Baraachit

Baraachit (Arabic: برعشيت), also spelt Brashit,[1] is a rural town located in the Nabatiye Governorate, in the Bint Jbeil District of southern Lebanon, ca. 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) southeast of Tibnine and about 80 kilometres (50 mi) from Beirut.[2] The village sits on an elevation of 832 metres (2,730 ft) above sea level. The town has a mixed population of Shi'a and Christians.

Baraachit
برعشيت
City
Pastoral view of Baraachit
Pastoral view of Baraachit
Map showing the location of Baraachit within Lebanon
Map showing the location of Baraachit within Lebanon
Baraachit
Location within Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°10′34″N 35°26′36″E
Grid position191/286 PAL
Country Lebanon
GovernorateNabatieh Governorate
DistrictBint Jbeil District
Area
 • Total14.05 km2 (5.42 sq mi)
Elevation
832 m (2,730 ft)
Highest elevation
840 m (2,760 ft)
Lowest elevation
640 m (2,100 ft)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Dialing code+961 (07)

History

The village once marked the northernmost extent of Jewish settlement upon their return from Babylonia in the 4th century BCE, and is mentioned in the 3rd century Mosaic of Rehob.[3][4][5] By 64 BCE, the region had come under the control of the Roman empire.[6] The area was also known since ancient times as Jabal 'Amilah, and later as Jabal 'Amil (Jabal Amel), an area that shoulders the Galilee and overlooks Palestine, with a predominant Shi'ite population.[7]

Ottoman era

In 1596, the village ‘’Bra’sit’’ was named in the Ottoman nahiya (subdistrict) of Tibnin under the Liwa Safad, with a population of 45 households and 7 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid taxes on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, olive trees, fruit trees, goats and beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues" and a fixed sum; a total of 13,370 akçe.[8][9]

South lebanon map

In 1875, Victor Guérin visited, and found here “a cistern partly cut in the rock, and partly constructed, seems ancient.”[10] He found 400 Metawileh and 60 Greek Orthodox.[11]

In 1881, British explorers, C. R. Conder and H. H. Kitchener, surveyed parts of southern Lebanon, mentioning ten villages in the Belad Besharah region, among which is listed Ber'ashit (sic): "A large village, containing about 500 Metawileh and 200 Christians. It is situated on the side of a hill, and surrounded by figs, olives, and arable cultivation. There is a good spring and several cisterns in the village."[12]

Modern era

The current Bint Jbeil province was created in 1922 by French colonials.[13]

Following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Baraachit remained part of the Israeli security zone and became the scene of recurring incidents. On 10 January 1987 an Irish soldier serving with UNIFIL was killed by Israeli tank fire near Baraachit. At the time there were 750 Irish troops with UNIFIL.[14] A further three Irish soldiers were killed, 21 March 1989, by a landmine on the road to their outpost near Baraachit. Officers on the ground are reported as believing that the Israeli backed SLA were responsible and that UNIFIL were being deliberately targeted.[15] On 11 October 1990 a member of Amal was killed in a clash with the South Lebanon Army (SLA).[16] On 23 August 1991 two SLA fighters were killed by members of Amal. The Israeli Army responded the following day with shelling which killed one civilian. Two Irish soldiers serving with UNIFIL were amongst the wounded.[17]

IDF shelling killed a schoolboy in Baraachit on 24 January 1993.[18]

There was a SLA outpost a few hundred yards from Baraachit and whenever it came under attack the town was shelled. The town was extensively damaged during Operation Accountability, July 1993. The head of one family who had five houses completely destroyed is reported as complaining “How many Ministers from Beirut came down here to see the damage? Rabin visits Kiryat Shimona the minute one Katuysha hits it.”[19]

On 8 April 1996 two boys were killed by an IED concealed in a wall near Baraachit, three others wounded. Hizbollah responded by firing twenty-eight rockets at Kiryat Shimona, wounding thirteen residents. The incident is regarded as one of the triggers of Operation Grapes of Wrath later in the month which caused massive destruction across the south of Lebanon.[20]

In 2009, there were 55 members of the Lady of the Assumption parish of the Melkite Church in the village.[21]

Climate
Baraachit

Baraachit enjoys a temperate climate which is characteristic of south Lebanon: Mild rainy winters and arid summers with a few excessively warm days.

References
  1. A proper noun used to designate a place, according to Palmer 1881, p. 19
  2. Baraachit, Lebanon – General Facts
  3. Abel 1933, p. 309 (s.v. Meraḥseth).
  4. Frankel & Finkelstein 1983, p. 44.
  5. Klein & Hildesheimer 1965, pp. 58, 126.
  6. The World Book Encyclopedia, vol. 1, Chicago 1982, p. 151; The World Book Encyclopedia, vol. 12, Chicago 2002, p. 172; Jūrj Marʻī Ḥaddād, Baalbak, North and South Lebanon: Description, History and Tourist Guide, Damascus 1956, p. 10
  7. Carole H. Dagher, Bring Down the Walls: Lebanon's Post-War Challenge, New York 2000, p. 32 ISBN 978-0-312-29336-9
  8. Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 179
  9. Note that Rhode, 1979, p. 6 Archived 2019-04-20 at the Wayback Machine writes that the register that Hütteroth and Abdulfattah studied was not from 1595/6, but from 1548/9
  10. Guérin, 1880, p. 377, as given in Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I; p. 114
  11. Guérin, 1880, p. 377
  12. Conder and Kitchener, 1881, p.94
  13. Ahmad Rida, Memoirs of History (مذكرات للتاريخ), Dar An-Nahar: Beirut 2009, pp. 138, 179, 180, 183, 227.
  14. Middle East International No 298, 17 April 1987; Publishers Lord Mayhew, Dennis Walters MP; Editor Michael Adams; John Keane p.11
  15. Middle East International No 347, 31 March 1989; John Keane pp.15-16
  16. Middle East International No 386, 11 October 1990, Fourteen days in brief p.15
  17. Middle East International No 408, 13 September 1991, Fourteen days in brief p.15
  18. Middle East International No 469, 18 February 1994; January chronology p.16
  19. Middle East International No 462, 5 November 1993, Cherif J. Cordahi ‘Letter from South Lebanon’ p.24
  20. Middle East International No 523, 12 April 1996; No 524, 26 April 1996; Michael Jansen p.8; Crisis chronology p.4
  21. "Territory and statistics". Eparchy Greek Melkite Catholic of Tyre. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2019.

Bibliography
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