Wadi Hunayn 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...

 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 in the District of Ramla

District of Ramla

The District of Ramle was an administrative sub-district, a division of the Lydda district of the British Mandate of Palestine. The sub-district's main city was Ramle. Its total population in 1944 was estimated at 123,490, of which 88,560 were Muslims; 29,420 were Jews; and 5,500 were Christians...

. It was located 9 km west of Ramla

Ramla

Ramla , is a city in central Israel. The city is predominantly Jewish with a significant Arab minority. Ramla was founded circa 705–715 AD by the Umayyad Caliph Suleiman ibn Abed al-Malik after the Arab conquest of the region...

. According to a local tradition, it was named after the Yemeni home of the Qada'a tribe who settled here in the early Islamic period.

It's main export was Citrus fruits, grown in orchards that were irrigated by numerous water wells dug around the village. The residents worked in the orchards and sold their yield at the cities. They grew bananas and grains as well. During the 40s the village became a main source of basic supplies and meat for the nearby Jewish and Palestinan inhabitants due to its strategic location on the main road.

The village was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine

1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine

The 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine lasted from 30 November 1947, the date of the United Nations vote in favour of the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the UN Partition Plan, to the termination of the British Mandate itself on 14 May 1948.This period constitutes the...

. The majority of the inhabitants fled the village during January 1948, with the remaining population being transported into Jordan by the Haganah

Haganah

Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...

 militants who entered the village on April 17, 1948. Wadi Hunayn was mostly destroyed by the Haganah forces, who exploded all the buildings near the main road as well as the local mosque's Minaret

Minaret

A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....

. Only a few of the original houses of the village remained, while the mosque (built in 1934) was converted into a synagogue by the neighboring Jewish population of Ness Ziona

Ness Ziona

Ness Ziona is a city in central Israel founded in 1883. At the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 38,100, and its jurisdiction was 15,579 dunams.-Nahalat Reuben:...

, and renamed "Geulat Yisra'el" ("Israel's salvation").

At the time of the 1922 census of Palestine

1922 census of Palestine

The 1922 census of Palestine was the first census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine, on 23 October 1922.The reported population was 757,182, including the military and persons of foreign nationality...

, Wadi Hunayn had a population of 195 Muslims, which increased to 278 Muslims and 2 Christians, living in 55 houses, by the 1931 census

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...

. In 1945, there were 1,620 Muslims and 1,760 Jews estimated to live in Wadi Hunayn and Ness Ziona together.

External links

• Welcome To Wadi Hunayn
• Wadi Hunayn, 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...
  
  
• Wadi Hunayn on Zochrot