Ishwa' was a Palestinian

Palestinian people

The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...

 village that was captured by Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war

1948 Arab-Israeli War

The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...

. The village was located about 20 km west of Jerusalem, on the present location of Eshta'ol. In the 1931 British census of Palestine

1931 census of Palestine

The 1931 census of Palestine was the second census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine. It was carried out on 18 November 1931 under the direction of Major E. Mills. The first census had been conducted in 1922...

, Ishwa had a population of 468 in 126 houses. The village was captured by the Israel Defense Forces

Israel Defense Forces

The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...

 (IDF) on July 16, 1948 in Operation Dani by the Harel Brigade

Harel Brigade

Harel Brigade is a reserve brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, today part of the Northern Command. It played a critical role in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.- War of Independence :...

. All of its inhabitants fled or were expelled.

History

Ishwa is thought to have been established over the site of the Canaan

Canaan

Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...

ite city of Eshta'ol. It was known by that name during the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

-era, when it fell within the administrative district of Eleutheropolis

Eleutheropolis

Eleutheropolis was the Greek name of a Roman city in Israel, some 53 km southwest of Jerusalem. Its remains still straddle the ancient road to Gaza. The site— already rendered as Baitogabra in Ptolemy's Geography— was called Beit Guvrin and Bet Gubrin in the Talmud...

 (Bayt Jibrin

Bayt Jibrin

Bayt Jibrin was a Palestinian Arab village located northwest of the city of Hebron. The village had a total land area of 56,185 dunams or , of which were built-up while the rest remained farmland.The early inhabitants of Bayt Jibrin are the Canaanites...

). However, Dayr Abu al-Qabus, located 0.5 kilometre (0.310686368324903 mi) to the north has also been identified with Eshta'ol.

During the 16th century CE, settlement seems to have shifted to the northwest at Islin

Islin

- History :In 1596, Islin appeared as Islit in Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Ramla of the Liwa of Jaffa. It had a population of 14 Muslim households and paid taxes on wheat, barley, and goats or beehives....

. When the site of Islin went out of use—during the 17th or 18th century—Ishwa was probably repopulated; by 1875, it had a population of 450. In the late 19th century, it was built near the foot of a hill and olive trees were planted below the village. Ishwa had a star-shaped configuration, its mostly stone houses extending along the roads leading to other villages.

Khalidi

Walid Khalidi

Walid Khalidi is an Oxford University-educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is General Secretary and co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, established in Beirut in December 1963 as an independent research and publishing center...

 described the place in 1992:

Only a few of the village houses remain on the site, interspersed among the settlement's houses; some serve as residences and warehouses. The village cemetery, next to the administrative building of the settlement, has been levelled and planted with grass. On the southern edge of the cemetry is a cave that contains the large grindstone of a flour mill. Olive and carob trees grow on the site, among other trees more recently planted by the settlers. At the western edge of the village is a soccer field. The walls and fallen roofs of the destroyed houses can be seen at the edge of this field.

See also

• List of Arab towns and villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
• List of villages depopulated during the Arab-Israeli conflict

External links

• Palestine Remembered - Ishwa
• Ishwa from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center
  Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center
  Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center is an organization established in 1996. It is located at 4 Raja Street, Ramallah in the West Bank. The traditional manor that houses the centre was the former family home of Khalil Salem Salah, the mayor of Ramallah between 1947/1951, is now owned by the Palestinian...