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Dayr Rafat was a
436
/ref> Over the next three months the Israeli army carried out a program of blowing up and demolishing abandoned villages in the area, this included Dayr Rafat. In 1992 the village site was described: "The site is covered with large piles of stone rubble and stone terraces; some of the latter are still intact, while others have been destroyed and are now mixed with the rubble of the houses. Cactuses grow on the northwestern edge of the site. There are a few tents belonging to the Negev tribe of al-Sani’ the members of which have rented land from the monastery, which owns the village lands. The monastery, located 2 km west of the site, has a large statue of the Virgin Mary at the top of its facade, and parts of the structure are covered with red tiles. There is a spring on the western edge of the village and a cemetery lies in the south; one large tomb stands out. To the west there is a large olive grove."
Dayr Rafat
IAAWikimedia commons
{{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War District of Jerusalem
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 Jerusalem Subdistrict. It was located 26 km west of Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War by the Harel Brigade.
History
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 ...
'' described Dayr Rafat as a small 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 ...
situated on a ridge with a spring to the west. British Mandate era
In the 1931 census, there were 218 people living in Dayr Rafat. In The 1945 statistics the village had a population of 430 inhabitants; 330 Muslims and 100 Christians. with a total of 13,242 dunums of land. Of this, 216 dunams were for irrigable land or plantations, 10,563 forcereals
A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...
, while 10 dunams were built-up land.
The village had a mosque named for al-Hajj
Al-Ḥajj ( ar, الحج, ; "The Pilgrimage", "The Hajj") is the 22nd chapter ('' sūrah'') of the Quran with 78 verses ('' āyāt''). This surah takes its name from the 27th verse.
Summary
*1-2 The dreadful character of the judgment-day
...
Hasan and three khirbas.
1948 Arab–Israeli War
Dayr Rafat, along with four other villages, were overtaken by the IsraeliHarel Brigade
Harel Brigade (, ''Hativat Harel'') is a reserve brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, today part of the Southern Command. It played a critical role in the 1948 Palestine war, also known as "Israel's War of Independence." It is one of the former ...
on 17–18 July 1948 in 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 ...
. The villages had been on the front line since April 1948 and most of the inhabitants of these villages had already left the area. Many of those who stayed fled when Israeli forces attacked and the few who remained at each village were expelled.Morris, 2004, p436
/ref> Over the next three months the Israeli army carried out a program of blowing up and demolishing abandoned villages in the area, this included Dayr Rafat. In 1992 the village site was described: "The site is covered with large piles of stone rubble and stone terraces; some of the latter are still intact, while others have been destroyed and are now mixed with the rubble of the houses. Cactuses grow on the northwestern edge of the site. There are a few tents belonging to the Negev tribe of al-Sani’ the members of which have rented land from the monastery, which owns the village lands. The monastery, located 2 km west of the site, has a large statue of the Virgin Mary at the top of its facade, and parts of the structure are covered with red tiles. There is a spring on the western edge of the village and a cemetery lies in the south; one large tomb stands out. To the west there is a large olive grove."
References
Bibliography
* * * * * * *External links
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 17IAA
{{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War District of Jerusalem