Al-Kunayyisa
Al-Kunayyisa
الكنيّسة | ||
|---|---|---|
 Ruin in Al-Kunayyisa | ||
| Etymology: The church[1] | ||
.jpg) 1870s map .jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map .jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Al-Kunayyisa (click the buttons) | ||
Geopolitical entity Mandatory Palestine | | |
| Subdistrict | Ramle | |
| Date of depopulation | July 10, 1948[4] | |
| Area | ||
• Total | 3,872 dunams (3.872 km2 or 1.495 sq mi) | |
| Population (1945) | ||
• Total | 40[2][3] | |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces | |
Al-Kunayyisa (
Etymology
The name of the site, variously rendered al-Kunaysah /li-Knaysi/ is of Arabic origin and means "the little church". The name probably refers to the remains of an ancient building on the upper part of the mound.[5]
History
In 1552, al-Kunayyisa was an inhabited village.
In 1838, it was noted it was noted as a place "in ruins or deserted", called el-Kuneiseh in the
In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) noted "Foundations and traces of ruins."[8]
By the beginning of the 20th century, residents from Tirat Ramallah settled the site, establishing it as a dependency – or satellite village – of their home village.[9]
British Mandate era
In the
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,[11] while 20 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[12]
A khirba to the east contains rugged stone walls and building remains.[13]
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
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."[15]
References
- ^ Palmer, 1881, p.298
- ^ a b Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 29
- ^ a b c Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 67
- ^ a b Morris, 2004, p. xix village No. 243. Also gives cause of depopulation
- ^ Marom, Roy; Zadok, Ran (2023). "Early-Ottoman Palestinian Toponymy: A Linguistic Analysis of the (Micro-)Toponyms in Haseki Sultan's Endowment Deed (1552)". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 139 (2).
- ^ Marom, Roy (2022-11-01). "Jindās: A History of Lydda's Rural Hinterland in the 15th to the 20th Centuries CE". Lod, Lydda, Diospolis. 1: 8.
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 121
- ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 103
- ^ Marom, Roy (2022). "Lydda Sub-District: Lydda and its countryside during the Ottoman period". Diospolis – City of God: Journal of the History, Archaeology and Heritage of Lod. 8: 124.
- ^ Mills, 1932, p. 20
- ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 116
- ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 166
- ^ a b Khalidi, 1992, p. 391
- ^ Morris, 2004, p. 376
- ^ 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. Vol. 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. Archived from the original on 2018-12-08. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ISBN 0-88728-224-5.
- Mills, E., ed. (1932). Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine.
- 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. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
External links
- Welcome To al-Kunayyisa
- al-Kunayyisa, Zochrot
- Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17: IAA, Wikimedia commons
- al-Kunayyisa from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center
