Auja al-Hafir ( ar, عوجة الحفير, also Auja), was an ancient road junction close to water wells in the western

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...

and eastern

Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

. It was the traditional grazing land of the

'Azazme The Azazima or Azazme () are a Bedouin tribe whose grazing territory used to be the desert around the wells at El Auja and Bir Ain on the border between Israel and Egypt. During the 19th century the 'Azazme fought as allies with the Tarabin in ...

tribe. The border crossing between

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and Ottoman/British Palestine, about south of Gaza, was situated there. Today it is the site of Nitzana and the Ktzi'ot military base in the Southern District of Israel.

Etymology

Other sources name the locality el-Audja, 'Uja al-Hafeer, El Auja el Hafir and variations thereof. ''A‘waj'' means "bent" in Arabic, and "Al-Auja" is a common name for meandering streams (the

Yarkon River The Yarkon River, also Yarqon River or Jarkon River ( he, נחל הירקון, ''Nahal HaYarkon'', ar, نهر العوجا, ''Nahr al-Auja''), is a river in central Israel. The source of the Yarkon ("Greenish" in Hebrew) is at Tel Afek (Antip ...

in Israel and a smaller stream near Jericho on the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

both are called Al-Auja in Arabic). "Hafir" means a water reservoir built to catch runoff water at the base of a slope; in Sudan it can also mean a drainage ditch.

History

2nd century BCE to 7th century CE

Pottery remains found in the area date back to the 2nd century BC. and are associated with the traces of massive foundations of an unknown building probably of

Nabatean The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Lev ...

construction. The area appears to have remained under the Nabatean sphere of influence, outwith the

Hasmonaean The Hasmonean dynasty (; he, ''Ḥašmōnaʾīm'') was a ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity, from BCE to 37 BCE. Between and BCE the dynasty ruled Judea semi-autonomously in the Seleucid Empire, and ...

and

Herodian Herodian or Herodianus ( el, Ἡρωδιανός) of Syria, sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled ''History of the Empire from the Death o ...

Kingdoms, until AD 105 when

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

annexed the Nabataean Kingdom. A large rectangular hill-top fort probably dates from the 4th century AD. A church and associated buildings have been dated as having been built before AD 464. Auja al-Hafir was struck by the great plague which swept the Eastern Mediterranean around AD 541. During the 1930s a large number of papyri, dating from the 6th and 7th century, were found. One of which is from the local Arab governor granting Christian inhabitants freedom of worship on payment of the appropriate tax. After 700 AD the town appears to have lost its settled population, possibly due to changing rainfall patterns.PEQ. Page 67.

Late Ottoman period

'Auja al-Hafir lay in a tract of 604 dunams privately owned by the Turkish sultan

Abdul Hamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

. After the establishment of Beersheba as the main regional center, the governor of Jerusalem Ekram Bey planned for a new city at al-Hafir, 10km to the west of 'Auja, but decided to establish it instead at 'Auja and give it the combined name of 'Auja al-Hafir. A new

Kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

was established there. A barracks, inn and a government office were built, and a police station was raised in 1902. From 1905 to 1915 the Ottoman authorities built a railroad, as well as a large administrative centre complete with an apartment building for the clerks. However, the town didn't develop until it became an outpost on the

Egyptian front The Egyptian Front ( ar-at, الجبهة المصرية, al-Gabha al-Masreya) is an alliance of political parties contesting the 2015 Egyptian parliamentary election in a joint list with the Independent Current Coalition, called Egypt. The allian ...

during World War I. In mid-January, 1915, a Turkish Army force of 20,000 entered Sinai by way of El-Auja on an unsuccessful expedition against the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

. At this time most of the dressed stone was taken from the ancient buildings for building work in Gaza.

