Editing Beit Shemesh (section)

===Early development town years===
The area that comprises Beit Shemesh today was under Ottoman rule and later the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]]. The Ramat Beit Shemesh neighborhood area was the site belonging to the Arab village [[Bayt Nattif]], which was built on remnants of an ancient Judean town, with various remnants of Jewish settlement from the time, such as a mosaic floor, wineries and other remains, especially from the period of the [[Hasmonean]] kings and earlier. This area is currently under dispute about preservation, having been the subject of a [[grassroots]] campaign.{{Citation needed|date=July 2018}} Under the proposed [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine]], the town was slated to be part of an internationalized Jerusalem. The [[Palestinians|Palestinian Arab]] population of Bayt Nattif fled the village following an Israeli Air Force bombing campaign in October 1948, during the [[1948 Arab-Israeli War]].<ref>Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA468 468], note #32 in Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA494 494]</ref> Israeli forces later completely destroyed Bayt Nattif along with other Arab villages.<ref>Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA355 355], footnote #85, on Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA400 400]: Harel Brigade HQ, "Daily report for 22 October", 23 Oct. 1948, IDFA 4775\49\3, for the destruction of Bait Nattiv and [[Deir Aban]]</ref><ref>''Har’el: Palmach brigade in Jerusalem'', Zvi Dror (ed. Nathan Shoḥam), Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishers: Benei Barak 2005, p. 270 (Hebrew)</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-14 |title=Mass forced displacement in Gaza highlights urgent need for Israel to uphold Palestinians’ right to return |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/05/mass-forced-displacement-in-gaza-highlights-urgent-need-for-israel-to-uphold-palestinians-right-to-return/#:~:text=Amnesty%20International's%202022%20report%20found,of%20Israel's%20system%20of%20apartheid. |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=[[Amnesty International]] |language=en}}</ref> Afterwards, the Harel Brigade drove out all Palestinian refugees they found in the area south of Bayt Nattif.<ref>Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA518 518]</ref>

On 6 December 1950, the [[Hartuv]] [[displaced person]]s camp "[[Ma'abarot|Ma'abarat]] Har-Tuv" was established on the site of the current-day Moshav [[Naham]]. The first inhabitants were [[History of the Jews in Bulgaria|Jewish Bulgaria]]n immigrants. They were joined by more Jewish immigrants from Bulgaria, [[History of the Jews in Iran|Iran]], [[History of the Jews in Iraq|Iraq]], [[History of the Jews in Romania|Romania]], [[History of the Jews in Morocco|Morocco]], and [[Kurdish Jews|Kurdistan]].

In 1952, the first permanent houses were built in Beit Shemesh.  In its early years, Beit Shemesh came to typify the "[[Development town|Development Town]]" with a largely [[Maghrebi Jews|Maghrebi]] immigrant population. In 1977, following a writeup in [[Haaretz]] newspaper, Beit Shemesh was perceived as the main outpost for [[Menachem Begin]]'s [[Likud]] party. He promised to rehabilitate neighborhoods and when the Likud party came to power that year, investment in the city increased.{{Citation needed|date=July 2018}}

Building of a new area of Beit Shemesh called "Givat Sharett" commenced on the hill adjacent to, and immediately to the south of, the original part of Beit Shemesh (the original area now being colloquially referred to as "Old Beit Shemesh" despite continuing building there and in the rest of the city).