Qatamon
February 25, 2024
al-Jura
February 25, 2024
The village was built on the upper part of a mountain slope, overlooking from the west a vast coastal plain. Secondary roads connected it to the Jerusalem-Jaffa main road and to neighboring villages. Its population was around 450 inhabitants in 1875. By the late nineteenth century, Beit Mahsir was a medium-sized village overlooking hills located to its west. Its residents cultivated olives in lands to the north of the village and sourced water from a spring located to its northeast.
The village had a trapezoidal shape, with houses built of stone and brick clustered into four separate neighborhoods. The village expanded along the road leading to neighboring villages, running east to west through its center. Shops and public buildings, including the village mosque, were constructed along both sides of this street. The inhabitants, who were Muslims, took pride in their last mosque imam, Sheikh Khalil As’ad, a graduate of Al-Azhar University. The village contained two shrines in addition to the mosque.
There was a primary school located on the western side, a secondary school on the eastern side, and a girls’ school established in a building that had originally served as a village clinic.
The residents of Beit Mahsir practiced rainfed agriculture, cultivating grains, fruit trees, olives, and vineyards. Forests covered wide areas near the village. In 1944/1945, a total of 6,225 dunams were allocated for grain cultivation, and 1,348 dunams were irrigated or used as orchards. The village contained an olive press and wheat mills.
Among the archaeological sites near the village were Khirbat al-Hwaytiyya, Khirbat al-Masi, Khirbat Khatula, and Khirbat al-Salam.
