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Destroyed Villages 1948 (35)
Before 1948 this southern Palestinian village was situated 30 km to the north east of Gaza at the hub of roads leading to major
Palestinian cities including Hebron, Jerusalem and Jafa. Al Faluja acquired paramount significance in Palestine’s 1948 war following the siege of an Egyptian army Brigade there by Jewish forces. One of the besieged Egyptian officers was Gamal Abdel Nasser, later the leader of July 23, 1952 revolution and the future Egyptian President.
During al Faluja-four-month-siege—which stretched from late October to February 1948— Nasser found time to create the Free Officers’ Movement, which toppled, four years later, the corrupt regime of King Farouq.
Al-Faluja’s name became thereof a cause celebre in Egypt and the Arab World after 1948 although the village itself was depopulated.
Both al-Falouja’s population and the Egyptian brigade were trapped until February 1949 when the ‘ Faluja pocket’ was handed over to Israel as a result of the Egyptian-Israeli armistice agreement. Some 3,140 Palestinian villagers were reported to be actually trapped in the encampment. But no one of those Palestinians was allowed by the invading Israelis to remain in al-Faluja.
During the relatively lengthy siege, the Palestinian residents of Faluja were keen to supply the trapped Egyptian troops with provisions at their disposal. Many of them had the opportunity to be acquainted with Nasser and some of his colleagues from the Free Officers.
It is reasonably enough to believe that the future Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser had had at al-Falouja his first touch with the 1948 Catastrophe of Palestine.
Within days of the Egyptian forces’ departure, the Israeli invaders dashed to the village and embarked on beating and robbing the civilians. United Nations observers at the scene reported attempts of rapes.
Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett personally reprimanded the Israeli army’s chief of staff for the acts committed by the Israeli soldiers against the population. He said that in addition to overt violence, the army conducted a “ whispering propaganda” campaign among the Arabs [of al-Faluja], threatening them with attacks and acts of vengeance by the army, which the civilian authorities will be powerless to prevent. There is no doubt that there is a calculated action aimed at increasing the number of those going to the Hebron Hills as if of their own free will, and if possible, to bring about the evacuation of the whole civilian population [of the pocket].
According to the Israeli historian BennyMorris the decision to cause the exodus of the “ Faluja pocket” population was probably approved by Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion.
The Village Today
The foundations of the village mosque and fragments of its walls are all that remain of al-Faluja.
The Israeli town of Qiryat Gat was established in 1954 on the lands of Iraq al-Manshiyaa between that village and al-Faluja; it has now spread into the lands of al-Faluja as well. Four more settlements were established two years later on village lands.
Bibliography:
–All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948 by Prof. Walid Khalidi
http://www.palestineremembered.com
Of the 418 Palestinian towns and villages, destroyed or depopulated in 1948 and after, some 48 lay in
the Negev area; 3 in the Beersheba District, and 45 in the Gaza District.
In the Beersheba District, the villages of al-Imara (El Imara), al-Jammama (Jammameh) and al-Khalasa (El Khalasa) constitutes the doomed Palestinian villages. But in the Gaza District, among the 45 wiped-out Palestinian villages, the towns and villages of al-Faluja, Iraq Suwaydan and Iraq al-Manshiyya have entered history for two reasons: –
The ferocity of the battles which took place between the Egyptian army and the Israeli invaders, first; and the presence of many prominent young Egyptian officers, including Major Gamal Abdul Nasser, later the Egyptian President and the Pan-Arab nationalism’s hero, who battled the Israeli invaders and resisted the ensuing siege of Egyptian troops at al-Faluja Pocket; a siege that turned out to be a case of great embarrassment to Cairo and other Arab capitals.
Many Jewish settlements and factories were to be built after 1948 by the newcomers to commemorate these battles at which Nasser and his compatriots had taken part.
