Arab al-Shamalina
| Arab al-Shamalina | |
|---|---|
  Arab al-Shamalina | |
| Arabic | عرب الشمالنة |
| Subdistrict | Safad |
| Coordinates | 32°54′13.36″N 35°36′7.96″E / 32.9037111°N 35.6022111°ECoordinates: 32°54′13.36″N 35°36′7.96″E / 32.9037111°N 35.6022111°E |
| Palestine grid | 205/256 |
| Population | 650[1][2] (1945) |
| Date of depopulation | May 4, 1948[3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
| Secondary cause | Expulsion by Yishuv forces |
| Current localities | Almagor |
Arab al-Shamalina (Arabic: عرب الشمالنة) also known as Khirbat Abu Zayna was a Palestinian Arab village in the Safad Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 4, 1948 under Operation Matate (Broom), a sub operation of Operation Yiftach. It was located 13 km southeast of Safad near the Jordan River.
In 1945 it had a population of 650.
History
The village was located north of the point where the Jordan River flowed into Lake Tiberias, west of the Syrian border. It overlooked the northernmost shoreline of the lake and a secondary road linked it to the village of al-Tabigha, also on the lake shore but to the southwest.[4] A highway that skirted the edge of the lake led to the city of Tiberias. The village was inhabited by the settled members of the ‘Arab al-Shamalina Bedouin tribe and several archaeological sites have been found in the vicinity.[4]
The area to the north of the village, along the river banks was widely used for the cultivation of citrus fruits and vegetables and the river and several springs provided the people for irrigation and for drinking water.[4]
In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Shamalneh had a population of 278, all Muslims,[5] increasing in the 1931 census to 551; 1 Christian and 555 Muslims, in a total of 108 houses.[6]
In 1944/45 the village was counted with Al-Butayha, and together they had a total 16,690 dunums of land.[1] Of this, 3,842 dunums was allocated to cereals, 238 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,[7] while 1,2610 dunams were classified as non-cultivable land.[8]
1948 war and depopulation
Under Operation Mandate, a sub operation of Operation Yiftach, the village, along with others between Lake al-Hula and Lake Tiberias was depopulated by Israeli forces on 4 May 1948. Israeli historian Benny Morris, has documented that the village was given specific orders to be attacked and the houses destroyed and commenced with Palmach troops bombarding the area, causing the villagers to flee.[4]
The settlement of Almagor was established on village land, 2 km northwest of the village site in 1961.[4]
References
- 1 2 Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 69
- ↑ Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 9
- ↑ Morris, 2004, p. xvii village #77. Also gives causes of depopulation
- 1 2 3 4 5 Khalidi, 1992, pp. 432-433
- ↑ Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Safad, p. 42
- ↑ Mills, 1932, p. 110
- ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 118
- ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 168
Bibliography
- Barron, J. B., ed. (1923). Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Government of Palestine.
- 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 Center.
- 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 (PDF). Jerusalem: Government of Palestine.
- Morris, Benny (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-00967-6.
External links
- Welcome To 'Arab al-Shamalina
- 'Arab al-Shamalina at Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center
- ‘Arab al-Shamalina, Dr. Khalil Rizk.