Israel placed restrictions on villagers' movements at the same time, rendering access to their lands to cultivate or harvest crops impossible. Since 2000, 200 dunams of vegetable crops have been bulldozed and many trees uprooted, and 4,000 dunams have been confiscated.
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