Within hindsight, the Israeli press began reporting, in the wake of the second uprising against occupation, on the dwindling fortunes of the Negev’s colonies and industrial establishments, which were built in the aftermath of the 1948 war. For example, Ha’aretz reported last year a telling story about the laying off of hundreds of workers from a factory of clothes, which was built in the early 1950s to commemorate the “ defeat of Nasser’s army”, in the words of Pinhas Saphir, then Israel’s minister of industry. Saphir drove a Chilean millionaire in the early hours of a summer day in 1950s to a remote spot in the Negev in an attempt to fool the latter that he was driving him to a suburb of Tel Aviv. Failing to convince his interlocutor in the first trip, he drove him to the same destination again asking him to build the factory there. When the businessman hesitated to have an industrial establishment be built in the desert, Saphir ordered him on behalf of Ben-Gurion this time to go ahead with the project, saying not far from here the Israeli army had defeated Colonel Nasser’s army and we want to commemorate this historic event. In fact the collapsing Israeli economy has been highlighted lately by endless press reports; it became a worry-some issue in the election of January 28, 03.
Notwithstanding the outcome of the Negev’s battles of 1948, the going developments in occupied Palestine in the wake of the Palestinian Intifada against occupation had its roots in the catastrophe of 1948. In retrospect, it is worthwhile touring the Negev Triangle of 1948 ahead of the systematic destruction of 48 Palestinian towns and villages.
When Ben-Gurion ordered in 1948 the Israeli army to break through the triangle of the Egyptian forces encircling the Negev from three sides, these forces in Palestine were grouping in three blocs, which each one had been stationed on one side of the triangle in charge of certain task: –
Firstly, the western side, paralleling the Mediterranean coast and extending from ‘Rafah’ and ‘Majdal’ crossing Gaza was manned by the main bloc of the Egyptian army led by the commander in chief of the Egyptian forces in Palestine, Major General Mohammad Ahmad El Mawawi as of the beginning of the operations until October-then removed from his post leaving it to General Ahmad Fuad Sadeq, who arrived on 20 October to the HQ in El Areesh (behind Rafah).
The force was composed of 11 infantry battalions backed by three artillery battalions and engineering units, as well as signal and administrative. In fact it is difficult to make serious valuation of it, as the most of the formations were incomplete– some of which were no more than organizational skeletons, which lacked officers and soldiers, as well as adequate arms and ammunition and means of transport.
Secondly, the second –eastern-side of the Egyptian military triangle, south of Palestine, was within the domain of the volunteering forces, which had taken part in the war ahead of the Egyptian Army. It walked from ‘Ouja’ to ‘Aslouj’ to ‘Beersheba’ and ‘Hebron’; its vanguard arrived in the outskirts of Jerusalem. The volunteers were a military force, but, however, very difficult to describe with scientific or even descriptive accuracy.
These forces–as indicated by its name– comprised soldiers (many of them were Muslim Brothers) who volunteered to fight in Palestine, or officers, filled with zeal, had been ordered to volunteer. And when this occurred, it was believed that their force was all what Cairo had in mind for Palestine, as the entrance of the Egyptian army was not decided upon yet.
As for the Prime Minister ‘Mahmoud Famy al-Naqrashy’, sending the volunteers was enough to absolve Egypt from further responsibility towards Palestine. But he was overwhelmed by a royal decision for Egypt to enter the war.
However, it turned out that the volunteers had penetrated deep, reaching the Jerusalem’s outskirts. Notwithstanding the fact that they did not take part in big battles, their speedy advance gained them a resounding reputation, especially that their leader was the highly respectable and inspiring officer, Qaem Maqam “Ahmad Abdul Aziz”. However, the reputation of this force and the character of it leader were to face a real danger, because of its speedy advance to the extent that its logistic lines had extended for 80 km.
Thirdly, the third side of the triangle of the Egyptian forces was the so- called line of the north Negev; this side in fact was the wide base of the turned over triangle; it extended from Beit Jibreen, to transverse the central Negev up to the Majdal.
