Beit Sira () is a Palestinian village in the central West Bank, located 22 kilometers west of Ramallah and is a part of the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate. The village is situated along the Green Line. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, around 4,000 dunams of its land became a part of the "No-Man's Land" strip between the north-central West Bank and Israel. Currently Beit Sira's jurisdiction is 3,120 dunams, of which 441 dunams are built-up areas and the remainder is open spaces for future construction or agricultural land.Beit Sira: A Palestinian Village on the verge of diminishing Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem. 5 July 2004.

Etymology According to Palmer, Beit Sira means "The house of the fold". Bayt Sīrā /Bēt Sīra/ is an ancient toponymic survival, meaning House of Sira. The second part of the name may originate from the Biblical female name Š’rh (< *ši’r-at).

Location

Beit Sira is located (horizontally) west of Ramallah. It is bordered by Kharbatha al-Misbah, Beit Liqya, and Beit Ur al-Tahta to the east, Saffa to the north, the Green Line (the Armistice Line 1949) to the west, and Bayt Nuba to the south. Beit Sira Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 4

History Ottoman Era

In the 1596 tax records, Beit Sira was a part of the nahiya ("subdistrict") of Ramla, part of Gaza Sanjak, in the Ottoman Empire, with a population of 17 Muslim household. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, vineyards, fruit trees, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 4,500 akçe. All of the revenue went to a Waqf.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 156

In 1838, it was noted as a Muslim village in the Ibn Humar District, part of the er-Ramleh area.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 120

In 1863 Victor Guérin noted Beit Sira as a considerable village on the summit of a rocky hill. A saint, revered under the name of Neby Sira, had a sanctuary there with his tomb.Guérin, 1868, pp. 337-338 Socin, citing an official Ottoman village list compiled around 1870, noted that Bet Sira had 39 houses and a population of 125, though the population count included only men.Socin, 1879, p. 147. Socin placed it in the Beni Malik district Hartmann found that Bet Sira had 29 houses.Hartmann, 1883, p. 118

In 1873, Clermont-Ganneau was told that Beit Sira supposedly housed the tomb of Neby Sira, a son of Jacob and brother to Neby Ma'in (possibly Benjamin), the founder of Bir Ma'in.Clermont-Ganneau, 1896, vol 2, pp. 78 ff.

In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it: "A small village on a swell in the low hills. A main road passes through it. The water supply is artificial."Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 16

British Mandate era In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Beit Sira had a population of 381 Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramallah, p. 16 increasing in the 1931 census to 460 Muslims in 113 houses.Mills, 1932, p. 47

In the 1945 statistics the population was 540, all Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 26 while the total land area was 4,687 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 64 Of this, 205 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 1,924 for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 111 while 23 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 161

Jordanian era In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Beit Sira came under Jordanian rule.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 746 inhabitants in Beit Sira.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 24

Israeli occupation Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Beit Sira has been under Israeli occupation.

After the 1995 accords, 9.3% of Beit Sira land was classified as Area B, the remaining 90.7% as Area C.Beit Sira Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 16 In 2012, approximately 78% of the village population worked in the Israel labor market.Beit Sira Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 9 Israel has confiscated 1,499 dunams of land from Beit Sira for the construction of the Israeli settlement of Maccabim, presently part of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut. Beit Sira Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 17

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Beit Sira had a population of 2,840 inhabitants in 2006. Projected Mid -Year Population for Ramallah & Al Bireh Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. In the 2007 PCBS census, there were 2,749 people living in the town.2007 PCBS Census. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. p.114. By 2017, the population was 3,343.

References

Bibliography

External links Welcome To Bayt Sira Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17: IAA, Wikimedia commons Beit Sira Village (Fact Sheet), Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem (ARIJ) Beit Sira Village Profile, ARIJ Beit Sira, aerial photo, ARIJ Locality Development Priorities and Needs in Beit Sira Village, ARIJ The Israeli aggressive measures continue in Beit Sira village, POICA