Shayta, also spelled Suhayta, ''S'heita'' or ''Su’heita'', ( ar, سحيتل) was a
Syrian village located in the
Golan Heights
The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...
.
[''South Lebanon and Vicinity 1976'']
/ref> It was one of only six Syrian villages in the Golan Heights still populated following 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 states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...
.[ After Israel occupied the area in 1967, Shayta's population census was 176 people, down from 200 in 1960.] In 1967, Shayta was partially destroyed and a military post built in its place. Israel completely destroyed the village in 1971-72 and its population was forcibly transferred to the neighboring village of Mas'ade
Mas'ade ( ar, مسعدة, he, מַסְעַדֶה) is a Druze village in the northern Golan Heights. It covers an area of , and in had a population of . It was given the status of a local council in 1982. Its inhabitants are mostly Syrian citi ...
.[Sakr Abu Fakhr, ''"Voices from the Golan"'', Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Autumn, 2000), University of California Press, p. 7.] Today, its former inhabitants are still campaigning for the return to their village.[ Shayta was located near the ceasefire line between Syrian and Israeli forces.][
]
See also
* Syrian towns and villages depopulated in the Arab-Israeli conflict
References
{{Quneitra Governorate
Destroyed towns
Quneitra Governorate
Former populated places on the Golan Heights