Al-Shuna ( ar, الشونة) was a
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
village in the
Safad Subdistrict. It was ethnically cleansed and depopulated during the
1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on April 30, 1948, by the Palmach's First Battalion of
Operation Yiftach
Operation Yiftach ( he, מבצע יפתח, ''Mivtza Yiftah'') was a Palmach offensive carried out between 28 April and 23 May 1948. The objectives were to capture Safed and to secure the eastern Galilee before the British Mandate ended on 14 May ...
. It was located 6 km south of
Safad
Safed (known in Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an eleva ...
, overlooking the deep gorge of Wadi al-'Amud.
History
Victor Guérin
Victor Guérin (15 September 1821 – 21 Septembe 1890) was a French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included Greece, Asia Min ...
describes this place in 1875 as "built of white limestone mixed with stones of black
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
in alternate courses. We think that although this custom is common in modern Arab building, it can be shown to have been an ancient usage, so that the building may be old. Round it are the vestiges of a ruined
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
."
In 1881 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 ...
'' found at ''Kŭlảt esh Shûneh'': "A modern Arab building of basaltic stone; used probably as a barn, as the name implies."
British Mandate era
In the
1922 census of Palestine ''Shuneh'' had a population of 83; all
Muslim,
[Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Safad, p]
41
/ref> increasing in the 1931 census to 337, still all Muslims, in a total of 65 houses.[Mills, 1932, p]
111
/ref>
In the 1945 statistics the population was 170 Muslims,[ with a total of 3,660 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.][ Of this, 995 dunums were used for cereals, while 2,481 dunams was non-cultivable area.][Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p]
171
The village had a school and a mosque.
1948, aftermath
Today, a wildlife sanctuary known as the Nachal 'Amud Reserve is located in the vicinity.
References
Bibliography
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External links
Welcome To al-Shunaal-Shuna
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 ...
al-Shuna
Villages of Palestine
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 6
IAAWikimedia commons
{{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War
Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
District of Safad