Al-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya
Al-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya
السوافير الغربية | ||
---|---|---|
Etymology: The western nomads[1] | ||
Geopolitical entity Mandatory Palestine | | |
Subdistrict | Gaza | |
Date of depopulation | May 18, 1948 [4] | |
Area | ||
• Total | 7,523 dunams (7.523 km2 or 2.905 sq mi) | |
Population (1945) | ||
• Total | 1,030[2][3] | |
Cause(s) of depopulation | Fear of being caught up in the fighting | |
Current Localities | Merkaz Shapira,[5] Masu'ot Yitzhak,[5] |
Al-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya was a
History
Remains of a winepress and a
Two
12 century Crusader church endowments and land deeds mention Latin settlement in Zeophir/al-Sawāfīr. However, it is not clear which village of three Sawafirs these records pertain to.[10]
Pottery
Ottoman era
Al-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya was incorporated into the
In 1838 the three Sawafir villages were noted located in the Gaza district. The western village was noted as "in ruins or deserted,” while the two others were noted as being Muslim.[13][14]
In 1863 Victor Guérin found in this village a koubbeh consecrated to a Sheikh Muhammed. He noted that many antique building blocks were used in this sanctuary.[15]
In 1882 the
British Mandate era
According to the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Al-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya had a population of 572 inhabitants, all Muslims,[17] increasing in the 1931 census when it had an all-Muslim population of 723 in 134 houses.[18]
By the 1945 statistics, this had increased to 1,030 Muslims,[2] with a total of 7,523 dunams of land.[3] Of this, 585 dunums were for plantations or irrigable land, 6,663 dunums were for cereals,[19] while 585 dunams were classified as un-cultivable land.[20]
al-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya had shared a school with the other two Sawafir villages, and in 1945 it had an enrollment of about 280.[21]
1948 and aftermath
In early May, 1948, the inhabitants of the three Al-Sawafir villages were ordered not to flee, by the
On May 18, the Givati Brigade for a second time conquered Al-Sawafir al-Sharqiyya together with Al-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya. Their operational orders were: "To conquer the villages, to cleanse them of inhabitants (women and children should [also] be expelled), to take several prisoners....[and] to burn the greatest number of houses."[23] The Givati troops torched and blew up several houses, however, after they withdrew, the Palestinian villagers returned.[23] At the 23 May 1948, Israeli reports say that at all the three Al-Sawafir villages the inhabitants slept in the fields at night, but returned to work in the villages by day.[24] By late June, both Al-Sawafir al-Sharqiyya and Al-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya were again "full of Arabs."[23]
Following the war the area was incorporated into the State of Israel, with the villages of Merkaz Shapira and Masu'ot Yitzhak established on Al-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya land.[5]
References
- ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 274
- ^ a b Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 32
- ^ a b c Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 46
- ^ Morris, 2004, p. xix, village #284. Also gives the cause for depopulation.
- ^ a b c Khalidi, 1992, p. 133
- ^ a b c Eisenberg-Degen, 2016, Es-Sawafir el-Gharbiya
- ^ Baumgarten, 2005, Es-Sawafir el-Gharbiya
- ^ Dauphin, 1998, p. 869
- ^ Fraiberg, 2014, Es-Sawafir el-Gharbiya
- ISSN 0305-7488.
- ^ a b Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 149
- ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 149, as estimated in Khalidi, 1992, p. 133
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 118
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, p. 370
- ^ Guérin, 1869, p. 82
- ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 413
- ^ Barron, 1923, Table V, Sub-district of Gaza, p. 8
- ^ Mills, 1932, p. 6
- ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 88
- ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 138
- ^ Khalidi, 1992, p. 132
- ^ Morris, 2004, p. 179
- ^ a b c Morris, 2004, pp. 257, 306
- ^ Morris, 2004, pp. 257-258
Bibliography
- Baumgarten, Ya‘aqov (2005-01-01). "Es-Sawafir el-Gharbiya Final Report" (117). Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel. Archived from the original on 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2011-09-25.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - Barron, J. B., ed. (1923). Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Government of Palestine.
- Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H. H. (1882). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 2. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
- ISBN 0-860549-05-4.
- Department of Statistics (1945). Village Statistics, April, 1945. Government of Palestine.
- Eisenberg-Degen, Davida (2016-04-05). "Es-Sawafir el-Gharbiya Preliminary Report" (128). Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - Fraiberg, Alexander (2014-09-28). "Es-Sawafir el-Gharbiya Final Report" (126). Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - Guérin, V. (1869). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine. Vol. 1: Judee, pt. 2. Paris, L'Imprimerie Imp.
- 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.
- Hütteroth, Wolf-Dieter; Abdulfattah, Kamal (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. ISBN 3-920405-41-2.
- 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.
- Nasser, G.A. (1955–1973): "Memoirs" in Journal of Palestine Studies
- " “Memoirs of the First Palestine War” in 2, no. 2 (Win. 73): 3–32, pdf-file, downloadable
- 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. 2. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
- 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-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya
- al-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya, Zochrot
- Survey of Western Palestine, Map 16: IAA, Wikimedia commons
- al-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya, from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center