Al-Dirbashiyya الدرباشية Darbashiya, al[1] | |
|---|---|
Village | |
.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Al-Dirbashiyya (click the buttons) | |
  Al-Dirbashiyya Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:33°05′20″N35°38′49″E / 33.08889°N 35.64694°E /33.08889; 35.64694 | |
| Palestine grid | 210/277 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Safad |
| Date of depopulation | May, 1948[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,883dunams (2.883 km2; 1.113 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 310[2][3] |
Al-Dirbashiyya (Arabic:الدرباشية) was aPalestinianArab village in theSafad Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 10, 1948, by the Palmach's First Battalion ofOperation Yiftach. It was located 20 km northeast ofSafad in theHula Valley, bordering Hula Lake.
The village was located on the lower slopes of the Golan Heights near the border withSyria overlooking theHula Valley. The lands to the west of the village were mainly marshland, although there were a few palm trees, and wooded areas to the south. A shrine named after a Muslim sage, namedal-Samadi, was located between the village and Hula Lake.[4]
The Palestine Index Gazetteer classified the village as ahamlet and during the British Mandate the British built a police station.[4]
The inhabitants mainly earned their living from the cultivation of vegetables.[4]
In the1945 statisticsEd Darbashiya had a population of 310 Muslims,[2] with a total of 2,883dunam of land.[3] Of this, they used 2,763 dunums for plantations and irrigable land,[5] while 120 dunams were classified as non-uncultivable land.[6]
Historians say that the details about the occupation of the village (during theNakba) remain unclear. However, it is known that it was captured duringOperation Yiftach in May 1948.[7]
In 1992, the village site was described thus by historianWalid Khalidi: "The rubble of destroyed houses is scattered across the village site. The site also contains a segment of a cement-lined irrigation canal, and the remains of terraces in some fields. The village lands, which are used mainly as pastures, are covered with grass, cactus plants, and Christ’s-thorn and eucalyptus trees."[8]
