Al-Kunayyisa

Al-Kunayyisa
Ruin in Al-Kunayyisa
Al-Kunayyisa
Arabic الكنيّسة
Name meaning The church[1]
Subdistrict Ramle
Coordinates 31°53′18″N 34°57′27″E / 31.88833°N 34.95750°E / 31.88833; 34.95750Coordinates: 31°53′18″N 34°57′27″E / 31.88833°N 34.95750°E / 31.88833; 34.95750
Palestine grid 146/144
Population 40[2][3] (1945)
Area 3,872[3] dunams
Date of depopulation July 10, 1948[4]
Cause(s) of depopulation Military assault by Yishuv forces

Al-Kunayyisa was a small Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on July 10, 1948, under the first stage of Operation Dani. It was located 12 km southeast of Ramla.

History

In 1838, it was noted it was noted as a place "in ruins or deserted”, called el-Kuneiseh in the Lydda District.[5]

In 1883, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) noted "Foundations and traces of ruins."[6]

British Mandate era

In the 1931 census of Palestine Al-Kunayyisa was counted with Innaba, together they had 1135 Muslim inhabitants, in 288 houses.[7]

In the 1945 statistics Al-Kunayyisa had a population of 40 Muslims,[2] with 3,872 dunams of land.[3] Of this, a 64 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 2,432 were used for cereals,[8] while 20 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[9]

A khirba to the east contains rugged stone walls and building remains.[10]

1948, aftermath

Al-Kunayyisa became depopulated after a military assault on July 10, 1948.[4]

On 20 August 1948, Al-Kunayyisa was one of 32 Palestinian villagers whose land was given to the JNF for establishing Jewish settlements. Al-Kunayyisas land was given to Mishmar Ayalon.[11] However, according to Walid Khalidi, Mishmar Ayalon is on the land of Al-Qubab.[10]

In 1992 the village site was described: "From a distance, the site looks like a big stone pile overgrown with a thicket of thorns. More than thirty partially destroyed buildings, including houses, still stand. The remains of arched doors and windows are visible. Fig, almond, olive, and pomegranate trees and cactuses grow among the buildings. The lands in the vicinity are cultivated by the nearby kibbutz; some are planted with cotton."[12]

References

  1. ↑ Palmer, 1881, p.298
  2. 1 2 Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 29
  3. 1 2 3 Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 67
  4. 1 2 Morris, 2004, p. xix village #243. Also gives cause of depopulation
  5. ↑ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 121
  6. ↑ Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 103
  7. ↑ Mills, 1932, p. 20
  8. ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 116
  9. ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 166
  10. 1 2 Khalidi, 1992, p. 391
  11. ↑ Morris, 2004, p. 376
  12. ↑ Khalidi, 1992, p. 392

Bibliography

  • Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
  • Department of Statistics (1945). Village Statistics, April, 1945. Government of Palestine.
  • Hadawi, S. (1970). Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine. Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center.
  • Khalidi, W. (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, B. (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-00967-6.
  • Palmer, E.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
  • Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
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