Al-Mukhayzin

Al-Mukhayzin was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on April 20, 1948, by the Givati Brigade of Operation Har'el. It was located 10 km southwest of Ramla.

Al-Mukhayzin

المخيزن
Etymology: Kh. el Mukheizin, the ruin of the storehouses[1]
Al-Mukhayzin
Coordinates: 31°48′12″N 34°48′40″E
Palestine grid132/134
Geopolitical entityMandatory Palestine
SubdistrictRamle
Date of depopulationApril 20, 1948[2]
Area
 • Total10,942 dunams (10.942 km2 or 4.225 sq mi)
Population
 (1945)
 • Total310[4][3]
Cause(s) of depopulationMilitary assault by Yishuv forces
Current LocalitiesChafetz Chayyim,[5] Revadim,[5] Yad Binyamin,[5] Beyt Chilqiyya[5]

History

In 1838, el-Mukhaizin was noted as a Muslim village in the Gaza district.[6]

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine noted at Khurbet el Mukheizin: "A large well and birkeh (=artificial pool), of masonry. Several ruined cisterns and a few scattered stones."[7]

British Mandate era

In the 1931 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, El Mukheizin had 79 Muslim inhabitants, in a total of 19 houses.[8]

In 1944, Chafetz Chayyim was built on what traditionally was village land.[5]

In 1945 statistics, the village had a population of 200 Muslims and 110 Jews,[4] with a land area of 10,942 dunums.[3] Of this, Arabs used 10,936 dunums for cereals,[9] while 6 dunams were classified as non-cultivable areas.[10]

Al-Mukhayzin (El Mkheizin) 1930 1:20,000
Al-Mukhayzin (Mukheiyzin) 1945 1:250,000

1948, aftermath

Al-Mukhayzin became depopulated after a military assault on April 20, 1948.[2]

Afterwards, Revadim, Yad Binyamin and Beyt Chilqiyya have all been built on village land.[5]

In 1992 the village site was described: "The village has been completely leveled so that only flat, cultivated fields can be seen. There is a mound of stone and debris, about 2.5 m high, at the southern edge of the site. An orange grove has been planted next the mound, also at the southern edge."[11]

References
  1. Palmer, 1881, p. 270
  2. Morris, 2004, p. xix, village #263. Also gives cause of depopulation.
  3. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 67
  4. Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 30
  5. Khalidi, 1992, p. 398
  6. Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 118
  7. Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 425
  8. Mills, 1932, p. 21
  9. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 116
  10. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 166
  11. Khalidi, 1992, pp. 398-399

Bibliography

See also
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