Blat, Marjayoun


Blat is a municipality in the Marjayoun District in southern Lebanon, located just north of Marjayoun.

History

In 1596, it was named as a village, Balat, in the Ottoman nahiya of Tibnin under the liwa' of Safad, with a population of 56 households and 2 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 25 % on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, olive trees, vineyards, goats, beehives; in addition to occasional revenues, a press for olive oil or grape syrup and a water mill; a total of 6,000 akçe.
In 1838, Eli Smith noted Blat's population as being Metawileh.
On 27 December 1993, during the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, a Norwegian soldier was killed when an Israeli tank, stationed in neighbouring Aishiyeh, fired on his UNIFIL patrol outside Blat. The Indian Army contingent with UNIFIL had a small base camp in the village.

Demographics

In 2014 Muslims made up 88.35% and Christians made up 11.13% of registered voters in Blat. 84.89% of the voters were Shiite Muslims.