Ottoman era

In 1517, the village was included in the Ottoman empire with the rest of Palestine, and it appeared in the 1596 tax-records as Qabalan, located in the Nahiya of Jabal Qubal of the Liwa of Nablus. The population was 4 households, all Muslim. They paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, olive trees, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues and a fixed tax for people of Nablus area; a total of 2,410 akçe.^[6] Sherds from the early Ottoman era have also been found here.^[4]

In 1838 Edward Robinson noted Kubalan on the south side of the valley, "surrounded by vineyards and large groves of olive and fig trees."^[7] It was located in El-Beitawy district, east of Nablus.^[8]

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Kubalan as: "a village of moderate size, on high ground, with olives round it, and wells."^[9]

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Qabalan had a population of 771 Muslims,^[10] increasing in the 1931 census to 936 Muslims, in 207 houses.^[11]

In the 1945 statistics Qabalan had a population of 1,310, all Muslims,^[12] with 8,290 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.^[13] Of this, 3,948 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 2,383 were used for cereals,^[14] while 72 dunams were built-up land.^[15]

Jordanian era

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

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 1,867 inhabitants.^[16]

1967, aftermath

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Qabalan has been under Israeli occupation along with the rest of the Palestinian territories.

After the 1995 accords, 67% of the village land is in Area B, while the remaining 33% is in Area C. There have been a number of attacks on the people of Qabalan, their land and property from the nearby Israeli settlements.^[17][18]