al-Khisas
خربة الخِصاص Khirbat al-Khiṣāṣ | |
---|---|
Village | |
Etymology: the ruin of booths or reed huts [1] | |
Location within
Mandatory Palestine | |
Coordinates: 31°38′53″N 34°33′40″E / 31.64806°N 34.56111°E | |
Palestine grid | 108/117 |
Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
Subdistrict | Gaza |
Date of depopulation | November 4–5, 1948 [4] |
Area | |
• Total | 6,269 dunams (6.269 km2 or 2.420 sq mi) |
Population (1945) | |
• Total | 150 [2] [3] |
Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
Current Localities | Ashkelon [5] |
Al-Khisas ( Arabic: خربة الخِصاص, Khirbat al-Khiṣāṣ) was a Palestinian Arab village located 18.5 kilometers (11.5 mi) northeast of Gaza near the modern city of Ashkelon. [6]
Al-Khisas was located just west of Ni'ilya, south of Al-Jura.
Al-Khisas, called Khisas, was inhabited in the 15th century. Mamluk records show that in 1459 CE it was endowed was a waqf. [7]
In 1838, in the late Ottoman era, el Khusas was noted as a place "in ruins or deserted", located in the Gaza district. [8]
An official Ottoman village list from about 1870 showed that Chasas had 6 houses and a population of 35, though the population count included men, only. [9] [10]
In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine found at Khurbet el Khesas "a few heaps of stones with a well near". [11]
The modern village was classified as a hamlet in the Palestine Index Gazetter, and was built after World War I. [5] Farmers from neighboring areas first built temporary huts at the site to shelter themselves during the harvest, gradually they settled and built adobe houses. [5] The population relied on neighboring villages Al-Jura and Ni'ilya for medical, educational and administrative services. [5]
In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Khesas had a population of 102 inhabitants, all Muslims, [12] increasing in the 1931 census to 133, still all Muslims, in 26 houses. [13]
In the 1945 statistics, Al-Khisas had a population of 150 Muslims [2] with a total of 6,269 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey. [14] Of this, 191 dunums of village land were used for citrus and bananas, 419 for cereal farming, 2,671 irrigated or used for orchards, [15] while 10 dunams were built-up land. [16]
The village was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War between November 4–5, 1948, at the end of Operation Yo'av. [5] The Israeli army found about 150 people in Al-Khisas and nearby Ni'ilya; they were all expelled to Beit Hanoun on the Gaza strip. [17]
In 1992 the village site was described as being "engulfed by the Israeli town of Ashkelon". [5]
al-Khisas
خربة الخِصاص Khirbat al-Khiṣāṣ | |
---|---|
Village | |
Etymology: the ruin of booths or reed huts [1] | |
Location within
Mandatory Palestine | |
Coordinates: 31°38′53″N 34°33′40″E / 31.64806°N 34.56111°E | |
Palestine grid | 108/117 |
Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
Subdistrict | Gaza |
Date of depopulation | November 4–5, 1948 [4] |
Area | |
• Total | 6,269 dunams (6.269 km2 or 2.420 sq mi) |
Population (1945) | |
• Total | 150 [2] [3] |
Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
Current Localities | Ashkelon [5] |
Al-Khisas ( Arabic: خربة الخِصاص, Khirbat al-Khiṣāṣ) was a Palestinian Arab village located 18.5 kilometers (11.5 mi) northeast of Gaza near the modern city of Ashkelon. [6]
Al-Khisas was located just west of Ni'ilya, south of Al-Jura.
Al-Khisas, called Khisas, was inhabited in the 15th century. Mamluk records show that in 1459 CE it was endowed was a waqf. [7]
In 1838, in the late Ottoman era, el Khusas was noted as a place "in ruins or deserted", located in the Gaza district. [8]
An official Ottoman village list from about 1870 showed that Chasas had 6 houses and a population of 35, though the population count included men, only. [9] [10]
In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine found at Khurbet el Khesas "a few heaps of stones with a well near". [11]
The modern village was classified as a hamlet in the Palestine Index Gazetter, and was built after World War I. [5] Farmers from neighboring areas first built temporary huts at the site to shelter themselves during the harvest, gradually they settled and built adobe houses. [5] The population relied on neighboring villages Al-Jura and Ni'ilya for medical, educational and administrative services. [5]
In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Khesas had a population of 102 inhabitants, all Muslims, [12] increasing in the 1931 census to 133, still all Muslims, in 26 houses. [13]
In the 1945 statistics, Al-Khisas had a population of 150 Muslims [2] with a total of 6,269 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey. [14] Of this, 191 dunums of village land were used for citrus and bananas, 419 for cereal farming, 2,671 irrigated or used for orchards, [15] while 10 dunams were built-up land. [16]
The village was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War between November 4–5, 1948, at the end of Operation Yo'av. [5] The Israeli army found about 150 people in Al-Khisas and nearby Ni'ilya; they were all expelled to Beit Hanoun on the Gaza strip. [17]
In 1992 the village site was described as being "engulfed by the Israeli town of Ashkelon". [5]