Al-Ghazzawiyya

al-Ghazzawiyya
al-Ghazzawiyya
Arabic الغزاويه
Also spelled al-Ghazawiya, Arab al Ghazawiya tribe (Morris), Arab Abu Hashiya (Frantzman)
Subdistrict Baysan
Coordinates 32°30′08″N 35°32′30″E / 32.50222°N 35.54167°E / 32.50222; 35.54167Coordinates: 32°30′08″N 35°32′30″E / 32.50222°N 35.54167°E / 32.50222; 35.54167
Palestine grid 200/212
Population 1,020[1][2] (1945)
Area 18,408[2] dunams
18.4 km²
Date of depopulation May 20, 1948[3]
Cause(s) of depopulation Influence of nearby town's fall
Current localities Neve Eitan, Maoz Haim

Al-Ghazzawiyya (Arabic: الغزاويه‎), was a Palestinian village located 2 kilometers east of the city of Bet Shean (Bisan). In 1945, the population was 1,640, 1,020 Arab and 620 Jewish.[4]

History

Several archeological sites in the area testify to a long history of human occupancy. The village was surrounded by the archeological sites of Tall-al Barta to the north, Tall al-Husn to the west, and Tall al-Maliha to the southwest. Excavations of Tall al-Husn showed an occupational history extending from the third millennium BC to the eighth century CE, when the site was occupied by an Arab village.[5]

British Mandate era

In modern times, the village spread over a wide area of the Baysan valley. The villagers were members of the al-Ghazzawiyya Beduin tribe, who constituted the bulk of the valley's population together with members of the al-Bashatiwa and the al-Suqur.[4] In the 1931 census, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, 'Arab Abu Hashiya had 156 Muslim inhabitants, and a total of 29 houses.[6]

In 1944/45, a total of 13 dunums of village land was used for citrus and bananas, 5,185 dunums were used for cereals, 34 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,[7][8] while 91 dunams were classified as non-cultivable land.[9]

1948 and aftermath

It was captured by Israel's Golani Brigade on May 20, 1948, during Operation Gideon, an Israeli offensive during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The Arab population was forced to flee to nearby Syria or the present-day West Bank.[10]

The Jewish localities of Maoz Haim and Neve Eitan are built on the lands of the former village, though a large percentage of it is used as agricultural land, in particular the wheat crop. According to Walid Khalidi, the village contained an archaeological site, Tell al-Ru'yan which was transformed into waste dump.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 6
  2. 1 2 Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 43
  3. ↑ Morris, 2004, p. xvii, village #134. Gives depopulation cause as (?) (C)
  4. 1 2 Khalidi, 1992, p. 48
  5. ↑ Khalidi, 1992, pp. 48–49
  6. ↑ Mills, 1932, p. 77
  7. ↑ Khalidi, 1992, p. 49
  8. ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.84
  9. ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 134
  10. 1 2 Al-Ghazzawiyya: Town Statistics and Facts

Bibliography

  • Department of Statistics (1945). Village Statistics, April, 1945. Government of Palestine.
  • Hadawi, Sami (1970). Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine. Palestine Liberation Organization Research Centre.
  • Khalidi, Walid (1992). All That Remains:The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948. Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies. ISBN 0-88728-224-5.
  • Mills, E., ed. (1932). Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine.
  • Morris, Benny (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-00967-6.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.