Adapted mainly from Walid Khalidi’s All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by
Israel in 1948
Our village was situated strategically on a hill at the junction of the al-Ramla-Jerusalem highway with other highways that led to Gaza and Ramllah. This location lay just south of an ancient Roman road that ran from the Mediterranean coast through Emmaus/’Imwasand up the mountains to Jerusalem. Because of its proximity to this road, the site of al-Latrun had strategic importance. Its name may have been derived from the phrase Le Toron des Chvaliers (“ The Tower of the Knights” in Old French), which was the name of a castle built on the site by the Crusaders between 1150 and 1170. Salh al-Din al-Ayyoubi (Saladin) captured the castle in 1187. Migrants from neighboring [Palestinian] villages moved to al-Latrun during the [Ottomani] governorship of Mustafa Thurayya Pash (1852-62). In the late ninteenth century, al-Latrun was a small, mud-brick village built within the walls of the Crusader castle. Frnech Tappist monks built a monastery cum agricultural school on a slope near the village in 1890 that became famous for its vineyards. During the British mandate it was classified as a hamlet by the Palestine Index Gazetteer.
Al-Latrun’s population was predominantly Christian. This strategically located hamlet, which controlled the Jerusalem-Jaffa road, was the scene of a long series of battles in the course of the war. Six separate Israeli attacks were launched to capture the al-Latrun salient between mid-May and mid-July 1948. The first attack, during Operation Makkabi by Giv’ati Brigade for a brief period on 16-17 May, according to the History War of Independence. This occurred while the ArabLiberation Army was in the process of handing over its position to the Arab Legion. However, al-Latrun was regained by Arab forces [ under the inspired leadership of Abul Qader al-Husseini].
On orders from Ben-Gurion who decided on the occupation of Jerusalem, a new Israeli attempt was made to capture al-Latrun, but this attempt was repulsed by the Arab Legion, which inflicted heavy casualties upon the Israeli forces. The New York Times stated that Arab Legion units rushed to the area to participate in the twenty-four-hour battle on 25-26 May. The fierce fighting later spread to the nearby Palestinian villages. Another Israeli attempt was made on 30 May, but it was repulsed again even after the Israeli units reached al-Latrun police station in a bid to demolish it.
The New York Times quoted the Israeli commander of the attack that his units had left the village badly burned and its police station gutted.
Upon their failure twice to recapture the strategic Palestinian hamlet, the Israelis concentrated on finding an alternative route to Jerusalem, by bypassing al-Latrun. Consequently, “Burma Road,” rejoining the road to Jerusalem at the village of Saris was hastily built, but proved insufficient for military purposes. However, a fourth Israeli attempt to occupy al-Latrun was made during the night of 8-9 June. But the attacking Israeli brigades of Har’el and Yiftach were repulsed and driven back again by units of the Arab Legion.
A fifth Israeli attempt to occupy al-Latrun took place in the wake of Operation Dani on 15-16 July after the end of the first truce, which was imposed on the Arabs by the Security Council and gave the Israeli a precious ten days (July 8-18, 1948) to rearm. [For example, three B-17s bombers purchased by the Haganah in the United States had been flown Czechoslovakia to be outfitted and armed. On July 15 they set out for Israel, ordered to bomb Cairo and other Egyptian targets on the way, according Benny Morris’ Righteous Victims as reproduced from HaAretz, July 16, 1848].
As the second truce drew near, the commander of Operation Dani decided to focus on al-Latrun. He intended to isolate the village from its hinterland and attack from the east. Once again the Israeli forces were driven back and their desperate attack failed, sustaining nineteen casualties in a fierce confrontation wit the Arab Legion, according to the official Israeli version.
