Basma
Ba'sma
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| Hebrew transcription(s) | |
| • ISO 259 | Basma |
Basma, from the air
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 Ba'sma
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| Coordinates: 32°30′7.74″N 35°6′14″E / 32.5021500°N 35.10389°ECoordinates: 32°30′7.74″N 35°6′14″E / 32.5021500°N 35.10389°E | |
| District | Haifa |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Local council |
| Population (2015) | |
| • Total | 8,914 |
Basma (Arabic: بسمة, Hebrew: בסמ"ה) is an Israeli Arab local council in the Wadi Ara area of Haifa District. The local council was formed in 1995 through the consolidation of the villages of Barta'a West, Ein as-Sahala, and Muawiya; Basma is an acronym of the villages' names. In 2015 it had a population of 8,914.
In 1882, during Ottoman rule, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described Barta'a as "a ruined Arabic village on a high hill, with a spring in the valley to the north 400 feet below." The name, given at the time as Bertah was taken to mean "cutting". The name 'Ain es Saleh, meaning "the spring of the plain" was noted, but not otherwise described. By Kh. el Mâwîyeh they found "a small ruined khan, of no great antiquity, on the road, near a spring." The name at the time was Khurbet el Mâwîyeh, meaning "the ruin of the place of shelter (a ruined caravanserai)."
In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Barta'a had a population of 468, and Mawiyeh one of 112, all Muslim. Barta'as population increased according to the 1931 census to 692, still all Muslims, in 94 houses, while Mu'awiya had 141 people in 30 houses.
In 1945 Barta'a (including Khirbat Tura el Gharbiya) had a population of 1,000 Arabs with 20,499 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey. 464 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 1,957 dunams for cereals, while 1,900 dunams were non-cultivable land. The population of Mu'awiya was counted with that of Umm al-Fahm.
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