Al-Samiriyya

Al-Samiriyya (Arabic: السامرية‎), was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Baysan. It was depopulated by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War on May 27, 1948, as part of Operation Gideon. It was located 7 km southeast of Baysan.

Al-Samiriyya

السامرية

Samiriya, al-[1]
Village
Etymology: Kh. es Sâmrîyeh, ruin of the Samaritans[2]
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
A series of historical maps of the area around Al-Samiriyya (click the buttons)
Al-Samiriyya
Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 32°26′15″N 35°29′14″E
Palestine grid196/204
Geopolitical entityMandatory Palestine
SubdistrictBaysan
Date of depopulationMay 27, 1948[1]
Area
 • Total3,873 dunams (3.873 km2 or 1.495 sq mi)
Population
 (1945)
 • Total250[3][4]
Cause(s) of depopulationMilitary assault by Yishuv forces
Current LocalitiesSdei Trumot[5]

History

The village had a mosque and three Khirbas: Khirbat al-Humra, Tulul al-Thawm, and Tall al-Khab.[5]

Ottoman era

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine found at Khurbet es Samriyeh: "Ruined walls and traces of ruins alone remain. The place has, however, the appearance of an ancient site, and is well supplied with water."[6] Of Khurbet el Humra they noted: "A few walls standing and a ruined mill. No indications of antiquity exist",[7] while of Tellûl eth Thŭm they noted: "Artificial mounds; a stream of water to the north."[8]

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the Mandatory Palestine authorities, Samriyeh had a population of 162; all Muslims,[9] increasing in the 1931 census to 181 Muslims, in a total of 41 houses.[10]

In the 1945 statistics the village had a population of 250; 240 Muslims and 10 Christians,[3] with a total of 3,873 dunums of land.[4] Of this, 11 dunums were irrigated or used for plantation, 2,801 were for cereals,[11] while 22 dunams were built-up land.[12]

1948, aftermath

The village became depopulated in May, 1948, after the Arab inhabitants of Baysan had been expelled.[1][13][14]

In 1951 Sdei Trumot was established on village land, just north of the village site.[5]

In 1992 the village site was described: "Only collapsed roofs remain, they are located on the western edge of the Sdei Trumot settlement."[5]

References
  1. Morris, 2004, p. xvii, village #129. Also gives cause of depopulation
  2. Palmer, 1881, p. 163
  3. Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 7
  4. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 44
  5. Khalidi, 1992, p. 59
  6. Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 123
  7. Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 122
  8. Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 128
  9. Barron, 1923, Table IX, p. 31
  10. Mills, 1932, p. 80
  11. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 85
  12. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 135
  13. Morris, 2004, p. 228, note #484
  14. Morris, 2004, p. 291, note #484

Bibliography
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.