Al-Butaymat
البطيمات Buteimat, al-Buteimat | |
|---|---|
Village | |
| Etymology: "the place with the terebinths."[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map .jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map .jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Al-Butaymat (click the buttons) | |
  Al-Butaymat Location within Mandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates: 32°33′12″N 35°5′38″E / 32.55333°N 35.09389°E | |
| Palestine grid | 159/217 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Haifa |
| Date of depopulation | May 1948[4] |
| Population (1945) | |
| • Total | 110[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Fear of being caught up in the fighting |
| Current Localities | Gal'ed[5] Former: Regavim[6] |
Al-Butaymat (Arabic: البطيمات, El Buteimât) was a Palestinian Arab village the Haifa Subdistrict, located 31 kilometers (19 mi) southeast of Haifa. It was depopulated during the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 1, 1948, under the Battle of Mishmar HaEmek.
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) found "traces of ruins" here.[7]
Haifa merchant Mustafa al-Khalil acquired land in among other places, Al-Butaymat, in the late Ottoman era.[8]
During the 19th and first half of the 20th century, al-Butaymat was one of the settlements of the so-called "Fahmawi Commonwealth" established by Hebronite clans belonging to Umm al-Fahm. The Commonwealth consisted of a network of interspersed communities connected by ties of kinship, and socially, economically and politically affiliated with Umm al Fahm. The Commonwealth dominated vast sections of Bilad al-Ruha/Ramot Menashe, Wadi 'Ara and Marj Ibn 'Amir/Jezreel Valley during that time.[9]
In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, ‘’Al Buteimat’’ had a population 137, all Muslims,[10] decreasing in the 1931 census to 112 Muslims, in a total of 29 houses.[11]
In the 1945 statistics the village had a population of 110 Muslims,[2] and they had 3,832 dunams of land according to an official land and population survey.[3] Of this, 8 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land, 2,508 for cereals,[12] while 4 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[13]
In 1945 the kibbutz of Gal'ed was established on what was traditionally village land.[5]
Benny Morris gives May 1948 as depopulation date, and "Fear of being caught up in the fighting" as the cause, but with a question mark.[4][14][15][16][17]
In 1992 the village site was described: "The site is fenced in, overgrown with grass and cactuses. There are no traces of houses except for adobe bricks scattered around the site. Most of the surrounding lands are used as grazing areas, but some of them are cultivated."[5]
