Arab al-Safa
عرب الصفا | |
|---|---|
Village | |
.jpg) 1870s map .jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map .jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Arab al-Safa (click the buttons) | |
  Arab al-Safa Location within Mandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates: 32°26′27″N 35°32′16″E / 32.44083°N 35.53778°E | |
| Palestine grid | 200/205 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Baysan |
| Date of depopulation | 20 May 1948[3] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 12,518 dunams (12.518 km2 or 4.833 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
| • Total | 650[1][2] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Influence of nearby town's fall |
Arab al-Safa (Arabic: عرب الصفا), was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Baysan . It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was located 7.5 km south of Baysan.
The village was destroyed on May 20, 1948, by the Israeli Golani Brigade under Operation Gideon.
In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the Mandatory Palestine authorities, Saffa had a population of 255 Muslims,[4] increasing in the 1931 census to 540; 4 Christians and the rest Muslims, in 108 houses.[5]
In the 1945 statistics, the population consisted of 650 Muslims,[1] and the total land area was 12,518 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[2] The land ownership in the village (in dunams) was as follows:[1][2][6]
| Owner | Dunams |
|---|---|
| Arab | 7,549 |
| Jewish | 2,523 |
| Public | 2,446 |
| Total | 12,518 |
By 1945, the Arab population were occupied mainly in cereal farming. The use of village land in that year:[7][8]
| Land Usage | Arab | Jewish | Public |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citrus and bananas | - | 49 | - |
| Irrigated and plantation | - | 14 | - |
| Cereal | 7,449 | 2,460 | 922 |
| Urban | - | - | - |
| Cultivable | 7,449 | 2,523 | 922 |
| Non-cultivable | 100 | - | 1,524 |
The population had grown to 754 by 1948 with 150 houses.
The village became depopulated on 20 May 1948, a week after the fall of Baysan[3][6] Following the war the area was incorporated into the State of Israel, with the village's land left undeveloped; the closest villages are the kibbutzim of Tirat Zvi (established 1937) to the south-west and Sde Eliyahu (established 1939) to the west.[6]
In 1992 the village site was described: "Three palm trees stand on the village site. The surrounding lands are used for growing wheat."[6]
