Khirbat Ism Allah
خربة إسم الله | |
|---|---|
Village | |
| Etymology: Kh. Ism Allah, the ruin of the name of God[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map .jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map .jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Khirbat Ism Allah (click the buttons) | |
  Khirbat Ism Allah Location within Mandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates: 31°46′59″N 34°57′19″E / 31.78306°N 34.95528°E | |
| Palestine grid | 145/132 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Jerusalem |
| Date of depopulation | July 17, 1948 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 568 dunams (56.8 ha or 140 acres) |
| Population (1945) | |
| • Total | 20[2][3] |
Khirbat Ism Allah was a Palestinian Arab hamlet in the Jerusalem Subdistrict, located 26 km west of Jerusalem. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on July 17, 1948, by the Harel Brigade of Operation Dani. Khirbat Ism Allah was mostly destroyed with the exception of several deserted houses.
In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine only noted “foundations" here.[4]
According to the 1931 census of Palestine, conducted in 1931 by the British Mandate authorities, Khirbat Ism Allah had a population of 18 inhabitants, in 4 houses.[5]
In 1944 Zionist established Kfar Uria about 1,5 km NW of the village site, but not on village land.[6]
In the 1945 statistics, Khirbat Ism Allah had a population of 20 Muslims,[2] with a total of 568 dunums of land.[3] Of this, 3 dunams were for irrigable land or plantations, 485 for cereals,[7] while 80 dunams were classified as non-cultivable land.[8]
In 1992, the site was described: "The caves in the northern part of the site still show evidence of their former use as dwellings; the remains of arched entrances are present. In the southern part of the site, a few ruined houses are surrounded by low stone walls. This area has been recently repopulated by a Jewish shepherd family that renovated and occupied one of the houses. The walled in area is used as a goat barn, and the entire area has become a grazing site for the family's flock. The family uses the village spring to the west."[6]
