Ottoman era

During the period of Ottoman rule over Palestine, Hableh appeared in Ottoman tax registers in 1596, where it is listed as forming part of the nahiya (subdistrict) of Jabal Qubal in the liwa (district) of Nablus. It had a population of 41 Muslim households. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33.3% on various products, such as wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues" and a press for olive oil or grape syrup; a total of 3,800 akçe, of which two-thirds went to a waqf (charitable endowment).^[10]

Pierre Jacotin listed the village on his map in 1799.^[11] In 1838 Hableh was noted as a Muslim village, in the Jurat Merda district, south of Nablus.^[12]

Edward Robinson and Eli Smith visited Hableh in the mid-19th century and describe it as being situated along the southern side of a low rocky ridge overlooking a plain on which could be seen the villages of Qalqilya, Kafr Saba, Jaljulia, and Ras al-Ain.^[13] Camping on the ground to the south of the village and north of a maqam on a low rocky hill, Robinson and Smith found themselves surrounded by cisterns dug into the rock.^[13][14] Most of these had round openings, some with one or two steps by which one could descend into them to draw water. All appeared to be ancient, and only one was still in use.^[13] There was also a sepulcher with an arched vault and an ancient wine press made up of two vats, one shallower and smaller than the other in which grapes would have been trodden with the juice going down through a hole to the larger, deeper vat directly adjacent and slightly below.^[13]

Victor Guérin, who visited Hableh in 1870, said it contained 800 inhabitants. A few of the houses and the village mosque were built using large stones of apparent antiquity. He too noted the presence of ancient rock-cut formations around the village.^[15]

In 1870/1871 (1288 AH), an Ottoman census listed the village in the nahiya (sub-district) of Jamma'in al-Awwal, subordinate to Nablus.^[16]

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Hableh as a "village of moderate size, evidently an ancient site, surrounded with cisterns and tombs. The houses are principally of stone. The water supply from cisterns."^[17]

British Mandate era

In the wake of World War I, British military governors were established in Palestine's major cities and the deputy for the governor in Nablus was stationed in Habla.^[18] During the British Mandatory period, Hableh formed part of the Tulkarm Subdistrict. In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Hableh had a population of 271, all Muslims,^[19] increasing in the 1931 census to 397, still all Muslims, in a total of 86 houses.^[20]

By the end of the mandate period, in the 1945 statistics, the population had increased to 580 Muslims.^[21] The village lands covered an area of 10,903 dunams: 8,391 of which were owned by Arabs, 570 by Jews, and 1,942 of which were public lands.^[1] A total of 28 dunams were for citrus and bananas, 169 dunams for plantations and irrigable land, 6,847 for cereals,^[22] while 15 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.^[23]

Hableh (Hable) 1942 1:20,000

Hableh (Habla) 1945 1:250,000

Jordanian era

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

In 1961, the population was 996.^[24]

Post-1967

Portion of West Bank showing the path of the separation barrier around the enclaves of Qalqilya and Hableh

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Hableh came under Israeli occupation.

Inhabitants of Habla were among the 10,000 Palestinians displaced as a result of the 1967 war.^[25] According to Nur Masalha, Israeli forces evicted civilians and deliberately destroyed Habla among a number of other villages during the war (such as Imwas, Yalu, Bayt Nuba, Bayt Marsam, Bayt 'Awa, al-Burj, and Jiftlik).^[26]

After the 1995 accords, about 21.1% of the village land was classified as Area B, the remaining 78.9% as Area C.^[27]