According to E. H. Palmer, the name means "the house of lif" (palm-fibre).[1]
History
In 1852, Edward Robinson noted that the year before, a quantity of gold coin were found at Beit Lif, which was taken to Beirut and given to the Pasha. He further noted that the people were planting millet and tobacco.[2]
In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as: "A village, built of stone, containing about 150 Moslems [..] situated on a hill-top, with a few olives and arable land. Two cisterns and a birket near supply the water."[4]
On 23 November 1997 a South Lebanon Army compound on the edge of the village came under artillery fire. Eight civilians were killed. Amal was believed to be responsible for the shelling.[5]
Demographics
In 2014 Muslims made up 99.80% of registered voters in Beit Lif. 97.74% of the voters were Shiite Muslims. [6]
