Seven Lebanese Villages
Encyclopedia
The Seven Lebanese Villages refers to the seven Lebanese villages of Tarbikha
, Saliha
, Malkiyeh, Nabi Yusha, Qadas
, Hunin, and Abil al-Qamh
located in what is today Northern Israel. They were destroyed by Israel
i forces in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
.
, Sir Mark Sykes of Great Britain
and François Georges-Picot
of France
, drew up a secret plan to divide the Middle East
after its capture from the Ottoman Empire
. Envisaged as a part of the Sykes-Picot Plan was a line separating Palestine from Syria
. It would start from a point between Tyre and Acre
, and would run through the Sea of Galilee
.
At the end of World War II
, the British and French established military-run Occupied Enemy Territorial Administrations (OETA). The line separating the northern French OETA and the southern British OETA was an amended version of the Sykes-Picot plan. The new OETA line started at Ras al-Naqoura, and ran eastward to the northern end of Lake Hula in the Galilee
, thus handing Britain territory previously under French control. Discussions began between the French and British on the drawing up of a final border between Syria and Palestine.
Britain's Zionist allies, who, in 1917, were promised a homeland in Palestine, demanded the water-rich land to the north of Palestine reaching as far north as the Litani river and the Hasbani river in Mount Hermon
. In 1919, at the Versailles Peace Conference
, the Zionists presented their proposed plan for Palestine's borders. According to the plan, Palestine's northern borders would run from Sidon
, Lebanon in the north, to Mount Hermon
in the east.
In September 1920, the first French high commissioner General Henri Gouraud, announced the birth of the state of Greater Lebanon. On December 23, 3 months later, the British and French signed an agreement that defined the borders of the areas under their control.
The Franco-British Boundary Agreement of 1920, was an agreement signed between the British and French governments on 23 December 1920. The agreement defined the boundaries of the French and British mandates. The agreement had placed a large bulk of the Golan Heights in the French mandate. Twenty four villages, including the 7 village (from the Sanjak of Tyre) were placed within the French mandate of Lebanon's border.
In June 1920, Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Newcombe of Britain studied the border area between the French Mandate of Lebanon
and the British Mandate of Palestine. Newcombe suggested that the border should not divide villages or tribes. France's High Commissioner in Beirut
, General Henri Gouraud, demanded that all of the Shi'a villages were to remain within the boundaries of the French mandate of Lebanon. In April 1924, around 24 villages and farms that had ended up north of the OETA line but south of the new border were handed over by the French from the jurisdiction of Greater Lebanon to Palestine–a total land area of 2,729 hectares.
Tarbikha
, Saliha
, Malkiyeh, Nabi Yusha, Qadas
and Hunin were Shia villages, and Abil al-Qamh
was mixed Shia-Greek Catholic.
Tarbikha
Tarbikha is a former Palestinian village. It was located 27 km northeast of Acre in the British Mandate District of Acre that was captured and depopulated by the Israel Defence Force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.-History:...
, Saliha
Saliha
Saliha is one of the Seven Lebanese Villages that was later transferred to the British Mandate of Palestine. Originally part of the Jabal Amel district of South Lebanon, this term has been historically used to denote the homeland of Shi'a Muslims in Southern Lebanon...
, Malkiyeh, Nabi Yusha, Qadas
Qadas
Qadas was a Lebanese village located 17 kilometers northeast of Safad that was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. One of seven Shiite Muslim villages called Metawalis that fell within the boundaries of British Mandate Palestine, Qadas lay adjacent to Nebi Yusha, near the tel of the...
, Hunin, and Abil al-Qamh
Abil al-Qamh
Abil al-Qamh was a Palestinian Arab village located north of Safad and south of the Lebanese-Israeli border. It was built in a hilly area north of the Hula Valley.-History:...
located in what is today Northern Israel. They were destroyed by Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i forces in 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...
.
