Wadi Ara (village)
Encyclopedia
Wadi Ara is a former Palestinian
Arab
village located 38.5 km south of the city of Haifa
. It is named after the nearby stream that is known in Arabic as Wadi 'Ara. The village was particularly small with a population of 230 and a land area of approximately 9,800 dunum
s.
The Muslim geographer Ibn Khurdadhbi (d. 912) described it as a stopping place on the road between al-Lajjun and Qalansuwa.
In the late nineteenth century there was a small hamlet at the site known as Khirbat al-Zabadna, while in the British Mandate of Palestine- period, the village was classified as a hamlet
in the Palestine Index Gazetteer.
the village was successfully defended by Arab Liberation Army
volunteers and Iraqi forces
patrolling the nearby city of Tulkarm
. All of the land the Iraqi Army
controlled in Palestine including Wadi Ara was handed over to Jordan
. Jordan under the command of King Abdullah I then ceded the entire Wadi Ara
region to Israel on May 3, 1949. In March 1949 as the Iraqi forces withdrew from Palestine and handed over their positions to the smaller Jordanian legion, 3 Israeli brigades manoeuvred into threatening positions in Operation Shin-Tav-Shin in a form of coercive diplomacy. The operation allowed Israel to renegotiate the cease fire line in the Wadi Ara area of the Northern West Bank in a secret agreement reached on 23 March 1949 and incorporated into the General Armistice Agreement. The green line
was then redrawn in blue ink on the southern map to give the impression that a movement in the green line had been made.
The Jewish town of Ein Iron
was built in 1934 on what were traditionally village land. Ma'anit
, founded in 1942, is just south of the village site, but is not on village land. Kibbutz Barkai
was established on the village site on May 10, 1949.
During the 1948/1949 war the locals in the area experienced violence at the hands of Israeli forces. A member of the Kibbutz Be'eri
, assigned to the Guard Milices testified in a study undertaken by Israeli historian Yitzhaki
and Uri Milstein
: "We were in Wadi 'Ara. We raided a nearby Palestinian post and brought a prisoner for interrogation. A soldier beheaded him and scalped his head by knife. He raised the head on a pole to strike fear among Palestinians. Nobody stopped him."
Most non-Jewish residents were removed on February 27, 1948 prior to the official founding of the modern state of Israel, those remaining were removed by the end of July 1949.
The Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi
described the remaining structures on the village land in 1992: "The site is occupied by Kibbutz Barqay. Only two village houses remain, both on the eastern edge of the site. One of them has arched windows and a spiral staircase leading up to a room on the roof. The second has a large entrance that is used today as a gate for the kibbutz's swimming pool."
Petersen inspected the remaining buildings in 1994, and described them as "a large rectangular building which appears to be of late Ottoman
date. On the ground floor is a long hall (18.8m x 6.9m) roofed by three cross-vaults. On the upper floor is a large terrace and a single cross-vaulted room. South of this building are the remains of a high wall and a monumental gateway which now gives access to the Kibbutz swimming pool. It is likely that both buildings date to the latter part of the Ottoman period (i.e. 1880-1917)"
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...
Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
village located 38.5 km south of the city of Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
. It is named after the nearby stream that is known in Arabic as Wadi 'Ara. The village was particularly small with a population of 230 and a land area of approximately 9,800 dunum
Dunam
A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...
s.
History
The archaeological site Tel al-Asawir was located northwest of the village site. Burial caves dating from the fourth to the second millennium B.C. were found there when the site was excavated in 1953.The Muslim geographer Ibn Khurdadhbi (d. 912) described it as a stopping place on the road between al-Lajjun and Qalansuwa.
In the late nineteenth century there was a small hamlet at the site known as Khirbat al-Zabadna, while in the British Mandate of Palestine- period, the village was classified as a hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
in the Palestine Index Gazetteer.
1948, and aftermath
During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War1948 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 successfully defended by Arab Liberation Army
Arab Liberation Army
The Arab Liberation Army , also translated as Arab Salvation Army, was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji...
volunteers and Iraqi forces
Iraqi Army
The Iraqi Army is the land component of the Iraqi military, active in various forms since being formed by the British during their mandate over the country after World War I....
patrolling the nearby city of Tulkarm
Tulkarm
Tulkarem or Tulkarm is a Palestinian city in the northern Samarian mountain range in the Tulkarm Governorate in the extreme northwestern West Bank adjacent to the Netanya and Haifa districts to the west, the Nablus and Jenin Districts to the east...
