| Abu Shusha | |
 Abu Shusha
|
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| Arabic | ابو شوشة |
| Sub-district | Ramla |
| Coordinates | 31°51′25.20″N 34°54′56.38″E / 31.8570000°N 34.9156611°ECoordinates: 31°51′25.20″N 34°54′56.38″E / 31.8570000°N 34.9156611°E |
| Population | 870[1][verification needed] (1945) |
| Area | 9,425[1] dunams
9.4 km² |
| Date of depopulation | 14 May 1948[2] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
| Current localities | Ameilim, Pedaya |
Abu Shusha (Arabic: ابو شوشة) was an Arab village in Palestine, 8 km southeast of Ramle which was depopulated in 1948.
Abu Shusha was located on the slope of Tel Jazar, which is commonly identified with the ancient city of Gezer.
In April-May 1948, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Abu Shusha was attacked several times. The final assault began on May 13, one day prior to Israel's declaration of independence. Abu Shusha residents attempted to defend the village, but the village was occupied on May 14. Those residents who had not already died or fled were expelled by May 21.[3] With their descendants, they numbered about 6198 as of 1998.
Contents |
History [edit]
The Crusaders won a battle against Saladin there in 1177. The Arab village Abu Shusha was built at the beginning of the 19th century.[4] In the late nineteenth century, Abu Shusha was described as a small village built of stone and mud and surrounded by cactus hedges, populated by about 100 families.[5] Elihu Grant, who visited the village, described it as "tiny".[6]
In 1869 or 1872, the village lands were purchased by Melville Peter Bergheim of Jerusalem, a Protestant of German origin. Bergheim established a modern agricultural farm, using European methods and equipment. Bergheim's ownership of the land was hotly contested by the villagers, by legal and illegal means. After the Bergheim company went bankrupt in 1892, Abu Shusa's lands were managed by a government receiver. In 1910s, part of the land was sold by the receiver to the villagers and the rest to the Jewish Colonization Association, which gave the villagers one third of their purchase in order to settle the dispute. After World War I, the land in Jewish hands was sold to the Maccabean Land Company, and later transferred to the Jewish National Fund.[4]
The population of Abu Shusha, consisting of Muslim Palestinians, was 627 in 1931 and 970 in 1944/45. The village had a mosque and a number of shops. A village school was founded in 1947, with an initial enrollment of 33 students.[7] In 1944/45 2,475 dunums of village land were allotted to cereals, while 54 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.[8]
1948 Massacre, and Aftermath [edit]
According to Benny Morris, the village was attacked by the Giv'ati Brigade on May 13-14, 1948 during Operation Barak. A few inhabitants fled but most remained. The Giv'ati troops were immediately replaced by militia men from Kibbutz Gezer, who were later replaced by troops from Kiryati Brigade.[9] On May 19, Arab Legion sources claimed that villagers were being killed. On May 21, Arab authorities appealed to the Red Cross to stop "barbaric acts" they said were being committed in Abu Shusha. [10] A Haganah soldier was reported to have twice attempted to rape a 20-year old woman prisoner.[11] The residents that had remained in the village were expelled, apparently on 21 May.[10]
More recently, research conducted by Birzeit University, mostly on the basis of interviews with former residents, suggests that between 60-70 residents were killed or massacred during the attack.[12] In 1995 a mass grave with 52 skeletons was discovered, but their cause of death is undetermined.[13]
Israeli historian, Aryeh Yitzhaki, explains the events of Abu Shusha as a massacre citing a testimony from the Kheil Mishmar (Guard Units):
"A soldier of Kiryati Brigade captured 10 men and 2 women. All were killed except a young woman who was raped and disposed of. At the dawn of 14 May, units of Giv'ati brigade assaulted Abu Shusha village. Fleeing villagers were shot on sight. Others were killed in the streets or axed to death. Some were lined up against a wall and executed. No men were left; women had to bury the dead." [14]
The Israeli settlement of Ameilim was founded nearby later in 1948, while Pedaya was established in 1951; both on village land.[7] The remains of the village were destroyed in 1965 as part of a government operation to clear the country of abandoned villages, which were regarded by the Israel Land Administration as "a blot on the landscape".[15]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b Hadawi, 1970, p.66
- ^ Morris, 2004, p.xix, village #246. Also gives cause of depopulation
- ^ Morris, 2004, p. 256-257
- ^ a b Ruth Kark, Changing patterns of landownership in nineteenth-century Palestine: the European influence, Journal of Historical Geography, vol 14, no 4 (1984) 357-384.
- ^ Conder, Claude Reignier and H.H. Kitchener: The Survey of Western Palestine. London:Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. (1881) II:407. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 358
- ^ Grant, 1907, p. 17. Cited in Khalidi, 1992, p. 358
- ^ a b Khalidi, 1992, p. 358
- ^ Hadawi, 1970, p.114 Also Khalidi, 1992, p. 358
- ^ Morris, 2004, p. 205
- ^ a b Morris, 2004, p. 257
- ^ "Doron" (Maoz) to HIS-AD, "The Interrogation of Women Prisoners in the village of Abu Shusha", 24 Jun. 1948, HA 105\92 aleph. Quoted in Morris, 2004, p. 257
- ^ Birzeit University series on Palestinian destroyed villages, 276 page report on Abu Shusha; some information here: [1]
- ^ Benvenisti, 1996, p. 248
- ^ The Palestinian Nabka 1948: The Register of Depopulated Localities in Palestine. pg. 17
- ^ Aron Shai, The fate of abandoned Arab villages in Israel, 1965-1969, History and Memory, Vol 18 (2006) pp86-106.
Bibliography [edit]
- M. Benvenisti, (1996), City of Stone, University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-20521-9
- Conder, Claude Reignier and H.H. Kitchener (1881): The Survey of Western Palestine: memoirs of the topography, orography, hydrography, and archaeology. London:Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. vol 2
- Hadawi, Sami (1970), Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine, Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center
- Khalidi, Walid (1992), All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948, Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies, ISBN 0-88728-224-5
- Morris, Benny (2004), The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-00967-7
External links [edit]
- Welcome to Abu-Shusha
- Abu Shusha, from Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center
- Abu Shusha by Rami Nashashibi (1996), Center for Research and Documentation of Palestinian Society.
- Abu Shusha - A Survivor's Testimony by Rami Nashashibi (1996), Center for Research and Documentation of Palestinian Society.
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