History
In 1916, midway through World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Sir Mark Sykes of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and François Georges-Picot
François Georges-Picot
François Marie Denis Georges-Picot , son of historian Georges Picot and grand-uncle of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, was a French diplomat who signed the Sykes-Picot Agreement during World War I, with the Englishman, Sir Mark Sykes, dividing up the Ottoman Empire into British, French and, later,...
of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, drew up a secret plan to divide the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
after its capture from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Envisaged as a part of the Sykes-Picot Plan was a line separating Palestine from Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. It would start from a point between Tyre and Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
, and would run through the Sea of Galilee
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is approximately in circumference, about long, and wide. The lake has a total area of , and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m...
.
At the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the British and French established military-run Occupied Enemy Territorial Administrations (OETA). The line separating the northern French OETA and the southern British OETA was an amended version of the Sykes-Picot plan. The new OETA line started at Ras al-Naqoura, and ran eastward to the northern end of Lake Hula in the Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
, thus handing Britain territory previously under French control. Discussions began between the French and British on the drawing up of a final border between Syria and Palestine.
Britain's Zionist allies, who, in 1917, were promised a homeland in Palestine, demanded the water-rich land to the north of Palestine reaching as far north as the Litani river and the Hasbani river in Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon is a mountain cluster in the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the border between Syria and Lebanon and, at 2,814 m above sea level, is the highest point in Syria. On the top there is “Hermon Hotel”, in the buffer zone between Syria and Israeli-occupied...
. In 1919, at the Versailles Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
, the Zionists presented their proposed plan for Palestine's borders. According to the plan, Palestine's northern borders would run from Sidon
Sidon
Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...
, Lebanon in the north, to Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon is a mountain cluster in the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the border between Syria and Lebanon and, at 2,814 m above sea level, is the highest point in Syria. On the top there is “Hermon Hotel”, in the buffer zone between Syria and Israeli-occupied...
in the east.
In September 1920, the first French high commissioner General Henri Gouraud, announced the birth of the state of Greater Lebanon. On December 23, 3 months later, the British and French signed an agreement that defined the borders of the areas under their control.
The Franco-British Boundary Agreement of 1920, was an agreement signed between the British and French governments on 23 December 1920. The agreement defined the boundaries of the French and British mandates. The agreement had placed a large bulk of the Golan Heights in the French mandate. Twenty four villages, including the 7 village (from the Sanjak of Tyre) were placed within the French mandate of Lebanon's border.
In June 1920, Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Newcombe of Britain studied the border area between the French Mandate of Lebanon
French Mandate of Lebanon
The state of Greater Lebanon, the predecessor of modern Lebanon, was created in 1920 as part of the French scheme of dividing the French Mandate of Syria into six states....
and the British Mandate of Palestine. Newcombe suggested that the border should not divide villages or tribes. France's High Commissioner in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, General Henri Gouraud, demanded that all of the Shi'a villages were to remain within the boundaries of the French mandate of Lebanon. In April 1924, around 24 villages and farms that had ended up north of the OETA line but south of the new border were handed over by the French from the jurisdiction of Greater Lebanon to Palestine–a total land area of 2,729 hectares.
Tarbikha
Tarbikha
Tarbikha is a former Palestinian village. It was located 27 km northeast of Acre in the British Mandate District of Acre that was captured and depopulated by the Israel Defence Force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.-History:...
, Saliha
Saliha
Saliha is one of the Seven Lebanese Villages that was later transferred to the British Mandate of Palestine. Originally part of the Jabal Amel district of South Lebanon, this term has been historically used to denote the homeland of Shi'a Muslims in Southern Lebanon...
, Malkiyeh, Nabi Yusha, Qadas
Qadas
Qadas was a Lebanese village located 17 kilometers northeast of Safad that was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. One of seven Shiite Muslim villages called Metawalis that fell within the boundaries of British Mandate Palestine, Qadas lay adjacent to Nebi Yusha, near the tel of the...
and Hunin were Shia villages, and Abil al-Qamh
Abil al-Qamh
Abil al-Qamh was a Palestinian Arab village located north of Safad and south of the Lebanese-Israeli border. It was built in a hilly area north of the Hula Valley.-History:...
was mixed Shia-Greek Catholic.