Nonetheless, a sixth and final Israeli attempt, just before the second truce on July 18, involved a direct frontal assault by units of the Yiftach Brigade. The Israeli forces were equipped this time with a number of armoured vehicles, including two Cromwell tanks that had been dispatched from the northern sector. However, technical difficulties with one of the tanks led to the failure of this attack. Two days into the second truce, a 20 July New York Times dispatch stated that al-Latrune had been completely surrounded by Israeli forces. But it remained accessible from Arab-held territory, being linked by the road to Ramallah. On August 10, United Nations mediator Count Folke Bernadotte announced that Arab Legion forces had withdrawn from al-Latrun, after having controlled for many weeks. He did not mention the cause of the withdrawal. The following day, Bernadotte ordered Israeli forces to withdraw from Hill 312 on the al-Latrun-Ramallah road because the position had been occupied after the truce was proclaimed.
The History of the War of Independence states that Israel was granted the right to use the al-Latrun-Jerusalem road in the armistice agreement with Jordan. As a result the old al-Latrun became part of the West Bank and severed as a camp for the Jordanian army, whereas the new al-Latrun fell in the no-man’s-land. The of al-Latrun moved to the neighboring village of Immwas, on the West Bank. Their houses remained empty until 1967, when al-Latrun was occupied by Israel during the June War.
* All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948 by Walid Khalidi.
Israeli occupation date: July 24, 1948. It was a Palestinian village located 21 kilometers south of Haifa. The
village was depopulated in 1948 and as a result of an Israeli military assault, the village was completely destroyed. ‘Ayn Ghazal inhabitants were mostly expelled eastward to Jinin (West Bank).
According to the Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi, the village remaining structures on the village land are:
“The dilapidated shrine of Shaykh Shahada is the only standing structure on the village site. Ruins of walls and piles of stones can be seen all over the site, as well as stands of pine, cactus, and fig and pomegranate trees. ”
The number of houses was listed 247 in 1931. Ayn Gazal had two schools; the 1st was an elementary school for boys, which was founded by the Ottomans in 1886, and the 2nd school was an elementary school for girls.
Land ownership before occupation
| Ethnic Group | Land Ownership (Dunums) |
|---|---|
| Total | 18,079 |
| Arab | 14,628 |
| Jewish | 424 |
| Public | 3,027 |
Source: Palestineremembered.com
Al-Nakba was marked by the destruction of Palestinian villages and the exodus of over 750,000 Palestinians. Historical
records confirm that in 1947 Palestine comprised more than 900 Palestinian villages. More than 400 villages were destroyed by Israeli forces as well as their houses and buildings.
The Israelis wiped off all these destroyed villages of the map. Mayor urban centers exclusive for Palestinians such as Nazareth, Baysan, Beersheba, Acre, Ramla, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Haifa and many others were depopulated and in their places Israeli settlements were built.
Israeli and international historians confirm the number of these destroyed villages to be at least 418 and possibly up to 472.
Here we have a list of the destroyed villages within the pre-1967 borders of Israel, which were destroyed and depopulated in 1948.
The District of Acre (26 villages)
Amqa, Arab Al-Samniyya, Al-Bassa, Al-Birwa, Al-Damun, Dayr Al-Qasi, Al-Gabisiyya, Iqrit, Irbbin Khirbat, Jiddin Khirbat, Al-Kabri, Kafr Inan, Kuwaykat, Al-Manshiyya, Al-Mansura, Miar, Al-Nabi Rubin, Al-Nahr, Al-Ruways, Suhmata, Al-Sumayriyya, Suruh, Al-Tall, Tarbikha, Umm Al-Faraj, Al-Zib.
The District of Baysan (29 villages)
Arab al-‘Arida, Arab al-Bawati, Arab al-Safa, al-Ashrafiyya, al-Birra, Danna, Farwana, al-Fatur, al-Ghazzawiyya, al-Hamidiyya, al-Hamra, abbul Kafra, Kawkab al-Hawa, al-Khunayzir, Masil al-Jizl, al-Murassa, Qumya, al-Sakhina, al-Samiriyya, Sirin, Tall al-Shawk, al-Taqa, Khirbat, al-Tira, Umm ‘Ajra, Umm Sabuna, Khirbat, Yubla, Zab’a, al-Zawiya, Khirbat.
