Bayt Jala
| Beit Jala | ||
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| Other transcription(s) | ||
| • Arabic | بيت جالا | |
| • Also spelled | Bayt Jala (unofficial) | |
Beit Jala, with Saint Nicholas Church.
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 Beit Jala
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| Coordinates: 31°42′54″N 35°11′14″E / 31.71500°N 35.18722°ECoordinates: 31°42′54″N 35°11′14″E / 31.71500°N 35.18722°E | ||
| Palestine grid | 167/124 | |
| Governorate | Bethlehem | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Municipality | |
| • Head of Municipality | Nicola Khamis | |
| Area | ||
| • Jurisdiction | 12,911 dunams (13.0 km2 or 5.0 sq mi) | |
| Population (2007) | ||
| • Jurisdiction | 11,758 | |
| Name meaning | House of Jala | |
| Website | www.beitjala-city.org | |
Beit Jala (Arabic: 
بيت جالا ) is a Palestinian Christian town in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank. Beit Jala is located 10 km south of Jerusalem, on the western side of the Hebron road, opposite Bethlehem, at 825 meters (2,707 ft) altitude. In 2007, Beit Jala had 11,758 inhabitants according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. About 75% of the population were Christians (mostly Greek Orthodox) and about 25% Muslims.
Although disputed, some historical geographers have identified Beit Jalla with the biblical Giloh, mentioned in the Book of Joshua (Joshua 15:51) and the Book of Samuel (II Sam 15:12).
A crypt, dating to the 5th or 6th century C.E. was located under the Church of St. Nicolas in Beit Jala. In the Crusader era, the village was called Apezala, and the Church was possibly rebuild then.
In 1517, the village was included in the Ottoman empire with the rest of Palestine. In this century, Beit Jala was a large village of Christian and Muslim peasants and it had over ten elders (akabir) who functioned as leaders, with each religious group having separate sets of leaders. Rare for a single village, it and nearby Bethlehem, served as its own separate jurisdiction instead of being grouped with other villages into nahiya. In April 1531, when an Ottoman official went to Beit Jala to register the village's grapevines for tax purposes, the residents refused to seriously answer his questions and mocked the authority of the Ottoman sultan, marking a notable episode of initial local resistance to the Ottoman taxation methods and procedures. By the end of the 16th century, Beit Jala was almost entirely inhabited by Christians. Beit Jala's size rendered it similar to that of a town, with the village being subdivided into four quarters. The village produced more wheat and barley than surrounding localities and like other villages south of Jerusalem, grape cultivation was greater than olive cultivation. Beit Jala was taxed on these agricultural products as well as figs, honeybees, and goats. It contained one of the six olive presses in the subdistrict of Jerusalem in the 16th century. Despite its large size, Beit Jala was relatively poorer than other villages in the subdistrict.
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