. All of the land the Iraqi Army
Iraqi Army
The Iraqi Army is the land component of the Iraqi military, active in various forms since being formed by the British during their mandate over the country after World War I....
controlled in Palestine including Wadi Ara was handed over to Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. Jordan under the command of King Abdullah I then ceded the entire Wadi Ara
Wadi Ara
Wadi Ara or Nahal Iron , refers to an area within Israel that is mostly populated by Arabs. It is located northwest of the Green Line and is mostly within Israel's Haifa District. Today, Highway 65 runs through the wadi.-Geography:...
region to Israel on May 3, 1949. In March 1949 as the Iraqi forces withdrew from Palestine and handed over their positions to the smaller Jordanian legion, 3 Israeli brigades manoeuvred into threatening positions in Operation Shin-Tav-Shin in a form of coercive diplomacy. The operation allowed Israel to renegotiate the cease fire line in the Wadi Ara area of the Northern West Bank in a secret agreement reached on 23 March 1949 and incorporated into the General Armistice Agreement. The green line
Green Line (Israel)
Green Line refers to the demarcation lines set out in the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbours after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...
was then redrawn in blue ink on the southern map to give the impression that a movement in the green line had been made.
The Jewish town of Ein Iron
Ein Iron
Ein Iron is a moshav in northern Israel. Located in the eastern Sharon plain to the north-east of Hadera, it falls under the jurisdiction of Menashe Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 452....
was built in 1934 on what were traditionally village land. Ma'anit
Ma'anit
Ma'anit is a kibbutz located near the town of Pardes Hanna-Karkur in northern Israel. It falls under the jurisdiction of Menashe Regional Council.-History:...
, founded in 1942, is just south of the village site, but is not on village land. Kibbutz Barkai
Barkai
Barkai is an Israeli kibbutz in the Menashe Regional Council on the western side of Wadi Ara. Its main industries include thermal and acoustic insulation, lamination and packaging: the Polyon Barkai factory; and agriculture: cattle, poultry, avocado and field crops.-External links:* *...
was established on the village site on May 10, 1949.
During the 1948/1949 war the locals in the area experienced violence at the hands of Israeli forces. A member of the Kibbutz Be'eri
Be'eri
Be'eri is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the north-western Negev desert near the border with the Gaza Strip, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 774.-History:...
, assigned to the Guard Milices testified in a study undertaken by Israeli historian Yitzhaki
Aryeh Yitzhaki
Aryeh Yitzhaki is an Israeli military historian who has served as a lecturer at the Bar Ilan University Ramat Gan and as a senior lecturer in the field of military history in IDF courses for officers.-References:...
and Uri Milstein
Uri Milstein
Uri Milstein is an Israeli military historian and poet.-Biography:Uri Milstein was born in Tel Aviv to Avraham Milstein, a volunteer in the British army in World War II, and Sarah Milstein, a kindergarten teacher. He studied at Hayil school in Tel Aviv's Yad Eliyahu neighborhood, Hadassim youth...
: "We were in Wadi 'Ara. We raided a nearby Palestinian post and brought a prisoner for interrogation. A soldier beheaded him and scalped his head by knife. He raised the head on a pole to strike fear among Palestinians. Nobody stopped him."
Most non-Jewish residents were removed on February 27, 1948 prior to the official founding of the modern state of Israel, those remaining were removed by the end of July 1949.
The Palestinian historian Walid 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 remaining structures on the village land in 1992: "The site is occupied by Kibbutz Barqay. Only two village houses remain, both on the eastern edge of the site. One of them has arched windows and a spiral staircase leading up to a room on the roof. The second has a large entrance that is used today as a gate for the kibbutz's swimming pool."
Petersen inspected the remaining buildings in 1994, and described them as "a large rectangular building which appears to be of late Ottoman
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...
date. On the ground floor is a long hall (18.8m x 6.9m) roofed by three cross-vaults. On the upper floor is a large terrace and a single cross-vaulted room. South of this building are the remains of a high wall and a monumental gateway which now gives access to the Kibbutz swimming pool. It is likely that both buildings date to the latter part of the Ottoman period (i.e. 1880-1917)"
See also
- List of Arab towns and villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
- Wadi AraWadi AraWadi Ara or Nahal Iron , refers to an area within Israel that is mostly populated by Arabs. It is located northwest of the Green Line and is mostly within Israel's Haifa District. Today, Highway 65 runs through the wadi.-Geography:...
External links
- Wadi 'Ara, PalestineRemembered.com, retrieved 2008-05-16