The District of Beersheba (3 villages)
Al-‘Imara, al-Jammama, al-Khalasa.
The District of Gaza (45 villages)
Arab Suqrir, Barbara, Barqa, al-Batani, al-Gharbi, al-Batani, al-Sharqi, Bayt ‘Affa, Bayt Daras, Bayt Jirja, Bayt Tima, Bi’lin, Burayr, Dayr Sunayd, Dimra, al-Faluja, Hamama, Hatta, Hiribya, Huj, Hulayqat, ‘Ibdis, ‘Iraq al-Manshiyya, Iraq Suwaydan, Isdud, al-Jaladiyya, al-Jiyya, Julis, al-Jura, Jusayr, Karatiyya, Kawfakha, Kawkaba, al-Khisas, al-Masmiyya al-Kabira, al-Masmiyya al-Saghira, al-Muharraqa, Najd, Ni’ilya, Qastina, al-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya, al Sawafir al-Shamaliyya, al-Sawafir al-Sharqiyya, Summil, Tallal al-Turmus, Yasur.
The District of Haifa (51 villages)
Abu Shusha, Abu Zurayq, Arab al-Fuqara’, Arab al-Nufay’at, Arab Zahrat al-Dumayri, Atlit, Ayn Ghazal, Ayn Hawd, Balad al-Shaykh, Barrat Qisarya, Burayka, al-Burj, Khirbat, al-Butaymat, Daliyat al-Rawha’, al-Damun Khirbat, al-Ghubayya al-Fawqa, al-Ghubayya al-Tahta, Hawsha, Ijzim, Jaba’, al-Jalma, Kabara, al-Kafrayn, Kafr Lam, al-Kasayir Khirbat, Khubbayza, Lid khirbat, al-Manara Khirbat, al-Mansi, al-Mansura Khirbat, al-Mazar, al-Naghnaghiyya, Qannir, Qira, Qisarya, Qumbaza, al-Rihaniyya, Sabbarin,al-Sarafand, al-Sarkas Khirbat, Sa’sa’ Khirbat, al-Sawamir, al-Shuna Khirbat, al-Sindiyana, al-Tantura, al- Tira, Umm al-Shawf, Umm al-Zinat, Wa’arat al-Sarris, Wadi Ara, Yajur.
The District of Hebron (16 villages)
‘Ajjur, Barqusya, Bayt Jibrin, Bayt Nattif, al-Dawayima, Dayr al-Dubban, Dayr Nakhkhas, Kudna, Mughallis, al-Qubayba, Ra’na, Tall al-Safi, Umm Burj Khirbat, Zakariyya, Zayta, Zikrin, Al-Nabi Rubin.
The District of Jaffa (23 villages)
al- ‘Abbasiyya, Abu Kishk, Bayt Dajan, Biyar ‘Adas, Fajja, al- Haram, Ijlil al-Qibliyya, Ijlil al-Shamaliyya, al-Jammasin al-Gharbi, al-Jammasin al-Sharqi, Jarisha, Kafr ‘Ana, al-Khayriyya, al-Mas’udiyya, al-Mirr, al-Muwaylih, Rantiya, al-Safiriyya, Salama, Saqiya, al-Sawalima, al-Shaykh Muwannis, Yazur.
The District of Jerusalem (38 villages)
‘Allar, ‘Aqqur, ‘Artuf, ‘Ayn Karim, Bayt ‘Itab, Bayt Mahsir, Bayt Naqquba, Bayt Thul, Bayt Umm al-Mays, al-Burayi, Dayr Aban, Dayr ‘Amr, Dayr al-Hawa, Dayr Rafat, Dayr al-Shaykh, Dayr Yasin, Ishwa’, Islin Ism Allah, Khirbat, Jarash, al-jura, Kasla, al-Lawz Khirbat, Lifta, al-Maliha, Nitaf, al-Qabu, Qalunya, al-Qastal, Ras Abu ‘Ammar, Sar’a, Saris, Sataf, Suba, Sufla, al-Tannur Khirbat, al-‘Umur Khirbat, al-Walaja.
