Bal'a

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title: "Bal'a" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["tulkarm-governorate", "towns-in-the-west-bank", "municipalities-of-palestine"] topic_path: "general/tulkarm-governorate" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bal'a" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
nameBal'a
translit_lang1Arabic
translit_lang1_typeArabic
translit_lang1_infoبلعا
translit_lang1_type1Latin
translit_lang1_info1Bala'a (official)
Balaa (unofficial)
typeMunicipality type C
image_skylineFile:Bal'a7458.JPG
image_captionSouthern Bal'a
pushpin_mapPalestine
pushpin_map_captionLocation of Bal'a within Palestine
coordinates
grid_namePalestine grid
grid_position160/193
subdivision_typeState
subdivision_nameState of Palestine
subdivision_type1Governorate
subdivision_name1Tulkarm
established_titleFounded
government_footnotestags --
government_typeMunicipality (from 1995)
leader_titleHead of Municipality
leader_nameAhmad Said Mansur
unit_prefdunam
area_total_km223.0
area_total_dunam23000
population_footnotes
population_total7822
population_as_of2017
population_density_km2auto
blank_name_sec1Name meaning
blank_info_sec1Either "Swallowing", or "The hole in the millstone",
::

| name = Bal'a | translit_lang1 = Arabic | translit_lang1_type = Arabic | translit_lang1_info = بلعا | translit_lang1_type1 = Latin | translit_lang1_info1 = Bala'a (official) Balaa (unofficial) | type = Municipality type C | image_skyline = File:Bal'a7458.JPG | image_caption = Southern Bal'a | pushpin_map = Palestine | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Bal'a within Palestine | image_map = | map_caption = | coordinates = | grid_name = Palestine grid | grid_position = 160/193 | subdivision_type = State | subdivision_name = State of Palestine | subdivision_type1 = Governorate | subdivision_name1 = Tulkarm | established_title = Founded | established_date = | government_footnotes = tags -- | government_type = Municipality (from 1995) | leader_title = Head of Municipality | leader_name = Ahmad Said Mansur | unit_pref = dunam | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 23.0 | area_total_dunam = 23000 | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | elevation_min_m = | elevation_max_m = | population_footnotes = | population_total = 7822 | population_as_of = 2017 | population_note = | population_density_km2 = auto | blank_name_sec1 = Name meaning | blank_info_sec1 = Either "Swallowing", or "The hole in the millstone", | website = | footnotes = Bal'a () is a Palestinian town in the Tulkarm Governorate, located approximately nine kilometers northeast of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank and three kilometers away from the highway connecting Tulkarm with Nablus.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of approximately 6,604 in 2007 and 7,822 in 2017. In 1922, the town had a population of 1,259 nearly doubled to 2,220 in 1945. After Israel's occupation of the town in 1967 after the Six-Day War, Bal'a inhabitants numbered 3,800 after dozens of families from nearby towns such as, Deir al-Ghusun settled there after being expelled.

History

A tomb was broken into near this village about the time of the Palestine Exploration Fund visit. It consisted of a single chamber with a loculus on each of three walls. The door was an inscribed slab, with rough ornamentation. Tyrwhitt Drake found a date, corresponding to 332 CE.

Ottoman era

Bal'a, like all of Palestine, was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517. In the 1596 tax registers, it was part of the nahiya ("subdistrict") of Jabal Sami, part of the larger Sanjak of Nablus. It had a population of 6 households, all Muslims. The inhabitants paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 1,658 akçe. Ceramics from the Ottoman era have been found here. Based on the potsherds found there, 80% of which date to the Ottoman period and 20% to the 20th century, Zertal assumed that the village was established in the 16th–17th centuries. In Grossman opinion the residents of Bal'a hailed from the villages Barbara, Deir al-Ghusun, and Jatt.

In 1838 it was noted as a village in the western Sha'rawiya administrative region, north of Nablus.

In 1870/1871 (1288 AH), an Ottoman census listed the village in the nahiya (sub-district) of Wadi al-Sha'ir. In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Bal'a as a "good-sized village on very high ground, with magnificent groves of olives to the west, and supplied by cisterns. It is apparently an ancient site, having rock-cut tombs."

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Bal'a's population was 1,259, all Muslims, increasing in the 1931 census to 1,539 residents, still all Muslim, in a total of 344 houses. In the 1945 statistics the population of Bal'a was 2,220 Muslims. and the land area was 21,151 dunams, according to an official land and population survey. 70 dunams were for citrus and bananas, 7,766 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 2,753 used for cereals, while 42 dunams were built-up (urban) land.

Jordanian era

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Bal'a came under Jordanian rule. In 1961, the population of Bal'a was 2,888.

Post-1967

After the Six-Day War in 1967, Bal'a has been under Israeli occupation.

Demographics

The town's growth stunted after the Six-Day War, going from 3,400 in 1967 to just 3,800 in 1987.

In the first Palestinian census by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) in 1997, Bal'a had a population of 5,444 inhabitants. More than 20% of the residents were Palestinian refugees. The gender make-up was 49.1% male and 50.9% female. In 2007, Bal'a's residents numbered 6,604. In 2017, the population was 7,822.

