Ottoman era

In 1517, the village was included in the Ottoman empire with the rest of Palestine, and in the 1596 tax-records it appeared as Rujib, located in the Nahiya of Jabal Qubal in the Nablus Sanjak. The population was 16 households and 1 bachelors, all Muslim. They paid a fixed tax rate of 33.3% on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and beehives, a press for olive oil or grape syrup, in addition to occasional revenues and a fixed tax for people of Nablus area; a total of 3,600 Akçe.^[10]

In 1838, Raujib was noted in the El-Beitawy district, east of Nablus, together with Beita, Haudela and Awarta.^[11] In 1850/51 de Saulcy noted Roujib on a lower hill than Beit Dejan.^[12]

In 1870, Victor Guérin noted that Rujeib was a "village of three hundred inhabitants more, on a hill whose flanks were formerly, in several places, exploited as a quarry. Cactus hedges serve as enclosures for some gardens."^[13]

In 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestinedescribed Rujib as "A village of moderate size to the east of the plain so named, with a few olives round it."^[14]

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Rujib had a population of 250 Muslims,^[15] increasing in the 1931 census to 277 Muslims, in 58 houses.^[16]

In the 1945 statistics, Rujeib had a population of 390 Muslims^[17] while the total land area was 7,038 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.^[18] Of this, 235 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 3,410 for cereals,^[19] while 30 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.^[20]

Jordanian era

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Rujeib came under Jordanian rule.

In 1961, the population of Rujeib was 628 persons.^[21]

Post 1967

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Rujeib has been under Israeli occupation. The population in the 1967 census conducted by Israel was 831, of whom 30 originated from the Israeli territory.^[22]

After the 1995 accord 28% of Rujeib’s lands were classified as Area B, the remaining 72% as Area C. Israel has confiscated 169 dunams of land from Rujeib for construction of the Israeli settlement of Itamar.^[23]

Origins

Residents of Rujeib have their origins and family connections in the village of Beita.^[24]