Occupation date: 22nd of April 1948. Kirad al-Ghannama was mostly ethnically cleansed and terrorized soon after the massacre
committed at the nearby village of al-Husayniyya.
In mid-March 1948, a Haganah massacre in the neighboring village of al-Husayniyya “left dozens of dead,” according to Israeli sources, and led to the temporary evacuation of Kirad al-Ghannama. The following month, it was temporarily (or partially) evacuated again during Operation Yiftach (see Abil al-Qamh, Salad District). On 22 April the villagers reportedly left during that operation under the influence of a direct military assault on a nearby village, perhaps al-’Ulmaniyya (which was attacked on 20 April). In July 1949, Israel signed an armistice agreement according to which Kirad aI-Ghannama was to be located within a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and the inhabitants of the area were to be protected. However, the Israeli authorities were determined to drive out those villagers who had remained, and deployed a variety of means over the following seven years to do so (see Kirad al-Baqqara, Salad District). By 1956, the DMZ’s 2,200 inhabitants had been pushed out, and Kirad al-Ghannama was evacuated for the third time.
Land ownership before occupation
| Ethnic Group | Land Ownership (Dunums) |
|---|---|
| Arab | 3,795 |
| Jewish | 175 |
| Public | 5 |
| Total | 3,975 |
Source: palestineremembered.com