The District of Jinin (6 villages)
Ayn al-Mansi, al-Jawfa Khirbat, al-Lajjun, al-Mazar, Nuris, Zir’in.
The District of Nazareth (4 villages)
Indur, Ma’lul, al-Mujaydil, Saffuriyya.
The District of Ramla (58 villages)
Abu al-Fadl, Abu Shusha, ‘Ajanjul, ‘Aqir, Barfiliya, al-Barriyya, Bashshit, Bayt Far Khirbat, Bayt Jiz, Bayt Nabala, Bayt Shanna, Bayt Susin, Bir Ma’in, Bir Salim, al-Burj, al-Buwayra Khirbat, Daniyal, Dayr Abu Salama, Dayr Ayyub, Dayr Muhaysin, Dayr Tarif, al-Duhayriyya Khirbat, al-Haditha, Idnibba, ‘Innaba, Jilya, Jimzu, Kharruba, al-Khayma, Khulda, al-Kunayyisa, al-Latrun, al-Maghar, Majdal Yaba, al-Mansura, al-Mukhayzin, al-Muzayri’a, al-Na’ani, al-Nabi Rubin, Qatra, Qazaza, al-Qubab, Qubayba, Qula, Sajad, Salbit, Sarafand al-‘Amar, Sarafand al-Kharab, Saydun, Shahma, Shilta, Al-Tina, Al-Tira, Umm Kalkha, Wadi Hunayn, Yibna, Zakariyya Khirbat, Zarnuqa.
The District of Safad (77 villages)
Abil al-Qamh, al-‘Abisiyya, Akbara, Alma, Ammuqa, ‘Arab al-Shamalina, Arab al-Zubayd, ‘Ayn al-Zaytun, Baysamun, Biriyya, al-Butayha, al-Buwayziyya, Dallata, al-Dawwara, Dayshum, al-Dirbashiyya, al-Dirdara, Fara, al-Farradiyya, Fir’im, Ghabbatiyya, Ghuraba, al-Hamra’, Harrawi, Hunin, al-Husayniyya, Jahula, al-Ja’una, Jubb Yusuf, Kafr Bir’im, al-Khalisa, Khan al-Duwayr, Karraza Khirbat, al-Khisas, Khiyam al-Walid, Kirad al-Baqqara, Kirad al-Ghannama, Lazzaza, Madahil , al-Malikiyya, Mallaha, al-Manshiyya, al-Mansura, Mansurat Al-Khayt, Marus, Mirun, al-Muftakhira, Mughr al-Khayt, al-Muntar, Khirbat, al-Nabi Yusha’, al-Na’ima, Qabba’a, Qadas, Qaddita, Qaytiyya, al-Qudayriyya, al-Ras al-Ahmar, Sabalan, Safsaf, Saliha, al-Salihiyya, al -Sammu’i, al-Sanbariyya, Sa’sa’, al-Shawka al-Tahta, al-Shuna, Taytaba, Tulayl, al-‘Ulmaniyya, al-‘Urayfiyya, al-Wayziyya, Yarda, al-Zahiriiyya al-Tahta, al-Zanghariyya,al-Zawiya, al-Zuq al-Fawqani, al-Zuq al-Tahtani.
The District of Tiberias (25 villages)
‘Awlam, al-Dalhamiyya, Ghuwayr Abu Shusha, Hadatha, al-Hamma, Hittin, Kafr Sabt, Lubya, Ma’dhar, al-Majdal, al-Manara, al-Manshiyya, al-Mansura, Nasir al-Din, Nimrin, al-Nuqayb, Samakh, al-Samakiyya, al-Samra, al-Shajara, al-Tabigha, al-‘Ubaydiyya, Wadi al-Hamam, al-Wa’ra al-Swawda’, Khirbat, Yaquq.
