Palestinian Villages Depopulated in 1948 [1]
| Village name | Number of Palestinian Arab inhabitants in 1948* | Landownership (dunums) as of 1944/45 | Date of capture and depopulation | Jewish settlement/sites built on the land post-1948 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Allar | 510 | Total: 12,356 Arab: 12,353 Jewish: 0 Public: 3 |
October 22, 1948 | Mata American Independence Park |
| ‘Aqqur | 46 | Total: 5,522 Arab: 5,444 Jewish: 0 Public: 78 |
July 14, 1948 | Sorek Stream North Nature Reserve Martyrs’ Forest Sataf Forest |
| ‘Artuf | 406 | Total: 403 Arab: 401 Jewish: 0 Public: 2 |
July 18, 1948 | Hartuv (pre-1948) Naham (post-1948) |
| ‘Ayn Karim* | 3,689 | Total: 15,029 Arab: 13,449 Jewish: 1,362 Public: 218 |
July 18, 1948 | Ein Karem Even Sapir Kiryat Menachem Beit Zayit |
| Beit ‘Itab | 626 | Total: 8,757 Arab: 5,447 Jewish: 0 Public: 3,310 |
October 21, 1948 | Nes Harim Bar Giora American Independence Park Beit ‘Itab National Park |
| Beit Mahsir | 2,784 | Total: 16,268 Arab: 15,428 Jewish: 0 Public: 840 |
May 11, 1948 | Beit Meir Mesilot Zion Rabin Park/Martyrs’ Forest |
| Beit Mazmil*** | N/A | N/A | July 12, 1948 | Kiryat HaYovel |
| Beit Naqquba* | 278 | Total: 2,979 Arab: 1,958 Jewish: 951 Public: 70 |
April 1, 1948 | Beit Nekofa |
| Beit Thul* | 302 | Total: 4,629 Arab: 4,205 Jewish: 421 Public: 3 |
July 18, 1948 | Kfira Forest |
| Beit Umm al-Mays** | 81 | Total: 1,013 Arab: 1,013 Jewish: 0 Public: 0 |
July 1, 1948 | Part of Ramat Raziel Martyrs’ Forest, Judean Hills National Park |
| al-Burayj | 835 | Total: 19,080 Arab: 18,856 Jewish: 0 Public: 224 |
October 1, 1948 | Military Base Sedot Mikha |
| Deir ‘Amr** | 12 | Total: 3,072 Arab: 3,072 Jewish: 0 Public: 0 |
July 14, 1948 | Eitanim Martyrs’ Forest |
| Deir Aban* | 2,436 | Total: 22,734 Arab: 21,578 Jewish: 376 Public: 780 |
October 20, 1948 | Mahasia, Beit Shemesh, Yish‘i, Tzora American Independence Park |
| Deir al-Hawa | 70 | Total: 5,907 Arab: 4,660 Jewish: 0 Public: 1,247 |
October 20, 1948 | American Independence Park |
| Deir al-Sheikh | 255 | Total: 6,781 Arab: 1,366 Jewish: 0 Public: 5,412 |
October 21, 1948 | Sorek Stream Nature Reserve |
| Deir Rafat | 499 | Total: 13,242 Arab: 12,966 Jewish: 0 Public: 276 |
July 18, 1948 | Givat Shemesh |
| Deir Yasin* | 708 | Total: 2,857 Arab: 2,701 Jewish: 153 Public: 3 |
April 9, 1948 | Kfar Shaul Har Nof Givat Shaul B |
| Ein Jiddi (‘Arab Rashayida)*** | N/A | N/A | March 9, 1948 | Ein Gedi |
| Ishwa‘ | 719 | Total: 5,522 Arab: 5,456 Jewish: 0 Public: 66 |
July 18, 1948 | Eshtaol Eshtaol Forest |
| ‘Islin | 302 | Total: 2,159 Arab: 2,157 Jewish: 0 Public: 2 |
July 18, 1948 | Eshtaol Rabin Park/Eshtaol Forest |
| Ism Allah, Khirbat** | 23 | Total: 568 Arab: 568 Jewish: 0 Public: 0 |
July 17–18, 1948 | None |
| Jarash | 220 | Total: 3,518 Arab: 3,517 Jewish: 0 Public: 1 |
October 21, 1948 | Part of Zanoah American Independence Park Dolev Stream Nature Reserve |
| al-Jura* | 487 | Total: 4,158 Arab: 3,909 Jewish: 247 Public: 2 |
July 11, 1948 | Ora Ashkelon National Park |
| Kasla | 325 | Total: 8,004 Arab: 8,001 Jewish: 0 Public: 3 |
July 18, 1948 | Kisalon, part of Ramat Raziel Martyrs’ Forest |
