Nasir Ad-Din, Tiberias

Nasir ad-Dīn () was a small Palestinian Arab village southwest of Tiberias, on the crest of a slope that overlooks the Sea of Galilee. The village had several springs to the east, south, and southeast. In the 1931 British census 179 people lived there,Khalidi, 1992, p. 534 decreasing to 90 in a 1945 census. Nasir ad-Din and nearby al-Manara were in the same jurisdiction with 4,185 dunams of land, most of which was allocated to cereals.

In the 1948 Palestine war, the village was destroyed and its residents expelled as part of the 1948 Palestinian expulsion.

History

Archeological excavations has shown that the place was inhabited in the Hellenistic era, and that a major settlement was here during the Roman era, in 2nd to 4th century CE.

Nasir ad-Din is named after a shrine dedicated to Nasir ad-Din, an Ayyubid general who died while fighting the Crusaders and buried to the north of the village, according to local legend. A kilometer to the west is the shrine for another Muslim soldier who died fighting the Crusaders, named Sheikh al-Qaddumi.

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, ''Nasir al Din'' had a population of 109, all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Tiberias, p
39
/ref> increasing in the 1931 census to 179, still all Muslims, in 35 houses.Mills, 1932, p
84
/ref>

During the British Mandate in Palestine, most of Nasir ad-Din's houses were scattered north–south, with no particular village plan. The inhabitants worked in agriculture and animal breeding.

In the 1944/1945 statistics the population consisted of 90 Muslims, and together with the people of Al-Manara they had 4,185 dunams of land. Of this, 4,172 dunams of land were used for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p
123
/ref> while 13 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) area.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p
173
/ref>

1948 war and destruction

On April 12, 1948, a company from the 12th battalion of Israel's Golani Brigade captured Nasir ad-Din to cut off Tiberias from major Arab centers to the west (Nazareth and Lubya). The skirmish lasted four hours because the Haganah encountered unexpected local resistance. Historian Saleh Abdel Jawad writes that 12-20 civilians were "massacred by machine guns." Most of the inhabitants fled to Tiberias or Lubya — British troops escorted villagers to Lubya. The Haganah reported 22 Arabs were killed, six wounded, and three captured. The civilian deaths included seven men, at least one woman, and a number of children. Two Haganah troops were also wounded.

The capture and killing in Nasir ad-Din was a decisive factor for the flight of Arabs from Tiberias, and was a major demoralizing factor for Arab forces. Historian Benny Morris reports that some Palestinians at the time described the attack as "a second Deir Yassin", in reference to the highly publicized Deir Yassin massacre which had occurred days prior. All the houses were destroyed, and residents that remained were expelled on April 23.Morris, 1987, p. xv, 71. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 534

References

Bibliography

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External links

Welcome to Nasir-al-DinNasir al-Din
Zochrot
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 6
IAAWikimedia commons


from Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasir Ad-Din, Tiberias
Arab villages depopulated prior to the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
District of Tiberias
Sea of Galilee