|
The District of Jerusalem
|
|
Allar
Stone rubble, concrete blocks and slabs, and steel
bars litter the site, the former school building, still stands. Almond
and cypress trees and cacti grow along the terraces.
|
|
Aqqur
A thick forest of fir and cypress trees has been
planted on the site. Within the forest, stone rubble and ruins of walls
with arched opening and terraces are visible. Cacti and fig, almond, and
olive trees also grow on the site, along with grass and thorns. The
forest was established by the Jewish National Fund in memory of 5
American donors from Los Angeles & Detroit.
|
|
Artuf
The settlement of Nacham was established in 1950 on
the ruins of the village. Beyt Semesh was established near the site in
1950. One stone house has been expanded, and is now inhabited by a
Jewish family. The village cemetery has been levelled. Part of the
British police headquarters is still standing.
|
|
Ayn Karim
Ayn Karim was one of the very few villages to survive
its depopulation with its buildings intact. The village houses are
inhabited by Jewish families. One Christian Palestinian family, exiled
from the village of Iqrit, lives in the village, in an old school
building attached to the Franciscan monastery. There are 7 Christian
churches, and monasteries, & a cemetery. The Muslim cemetery in the
center of the village, is covered with refuse and dirt. The village
mosque, in a state of disrepair, still stands with its minaret. An
Israeli hospital, Hadassa, has been built on the village site. Israeli
tourist facilities with hotels and swimming pools have been built
northeast of the village.
|
|
Bayt Itab
The site is covered with large amount of rubble from
the demolished village house. The remains of a crusader fortress are
prominent on it. There are two cemeteries east and west of the village.
Some of the graves are open, and human bones are visible. Part of the
surrounding agricultural land is cultivated by Israeli settlers.
|
|
Bayt Mahsir
Several village houses have been spared, and are for
the most part interspersed among the houses of the settlement of Beyt
Me’ir. Two large, rectangular- shaped, almost identical houses built of
limestone rise above the Israeli settlement’s cabin -like residences.
The remains of a flour mill, can still be seen. The woodland in the
outskirts of the village has been designated as a reserve area by the
Jewish National Fund, and dedicated to "The Lions International-Israel.
|
|
Bayt Naqquba
A few houses are used either as dwellings by the
settlement of Beyt Neqofa or as stables. Stones recovered from the ruins
of the village houses have been used as steps for entrances to the new
Jewish homes. Almond and olive trees and cacti cover the village site.
In what was probably a unique case among all the villages occupied and
depopulated, a new Arab village with the same name was established south
of the original site in 1962, and some refugees from the old village
were allowed to live there.
|
|
Bayt Thul
Piles of rubble are spread over a wide area on the
hill. The ruins of a large house are on the eastern side of the site,
surrounded by a dilapidated wall. Graves on the southern edge of the
village are covered with weeds. A memorial has been erected for two
Israeli pilots whose plane crashed on the site. Another forest on the
site was dedicated to Hadassah/Canada.
|
|
Bayt Umm Al-Mays
The site is covered with wild grass. The dried-out
stems of vines can be seen among the grass. The remains of 2 demolished
houses, stand at the northern end of the village.
|
|
Al-Burayi
The site is now part of a large military base called
Kanaf Staim (Wing Two). A large area is fenced in, and a watchtower has
been built. The site is inaccessible to the public.
|
|
Dayr Aban
High piles of stone rubble, collapsed roofs, iron
rafters, and part of standing walls are visible on the site. Olive,
almond, cypress, and eucalyptus trees grow on the site, along with
cacti..
|
|
Dayr 'Amr
The site is surrounded with a fence and a guarded
gate. All the houses still stand and new extensions have been added to
some of them. The Israeli telephone and television company has
established a large facility, with radar equipment, at the southern edge
of the site. The psychiatric hospital of Eytanim is nearby.
|
|
Dayr Al-Hawa
The stone rubble of houses is mixed with the ruined
walls of terraces. The "Two Hundred Years" Park, commemorating the U.S.
bicentennial, was established by the Jewish National Fund on the village
lands, & on those of a few neighboring villages. Fir trees have been
recently planted near the park. The Hubert Humphrey Parkway passes
through it.
|
|
Dayr Rafat
The site is covered with large piles of stone rubble
and stone terraces. A monastery, owns the village lands.
|
|
Dayr Al-Shaykh
The shrine of al- Shaykh Sultan Bader, is now an
Israeli tourist site. The rubble of houses and terraces can be seen on
the site.
