al-Qastal القسطل | |
|---|---|
 al-Qastal hill | |
| Etymology: "castellum" orcastale[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-Qastal, Jerusalem (click the buttons) | |
  al-Qastal Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:31°47′44″N35°8′39″E / 31.79556°N 35.14417°E /31.79556; 35.14417 | |
| Palestine grid | 163/133 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Jerusalem |
| Date of depopulation | 3 April 1948[3] |
| Area | |
• Total | 1.4 km2 (0.54 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 90[2] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Ethnic cleansing byYishuv forces |
| Current Localities | Mevaseret Zion[4]Castel National Park |
Al-Qastal ("Kastel",Arabic:القسطل) was aPalestinian village located eight kilometers west ofJerusalem and named for aCrusader castle located on the hilltop. Used during the1948 Arab–Israeli War as a military base by theArmy of the Holy War, virtually all of its residents fled during the fighting and the village was eventually captured by thePalmach.
A Crusader castle calledBelveer orBeauverium (in LatinVidebelum) was built there around 1168 CE. It is listed among the castles destroyed by Sultanal-Adil I in 1191–92 CE. No trace remains today of the castle.[5]
Belveer is mentioned in a letter fromEraclius,Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, written in the aftermath of the catastrophic Crusader defeat at theBattle of Hattin and dated September 1187, in which he describes the capture by the Muslims of a long list of towns of theKingdom of Jerusalem, and the slaughter of Christians "by the sword of Mafumetus the Unbeliever and his evil worshipperSaladin".[6]
In 1838el-Kustul was noted as aMuslim village, part ofBeni Malik area, located west of Jerusalem.[7][8]
In 1863,Victor Guérin found modern buildings on ancient ruins. He noted that the village belonged to theAbu Ghosh clan.[9]An Ottoman village list from about 1870 found thatKastal had a population of 10, in 5 houses; the population count included only men.[10][11]
In 1883, in thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine, al-Qastal was described as "a small stone village in a conspicuous position on a rocky hill-top" with springs to the east.[12]
In 1896 the population ofEl-kastal was estimated to be about 39 persons.[13]
In the1922 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, Qastal had a population 43, all Muslims,[14]increasing in the1931 census to 59; 55 Muslims and 4 Christians, in a total of 14 houses.[15]
In the1945 statistics, the village, with a population of 90 Muslims,[2] had a total of 42 dunums of land allocated to cereals. 169 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards, including 50 dunams of olive trees.[4][16]
In 1948, al-Qastal was a key position on theJaffa-Jerusalem road and was used byArab forces to attackJewish relief convoys so as to prevent them from reaching the besieged Jewish parts ofJerusalem.[17] For this purpose, it was occupied by the Army of the Holy War led byAbd al-Qadir al-Husayni, the commander of the Jerusalem Hills sector.[18]
The village was assaulted by thePalmach'sHarel Brigade and two squads of theHaganah duringOperation Nachshon, after a previous minor clash had already caused most civilian inhabitants to flee.[4][19] Palmach troops occupied the village on April 3, but its commander was refused permission to blow up the houses.[19]
Forces under Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni attacked and besieged the Haganah-held village on 7 April 1948. During the following, foggy night Al-Husayni himself was killed by a Haganah sentinel. On April 8, armed Arabs from the entire area, motivated by the disappearance of their leader, attacked and recaptured al-Qastal.[19] However, Al-Husayni's death is said to have led to a loss of morale among his forces.[20]Most fighters left their positions to attend al-Husayni's funeral at theMasjid Al-Aqsa on Friday, April 9.Palmach troops retook the almost fully deserted village on the night of April 8-9th; they blew up most of the houses and made the hill a command post, which they managed to hold on to.[19][21]
Parts of the Israeli town ofMevaseret Zion are located on the former lands of Al-Qastal.[4]
The remains of the village at the hilltop has been fitted out by theIsrael Nature and Parks Authority asCastel National Site, "a symbol of the struggle to break through to Jerusalem during the War of Independence", where one can visit the 1948 trenches and a monument to the fallen, see a movie, and descend along a scenic trail.[22]
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