Al-Kunayyisa was a small
Palestinian Arab
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
village in the
Ramle Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the
1948 Arab–Israeli War on July 10, 1948, under the first stage of
Operation Dani
Operation Danny ( he, מבצע דני, ''Mivtza Dani'') was an Israeli military offensive launched at the end of the first truce of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The objectives were to capture territory east of Tel Aviv and then to push inland and ...
. It was located 12 km southeast of
Ramla
Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations.
The city was f ...
.
History
In 1838, it was noted it was noted as a place "in ruins or deserted”, called ''el-Kuneiseh'' in the
Lydda
Lod ( he, לוד, or fully vocalized ; ar, اللد, al-Lidd or ), also known as Lydda ( grc, Λύδδα), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Sheph ...
District.
[Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p.]
121
/ref>
In 1883, the PEF's ''Survey of Western Palestine
The PEF Survey of Palestine was a series of surveys carried out by the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) between 1872 and 1877 for the Survey of Western Palestine and in 1880 for the Survey of Eastern Palestine. The survey was carried out after the ...
'' (SWP) noted "Foundations and traces of ruins."
British Mandate era
In the 1931 census of Palestine Al-Kunayyisa was counted with Innaba
Innaba ( ar, عنابة) was a Palestinian village in the Ramle Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on July 10, 1948 by the Yiftach and Eighth Brigades of Operation Dani. It was located 7  ...
, together they had 1135 Muslim inhabitants, in 288 houses.[Mills, 1932, p]
20
/ref>
In the 1945 statistics Al-Kunayyisa had a population of 40 Muslims,[ with 3,872 dunams of land.][ Of this, a 64 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 2,432 were used for cereals, while 20 dunams were classified as built-up areas.
A khirba to the east contains rugged stone walls and building remains.][
]
1948, aftermath
Al-Kunayyisa became depopulated after a military assault on July 10, 1948.[
On 20 August 1948, Al-Kunayyisa was one of 32 Palestinian villagers whose land was given to the ]JNF
Jewish National Fund ( he, קֶרֶן קַיֶּימֶת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael'', previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Syria (later Mandatory Palestine, and subsequ ...
for establishing Jewish settlements. Al-Kunayyisas land was given to Mishmar Ayalon
Mishmar Ayalon ( he, מִשְׁמַר אַיָּלוֹן, ''lit.'' Ayalon Guard) is a moshav in central Israel. Located between Latrun and Ramla on the old Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gezer Regional Council. In ...
. However, according to Walid Khalidi
Walid Khalidi ( ar, وليد خالدي, born 1925 in Jerusalem) is an Oxford University-educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is a co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, establish ...
, Mishmar Ayalon
Mishmar Ayalon ( he, מִשְׁמַר אַיָּלוֹן, ''lit.'' Ayalon Guard) is a moshav in central Israel. Located between Latrun and Ramla on the old Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gezer Regional Council. In ...
is on the land of Al-Qubab.[Khalidi, 1992, p. 391]
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."[Khalidi, 1992, p. 392]
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Welcome To al-Kunayyisa
al-Kunayyisa
Zochrot
Zochrot ( he, זוכרות; "Remembering"; ar, ذاكرات; "Memories") is an Israeli nonprofit organization founded in 2002. Based in Tel Aviv, its aim is to promote awareness of the Palestinian ''Nakba'' ("Catastrophe"), including the 1948 Pa ...
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17
IAA
Wikimedia commons
Wikimedia Commons (or simply Commons) is a media repository of free-to-use images, sounds, videos and other media. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation.
Files from Wikimedia Commons can be used across all of the Wikimedia projects in ...
al-Kunayyisa
from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center
Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center () is a leading Palestinian arts and culture organization that aims to create a pluralistic, critical liberating culture through research, query, and participation, and that provides an open space for the community ...
{{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War
Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
District of Ramla