| al-Laws (Lawz), Khirbat | 522 | Total: 4,502 Arab: 4,495 Jewish: 0 Public: 7 |
July 14, 1948 | Judean Hills National Park, Sataf Forest |
| Lifta* | 2,958 | Total: 8,743 Arab: 7,780 Jewish: 756 Public: 207 |
January 1, 1948 | Mei Naftoah (abandoned) West Jerusalem neighborhoods (Upper Romema, Kiryat Belza, Kiryat Sanz, Har Hotzvim, Sanhedria Murhevet, Ramot Ashkol, Giv‘at HaMivtar, Ramot Alon) Lifta Nature Reserve |
| al-Maliha* | 2,250 | Total: 6,828 Arab: 5,798 Jewish: 922 Public: 108 |
July 14, 1948 | Manhat South Jerusalem neighborhoods of Ir Ganim, Givat Masua, Gonen H, H, Tet, Giv‘at Mordechai |
| Nitaf** | 46 | Total: 1,401 Arab: 1,401 Jewish: 0 Public: 0 |
Mid-April–early June, 1948 | Nataf Kfira Forest |
| al-Qabu | 302 | Total: 3,806 Arab: 3,801 Jewish: 0 Public: 5 |
October 22, 1948 | Mevo Betar Begin Park |
| Qalunya* | 1,056 | Total: 4,844 Arab: 3,594 Jewish: 1,084 Public: 166 |
April 11, 1948 | Pre-1948: settlement of Motza Post-1948: settlement of Mevasseret Yerushalaim (Mevasseret Zion) Einot Telem National Park |
| al-Qastal* | 104 | Total: 1,446 Arab: 1,415 Jewish: 7 Public: 24 |
April 9, 1948 | Maoz Zion (Mevasseret Zion) Castel National Park, JNF site |
| Ras Abu ‘Ammar | 719 | Total: 8,342 Arab: 8,313 Jewish: 0 Public: 29 |
October 21, 1948 | Tzur Hadassa Begin Park |
| Sar‘a | 394 | Total: 4,967 Arab: 4,964 Jewish: 0 Public: 3 |
July 14, 1948 | Tarum Tzora Forest |
| Saris* | 650 | Total: 10,699 Arab: 10,427 Jewish: 132 Public: 140 |
April 16, 1948 | Shoresh Shoeva Rabin Park/Martyrs’ Forest |
| Sataf | 626 | Total: 3,775 Arab: 3,769 Jewish: 0 Public: 6 |
July 14, 1948 | Sataf Forest Sataf—Mt. Heret National Park |
| Suba* | 719 | Total: 4,102 Arab: 4,082 Jewish: 15 Public: 5 |
July 13, 1948 | Tsuba Tel Tsuba Zova National Park |
| Sufla | 70 | Total: 2,061 Arab: 714 Jewish: 0 Public: 1,347 |
October 21, 1948 | American Independence Park Dolev Stream Nature Reserve |
| al-Tannur, Khirbat*** | N/A | N/A | October 22, 1948 | American Independence Park |
| al-‘Umur, Khirbat* | 313 | Total: 4,163 Arab: 3,725 Jewish: 436 Public: 2 |
October 21, 1948 | Giv‘at Ye‘arim Martyrs’ Forest |
| al-Walaja* | 1,914 | Total: 17,708 Arab: 17,507 Jewish: 35 Public: 166 |
October 21, 1948 | Aminadav Aminadav Forest Judean Hills National Park |
| Total: 40 | 28,256 | 251,945 |
[1] More than half of the depopulated villages (55 percent) were completely destroyed. Terry Rempel, “Dispossession and Restitution in 1948,” in Jerusalem 1948: The Arab 1.Neighbourhoods and Their Fate in the War, ed. Salim Tamari (Jerusalem and Bethlehem: Institute of Palestine Studies and Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, 2002), 217.
Data in this table were collected by Salman Abu-Sitta (in Salman Abu-Sitta, The Palestinian Nakba 1948 (London: Palestinian Return Centre, 1998)), as well as by Zochrot.
*Jews owned land in 14 of the villages. However, in all 14, Palestinian Arabs were the majority landowners before 1948. The number of residents of these villages only reflects the Arab residents.
**All but four villages included publicly owned land.
***The populations and total land areas of three villages are unknown.