British Mandate

According to the 1931 census Auja al-Hafir had a population of 29 inhabitants, all Muslims, living in 9 houses, in addition to 35 people living at the police post.Mills, 1932, p. 7 The local population were not involved in the disturbances of 1929 and 1936 but there was some disorder in the summer of 1938. At the start of the 1936 disturbances the British Mandate authorities used Auja as a prison camp for arrested Palestinian Arab leaders including Awny Abdul Hadi. It was also used to hold Jewish Communists who were being deported. The prisoners were later transferred to the army base at

Sarafand Sarafand or Sarafend may refer to: Places * Sarafand, Lebanon, also spelled Sarafend ** Sarepta, an ancient Phoenician city at the location of the modern Lebanese town * Tzrifin, area in central Israel previously known as "Sarafand" or "Sarafend", ...

. The central route across the desert to the Suez Canal crossed from El Auja to Ismailia, until 1948 this was the only paved road between Palestine and Egypt. During the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

it was part of the District of Beersheba. An elementary school was established by the Mandate Government, but closed in 1932 due to insufficient and irregular attendance.Abu-Rabi (2001), p84 It was reopened in 1945 at tribal expense and had 23 pupils. In 1947, 'Auja al-Hafir was granted an official Town Planning Scheme. According to the

United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a proposal by the United Nations, which recommended a partition of Mandatory Palestine at the end of the British Mandate. On 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted the Plan as Re ...

, the area was designated as part of the Arab state.

1948 Arab–Israeli War

In 1948 the Egyptian Army used the area as a military base. In the Battle of 'Auja, a campaign of the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

, it was captured by the 89th Mechanized Commando Battalion of Israel, which had an English-speaking platoon of volunteers from England, Germany, the Netherlands, Rhodesia, South Africa, and the U.S.

Israel

As a result of the

1949 Armistice Agreements The 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt,demilitarized zone A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel. A DZ often lies along an established frontier or bounda ...

(DMZ), with compliance monitored by the

United Nations Truce Supervision Organization The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) is an organization founded on 29 May 1948 for peacekeeping in the Middle East. Established amidst the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, its primary task was initially to provide the military com ...

(UNTSO). On 28 September 1953 the

Israeli army The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branc ...

established a fortified settlement, Ktzi'ot, overlooking the al-Auja junction. The first name given to this

Nahal Nahal ( he, נח"ל) (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training ...

outpost was Giv'at Ruth -named after the nearby Tell-abu-Rutha.Morris, Benny (1993) ''Israel's Border Wars, 1949 - 1956. Arab Infiltration, Israeli Retaliation, and the Countdown to the Suez War''. Oxford University Press, . Page 356. Despite a recent request for compliance with the armistice and over the objections of UNTSO Chief of Staff

Burns Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...

and UN Secretary General Hammarskjöld, Israel re-militarized the area on September 21, 1955. Israel continued to occupy the area until after its withdrawal from Sinai and Gaza, which ended the

1956 Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

. After this, and until the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

, the DMZ and the border were monitored by the

United Nations Emergency Force The United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was a military and peacekeeping operation established by the United Nations General Assembly to secure an end to the Suez Crisis of 1956 through the establishment of international peacekeepers on the bor ...

. Israel has controlled the area since 1967 where it has a large military base and

detention camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

References

Bibliography

* * * Israel Unit in Neutral Zone, Strategic Village Occupied, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', September 21, 1955, page 8. * * Ending Strife in Auja Zone, Egypt Accepts U.N. Plan, Mr. Hammarskjöld's Statement, ''The Times'', January 25, 1956, page 8.

External links

Welcome To 'Awja Hafir PS

Uja al Hafeer

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 ...

Nitzana (Auja El-Hafir) Memorial Board For The 1948 Independence War Fighters In The Negev

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120226081246/http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/P02041.015 Australian War Memorial AWM Collection Record: P02041.015
Australian War Memorial AWM Collection Record: P02041.008

Detailed map of 1953 with ''Al Āwja Neutral Zone''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Auja Al-Hafir Geography of Palestine (region) History of Palestine (region) Geography of Israel