Madahil ( ar, مداحل ) was a
Palestinian 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 depopulated during the
1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine
The 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine was the first phase of the 1947–1949 Palestine war. It broke out after the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution on 29 November 1947 recommending the adoption of the Pa ...
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 30 km northeast of
Safad in a flat area on the northeastern edge of the al-Hula Plain, about 1 km east of Wadi Banyas.
History
Madahil was located just south of a small mound named Tall al-Turmus, which has provided evidence of a settlement dating to the fourth millennium B.C.
[Khalidi, 1992, p. 470]
In the
1931 census of Palestine
The 1931 census of Palestine was the second census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate for Palestine. It was carried out on 18 November 1931 under the direction of Major E. Mills after the 1922 census of Palestine.
* Census of P ...
the population of Madahil was 100, all Muslims, in a total of 17 houses.
[Mills, 1932, p]
108
/ref>
During the 1948 war, the evacuation occurred before the Zionist assault on Safad on 10 to 11 May.Haganah
Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...
-sources, the villagers feared reprisals or feared being caught in a cross-fire after local Jewish communities had been attacked. Therefore, the villagers of Madahil (together with those of Khiyam al-Walid
Khiyam al-Walid ( ar, خيام الوليد) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Safad Subdistrict located northeast of Safad along the Syrian border. It was on situated on a hill above sea level on the eastern edge of the Hula Valley. In ...
, Al-Hamra', Ghuraba, and (partially) Al-Muftakhira
Al-Muftakhira was a Palestinian Arab village in the Safad Subdistrict. It was depopulated in the 1948 War on May 16, 1948, by the Palmach's First Battalion during Operation Yiftach. It was located 25.5 km northeast of Safad.
In the 1945 ...
) fled. However the American historian Rosemarie Esber
Rosemarie M. Esber is a researcher and writer with degrees from the University of London and Johns Hopkins University with a background in the history, culture, and economy of the Middle East and North Africa.
Her published work is centered on ...
gives as depopulation cause "Attack or atrocity in neighboring village or community" and "Fear of impending attack, or fall of neighboring town or village."[Esber, 2008, p]
391
/ref> The Israeli settlement of Kefar Szold, founded in 1942, is located 1.5 km southeast of the village site, but not on village land.
References
Bibliography
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External links
Welcome To MadahilMadahil
Zochrot
Madahil
Dr. Khalil Rizk.
at Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center
{{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War
Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
District of Safad