BET (Bayt) IKSA

BET (Bayt) IKSA (ﺑﻴﺖ اﻛﺴﺎ), Muslim-Arab village in the Judean Hills, west of Jerusalem; population (1967) 633. Located in mountainous terrain, its economy is mainly based on orchards of olives, almonds, and other fruit trees. In the Israel War of Independence (1948), hard battles were fought over the village which lies close to the Jerusalem–Tel Aviv highway. Israel forces captured Bet Iksā but under the terms of the 1949 Armistice Agreement the village was returned to Jordan, in exchange for small areas elsewhere given to Israel. The stipulation to keep the village demilitarized was not observed by the Jordanians. Bet Iksā was taken by Israeli forces in the Six-Day War. (Efraim Orni)