|
|
Dayr Yasin
The site of the most infamous massacre of the Nakba
(see testimonies section). Many of the village houses on the hill are
standing and have been incorporated into an Israeli hospital for the
mentally ill (Originally housing Holocaust survivors with mental
trauma..). Some houses outside the fence of the hospital grounds are
used for residential and commercial purposes. Outside the fence, there
are carob and almond trees and the stumps of olive trees. The old
village cemetery, is unkempt. The rest of the village site is now the
Giv’at Shaul West Jerusalem suburb. See the Links section for further
information on the massacre.
|
|
Ishwa
Only a few of the village houses remain on the site,
interspersed among a settlement’s houses, some serve as residences and
warehouses. The village cemetery, has been levelled and planted with
grass. At the western edge of the village is soccer field. The walls and
fallen roofs of destroyed houses can be seen at its edge.
|
|
Islin
Partially destroyed walls and stone terraces can be
seen throughout the site. The Jewish National Fund has established a
plant nursery on the southern edge of the village. The site also houses
a bus repair yard belonging to the Israeli public transportation
cooperative, Egged.
|
|
Khirbat Ism Allah
This area has been repopulated by a Jewish shepherd
family that renovated and occupied one of the houses. The walled area is
used as a goat barn, and the entire area has become a grazing site for
the family’s flock.
|
|
Jarash
The site is overgrown with grass, interspersed with
the debris of destroyed houses. The ruins of a cemetery lie northwest of
the site.
|
|
Al-Jura
The only structures that still stand are two
limestone houses on the valley floor at the southern edge of the
village. One can see the ruins of houses, staircases, and wells. The
site is surrounded by cypress forests.
|
|
Kasla
Wild grass covers the entire site and grows amid the
rubble of the stone houses. On the slopes, thick wild grass grow on
several terraces, which are still intact.
|
|
Al-Lawz, Khirbat
A thick forest of cypress and fir trees has been
planted around the site, dedicated to the memory of Moshe Dayan.
|
|
Lifta
The ruins of the village are clearly visible at the
entrance of Jerusalem, from the Tel Aviv road. Most of the remaining
houses are deserted, although some have been restored for the use of
Jewish families. The mosque and the village club are still visible.
Jewish families have moved into three of the old village houses.
|
Al-Maliha
Many houses are still standing and are occupied by
Jewish families, although a few houses have been demolished. The school
building is abandoned and its classrooms are filled with refuse. The
village cemetery is on the southern edge of the site. One of the graves
is open, and human bones are visible. Part of the Israeli Jerusalem
neighborhood of Ramat Daniya surround the village site.
|
|
Al-Qabu
The site abounds in the ruins and remains of the
houses. Seven graves can be seen; bones are visible in some of the open
ones. The village mosque still stands, abandoned and neglected. Much of
the surrounding land has been covered by a forest planted by Israel.
|
|
Qalunya
Only a few houses still stand, in the southwestern
part of the site, by the cemetery. One of the hoses is now occupied by a
Jewish family.
|
|
Al-Qastal
The site of one of the most important battles of the
Nakba, and of the death of military leader Abd-el-Qader El-Husseini in
March 1948. The southern, northern, and eastern slopes of the site are
covered with stone rubble. The ruins of the old castle that gave the
village its name lie on the mountain top. An underground shelter has
been built on the site. Military trenches can be seen north and east.
The entire site, including part of the fortress, serves as an Israeli
tourist attraction.
|
|
Ras Abu 'Ammar
The stone rubble of the village houses is strewn
across the site. Wild vegetation grows among the debris, the schoolhouse
still stands.
|
|
Sar'a
Stone rubble and iron girders are strewn among the
trees. On the western edge of the site stands a shrine containing the
tombs of two local religious teachers.
|
|
Sataf
Many half-destroyed walls still stand. The area
around the village spring, has been turned into an Israeli tourist site.
A Jewish family has settled on the west side of the village, and has
fenced in some of the village area. A forest around the site was planted
by the Jewish National Fund; it is an extension of the Moshe Dayan
forest planted on the lands of Khirbat al- Lawz.
|
|
Suba
Many of the village buildings still stand. The
remnants of a Crusader fortress are present on the site. Networks of
trenches dug by the Israeli army are visible on the northeastern side of
the mountain top.
|
|
Sufla
Stone rubble from houses is scattered throughout the
site, which has become an open grazing area.
|
|
Khirbat Al-Tannur
Six houses have been destroyed and their rubble is
strewn over the site; four others still stand.
|
|
Khirbat Al-'Umur
Stone rubble and window and door frames, partly
hidden by wild grass, are scattered across the village site. The village
cemetery, is covered with dirt and grass but many graves are visible;
tombstones stand at the head and foot of each one.
|
|
Al-Walaja
A few stone houses still stand on the village site.
Otherwise, the site is covered with stone rubble. The village area is
used as an Israeli Canada Park now lies north of it.
|