conspicuous feature in the landscape. In 1896 the population of Bir ez-zet was estimated to be about 786 Christians and 192 Muslims. In 1906, a British missionary of the Church Missionary Society wrote about an outbreak of cholera in Birzeit thirty years before that began when the mother of a young man who died of cholera in Nablus washed his clothes in the village spring. The disease quickly spread and within a week killed 30 people out of a population of 200–300. The epidemic ended when a village elder ordered the entire population to camp in their vineyards. Three men remained to bury the dead and there were no further victims. The author felt that the incident was notable "as there was no European hand in it from first to last, and it shows what the Fellahin are capable of under wise and energetic native guidance." British Mandate era In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, the village, called Bair Zait, had a total population of 896; 119 Muslims and 777 Christian; 399 Orthodox, 253 Roman Catholics and 125 Anglicans. In the 1931 census, the village had 251 occupied houses and a total population of 1233; 362 Muslims and 871 Christians. In the 1945 statistics the population was 1,560; 570 Muslims and 990 Christians, while the total land area was 14,088 dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 6,908 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 2,414 for cereals, while 402 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas. Jordanian era In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Birzeit came under Jordanian rule. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950. The Jordanian census of 1961 found 3,253 inhabitants in Bir Zeit'. 1967–present Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Birzeit has been under Israeli occupation. After the 1995 accords, 75.8% of village land was classified as Area B, the remaining 24.2% as Area C.1995 Oslo Interim Agreement . Text of the Accord Landmark buildings The town has 200 historic buildings, including over 100 in the old part of town, some dating back to the Mamluk era. Birzeit University was formerly located there. Dozens of buildings vacated by the university's move to Ramallah were restored, reinvigorating social and economic development. Religion A predominantly Christian town, there are three Christian churches in Birzeit – one Orthodox, one Roman