The District of Tulkarm (17 villages)
Bayt Lid Khirbat, Bayyarat Hannun, Fardisya, Ghabat Kafrr Sur, al-Jalama, Kafr Saba, al-Majdal, Khirbat, al-Manshiyya, Miska, Qaqun, Raml Zayta, Tabsur, Umm Khalid, Wadi al-Hawarith, Wadi Qabbani, al-Zababida Khirbat, Zalafa Khirbat.
Bibliography:
-All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948 by Walid Khalidi.
-For more detailed information you can visit http://www.palestineremembered.com/
More than 400 Palestinian villages were destroyed –in its entirety or partially– by Zionist gangs as part of a
programmed plan of uprooting native Palestinians from their homeland, Palestine, and breaking new ground for a bizarre colonial project called Israel, which the days of its first stage were closing in on that awful year of 1948.
Few researchers, and historians, Palestinians and Israelis, have attempted to document this tragic chapter of al-Nakba (catastrophe). Among Palestinians were Aref El-Aref who prepared shortly in the aftermath of 1948 war a list of villages occupied and its Arab citizens were forced to leave in the course of battles. He published few years later a six-part volume about 1948 war under the title al-Nakba (1956-1960). The historian Mustafa Dabbagh published an eleven-part volume titled “Our Land Palestine” (1972-1986). A thorough description of the destroyed villages or otherwise was included in the book.
Other writers followed suit including the late Palestinian geographer Bashir Najm who coauthored with Engineer Bsharah Muammer comprehensive tables of statistics covering the people and the land.
On 1987, Abdul Jawad Saleh and Walid Mustafa published a booklet concerning the mass destruction of the Palestinian villages.
At last the Israeli historian Benny Morris published on 1989 his important book “ The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem 1947-1949”.
All in all, 418 villages were destroyed, depopulated or simply taken over by Zionists for various purposes. Others were utilized as sites for building Zionist settlements.
In 1992 , the distinguished Palestinian historian, Walid Khalidi, author and editor of many valuable publications, books and researches, narrating the untold story and history of the Palestinians before and after their Nakba (catastrophe), a paramount referential research work titled “ All that Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948”. Its Arabic version appeared on November 1997.
In addition to these major works, a group of researchers prepared a list of names for destroyed villages — among them was Israel Shahak, president of Israeli Human Rights group who published on 1973 somehow modified text of Aref Al-Aref list.
Shahak based his work on Al-Aref list of 399 occupied villages, omitting from it the undestroyed villages—reducing the figure to 383 villages.
The Palestinian geographer Kamal Abdul Fattah classified on 1986 another list in preparation for the forthcoming list of Ber Zeit University.
But Christoph Uehlinger from the Swiss “Association for the reconstruction of Emmuas” village prepared a list based on Al-Aref-Shahak list, and to the preliminary list of Kamal Abdul Fattah (1983)—adapting it to the Israeli maps.
Although the Israeli authorities failed to issue a list of the destroyed villages, it republished on 1950s topographic maps –originally prepared by British Mandate –giving Hebrew names to the places printing over the destroyed villages the Hebrew word “Hrous” – meaning: destroyed.
Barring Dabbagh’s book (Our Land Palestine) and the Palestinian Encyclopedia, none of these works has referred to the destroyed village with more than a name and few statistics—merely as a single element amid general sight of destruction.
General Moshe Dayan stated in 1962:
We came to this country, which was already populated by Arabs, and we are establishing a Hebrew, that is, a Jewish State, here. Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you, because those geography books no longer exist. Not only do the books, not exist, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahal arose in the place of Mahalul; Gevat in the place of Jibta; Sarid in the place of Tell Shaman. There is not one place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.
Bibliography:
-All that Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948 by Walid Khalidi
-The Catastrophe and the Lost Paradise by Aref al-Aref
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