Bayt Nattif
Bayt Nattif or Beit Nattif (Arabic: بيت نتّيف, Hebrew: בית נטיף and בית נתיף alternatively) was a Palestinian Arab village, located some 20 kilometers (straight line distance) southwest of Jerusalem, midway on the ancient Roman road between Beit Guvrin and Jerusalem, and 21 km northwest of Hebron. The village lay nestled on a hilltop, surrounded by olive groves and almonds, with woodlands of oak and carobs overlooking Wadi es-Sunt (the Elah Valley) to its south. It contained several shrines, including a notable one dedicated to al-Shaykh Ibrahim. Roughly a dozen khirbas (deserted, ruined settlements) lay in the vicinity.
Bayt Nattif
بيت نتّيف | |
|---|---|
Bayt Nattif 1948, after occupation | |
| Etymology: The house of Nettif | |
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
A series of historical maps of the area around Bayt Nattif (click the buttons) | |
Bayt Nattif Location within Mandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates: 31°41′32″N 34°59′40″E | |
| Palestine grid | 149/122 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Hebron |
| Date of depopulation | October 21, 1948 |
| Population (1945) | |
| • Total | 2,150 |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
| Current Localities | Netiv HaLamed-Heh, Aviezer, Neve Michael |
During the British Mandate it was part of the Hebron Subdistrict. Bayt Nattif was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on October 21, 1948 under Operation Ha-Har.