Al-Ghazzawiyya (Arabic: الغزاويه), was a Palestinian village located 2 kilometers east of the city of Bet Shean (Bisan). In 1945, the population was 1,640, 1,020 Arab and 620 Jewish.[5]

Ghazzawiyya
الغزاويه
al-Ghazawiya, Arab al Ghazawiya tribe[1],
Arab Abu Hashiya (Frantzman)
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
A series of historical maps of the area around Al-Ghazzawiyya (click the buttons)
Ghazzawiyya is located in Mandatory Palestine
Ghazzawiyya
Ghazzawiyya
Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 32°30′08″N 35°32′30″E / 32.50222°N 35.54167°E / 32.50222; 35.54167
Palestine grid200/212
Geopolitical entityMandatory Palestine
SubdistrictBaysan
Date of depopulationMay 20, 1948[1]
Area
 • Total18,408[3] dunams (18.4 km2 or 7.1 sq mi)
Population
 (1945)
 • Total1,020[2][3]
Cause(s) of depopulationInfluence of nearby town's fall
Current LocalitiesNeve Eitan,[4] Maoz Haim[4]

History

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Several archeological sites in the area testify to a long history of human occupancy. The village was surrounded by the archeological sites of Tall-al Barta to the north, Tall al-Husn to the west, and Tall al-Maliha to the southwest. Excavations of Tall al-Husn showed an occupational history extending from the third millennium BC to the eighth century CE, when the site was occupied by an Arab village.[6]

British Mandate era

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In modern times, the village spread over a wide area of the Baysan valley. The villagers were members of the al-Ghazzawiyya Beduin tribe, who constituted the bulk of the valley's population together with members of the al-Bashatiwa and the al-Suqur.[5] In the 1931 census, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, 'Arab Abu Hashiya had 156 Muslim inhabitants, and a total of 29 houses.[7]

In the 1945 statistics, Al-Ghazzawiyya had 1,020, all Muslim inhabitants[2] with a total of 18,408 dunams of land.[3] Of this, a total of 13 dunams were used for citrus and bananas, 5,185 dunums for cereals, 34 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,[4][8] while 91 dunams were classified as non-cultivable land.[9]

1948 and aftermath

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It was occupied by Israel's Golani Brigade on May 20, 1948, during Operation Gideon, an Israeli offensive during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The Arab population was forced to flee to nearby Syria or the present-day West Bank.[10]

The Jewish localities of Maoz Haim and Neve Eitan are built on the lands of the former village, though a large percentage of it is used as agricultural land, in particular the wheat crop. According to Walid Khalidi, the village contained an archaeological site, Tell al-Ru'yan which was transformed into waste dump.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Morris, 2004, p. xvii, village #134. Gives depopulation cause as (?) (C)
  2. ^ a b Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 6
  3. ^ a b c Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 43
  4. ^ a b c Khalidi, 1992, p. 49
  5. ^ a b Khalidi, 1992, p. 48
  6. ^ Khalidi, 1992, pp. 48–49
  7. ^ Mills, 1932, p. 77
  8. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.84
  9. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 134
  10. ^ a b Al-Ghazzawiyya: Town Statistics and Facts

Bibliography

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  • Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics (1945). Village Statistics, April, 1945.
  • Hadawi, S. (1970). Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine. Palestine Liberation Organization Research Centre. Archived from the original on 2018-12-08. Retrieved 2009-08-06.
  • Khalidi, W. (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. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine.
  • Morris, B. (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-00967-6.
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