Al-Hamidiyya
| Al-Hamidiyya | |
|---|---|
  Al-Hamidiyya | |
| Arabic | الحميديه |
| Also spelled | Hamidiya, al- |
| Subdistrict | Baysan |
| Coordinates | 32°32′38.5″N 35°30′56.03″E / 32.544028°N 35.5155639°ECoordinates: 32°32′38.5″N 35°30′56.03″E / 32.544028°N 35.5155639°E |
| Palestine grid | 198/216 |
| Population | 220[1] (1945) |
| Area | 10,902[1] dunams |
| Date of depopulation | 12 May 1948[2] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Influence of nearby town's fall |
Al-Hamidiyya (Arabic: الحميديه) was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Baysan. It was depopulated by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 12, 1948. It was located five kilometres north of Baysan. It was attacked as part of Operation Gideon. The population in 1922 was 193, expanding to 255 in 1948.
History
The village takes its name from the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Abdul Hamid II (1876–1909). The village comprised a total area of 10,902 dunums. The population of the village in 1944/1945 was approximately 70% Arab and 30% Jewish in ethnicity.[3] In 1944/45, Arabs owned 4,720 dunums of land as compared to 1,386 (about 13%) of the total land owned by the Jewish inhabitants.[3]
A large number of inhabitants were employed in cereal farming.[3] Some land was also allocated for irrigation and plantation, and the growing of citrus fruits.
1948 War and aftermath
According to Benny Morris, Kibbutzniks demanded -and often themselves carried out- the destruction of neighbouring villages for local (and selfish) reasons, as a means of blocking the return of the Arab villagers. For this reason a veteran local leader, Nahum Wurwitz of Kfar Gil'adi appealed in a letter in September 1948 for permission to destroy al-Bira, Kawkab al-Hawa, Jabbul, and al-Hamidiyya in the area for fear that they may be used by Arabs for military operations and to enable them to "take the village's lands, because the Arabs won't be able to return there".[4]
The Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi, described the village remaining structures in 1992 as: "Aside from the ruins of the village's houses (which have been reduced to cement rubble), a cemetery, and a few wells, only thorns are found on the site. The lands in the vicinity are used by Israelis for agriculture and grazing."[5]
References
- 1 2 Hadawi, 1970, p.43
- ↑ Morris, 2004, p.xvii village #119. Also gives cause of depopulation.
- 1 2 3 Hadawi, 1970
- ↑ Morris, 2004, pp. 357. Quotes from Peterzil to Erem, Bentov, Hazan and Cisling (August 10, 1948), quoting an extract from an undated letter from Faivel Cohen of Ma'ayan Barukh, to Peterzil, HHA-ACP 10.95.10(5) therein.
- ↑ Khalidi, 1992, p.50
Bibliography
- 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
- Morris, Benny (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-00967-6.