The population of Bal'a comes from different places. Some are from Barbara, near Ashkelon, while others are from Deir al-Ghussun and Jit.

Economy

Bal'a's primary source of income is agriculture. The town's land area consists of about 23,000 dunams most of which is arable land. The town annually produces an average 10,000 tons of olive oil with olives being the main cash crop of Bal'a and surrounding towns and villages. Other common orchards include figs, apricots and almonds. Wheat and barley are grown during the winter while tomatoes, marrows and green peppers are grown mostly during the summer. Livestock is a major factor in Bal'a's agriculture sector as many families own thousands of hens as well as sheep, goats and cattle.

A few hundred in the town work for the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in careers as teachers, doctors and business managers. A large number of people are in service with various PNA security branches, including the Preventive Security Service. The town's built-up area is currently about 3,600 dunams. Bal'a has six schools: Two secondary, four primary. Boys and girls attend different schools. There are also three kindergartens.

Notable people from Bal'a

References

Bibliography

References

  1. (February 2018). "Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017". [[State of Palestine]].
  2. Palmer, 1881, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/180/mode/1up 180]
  3. [http://www.balaa.org/pages/english_location.html Location] {{webarchive. link. (2007-12-25 Balaa Municipality)
  4. [http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_PCBS/Downloads/book1487.pdf 2007 PCBS census]. [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS). p. 107.
  5. [https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ar&u=http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%25D8%25AF%25D9%258A%25D8%25B1_%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%25D8%25BA%25D8%25B5%25D9%2588%25D9%2586&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%25D9%2585%25D9%2588%25D9%2582%25D8%25B9%2B:%2B%25D9%2585%25D9%2586%2B%25D8%25A8%25D9%2584%25D8%25AF%25D8%25A7%25D8%25AA%2B%25D8%25B4%25D9%2585%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%2B%25D9%2581%25D9%2584%25D8%25B3%25D8%25B7%25D9%258A%25D9%2586%25D8%258C%2B%25D8%25AA%25D8%25A8%25D8%25B9%25D8%25AF%2B%25D8%25B3%25D8%25A8%25D8%25B9%25D8%25A9%2B%25D9%2583%25D9%258A%25D9%2584%25D9%2588%2B%25D9%2585%25D8%25AA%25D8%25B1%25D8%25A7%25D8%25AA%2B%25D8%25B9%25D9%2586%2B%25D9%2585%25D8%25AF%25D9%258A%25D9%2586%25D8%25A9%2B%25D8%25B7%25D9%2588%25D9%2584%25D9%2583%25D8%25B1%25D9%2585%2B%25D8%258C%2B%25D9%2588%25D9%2585%25D8%25B9%25D8%25B1%25D9%2588%25D9%2581%25D8%25A9%2B%25D8%25A8%25D8%25B9%25D8%25B1%25D9%2588%25D8%25B3%2B%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%25D8%25B4%25D8%25B9%25D8%25B1%25D8%25A7%25D9%2588%25D9%258A%25D8%25A9%2B%25D8%25AA%25D9%2582%25D8%25B9%2B%25D9%2581%25D9%258A%2B%25D8%25BA%25D8%25A7%25D8%25A8%25D8%25A9%2B%25D9%2585%25D9%2586%2B%25D8%25A3%25D8%25B4%25D8%25AC%25D8%25A7%25D8%25B1%2B%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%25D8%25B2%25D9%258A%25D8%25AA%25D9%2588%25D9%2586%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DF8Z Tulkarm and its villages: His Balaa] Palestinian Information Center
  6. Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/172/mode/1up 172]
  7. Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 127
  8. Zertal, 2016, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=XytzCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA455 455]-[https://books.google.com/books?id=XytzCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA456 456]
  9. Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd Appendix, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/129/mode/1up 129]
  10. Grossman, David. (2004). "Arab Demography and Early Jewish Settlement in Palestine". Magnes Press.
  11. Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/159/mode/1up 159]
  12. Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Tulkarem, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n29/mode/1up 27]
  13. Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 53]
  14. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p20.jpg 20]
  15. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Tulkarm/Page-074.jpg 74]
  16. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Tulkarm/Page-124.jpg 124]
  17. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Tulkarm/Page-174.jpg 174]
  18. Government of Jordan, 1964, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/JordanCensusPages/JordanCensus1961-p14.pdf 14]
  19. [http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/tul_t6.aspx Palestinian Population by Locality and Refugee Status] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-02-07 [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS).)
  20. [http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/tul_t1.aspx Palestinian Population by Locality, Sex and Age Groups in Years] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-02-12 [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS))
  21. Grossman, D. (1986). "Oscillations in the Rural Settlement of Samaria and Judaea in the Ottoman Period". in '''Shomron studies'''. Dar, S., Safrai, S., (eds). Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House. p. 351
  22. [http://www.balaa.org/pages/english_econ_sit.html Economical Situation] {{webarchive. link. (2007-12-25 Balaa Municipality)
  23. [http://www.balaa.org/pages/english_education.html Education] {{webarchive. link. (2007-12-25 Balaa Municipality)

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