Ayn Ghazal عين غزال 'Ain Ghazal, 'Ein Ghazal | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 TheMaqam (shrine) of Sheikh Shahada | |
| Etymology: "Spring of the gazelle"[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Ayn Ghazal (click the buttons) | |
  Ayn Ghazal Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:32°37′55″N34°58′03″E / 32.63194°N 34.96750°E /32.63194; 34.96750 | |
| Palestine grid | 147/226 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Haifa |
| Date of depopulation | July 24–26, 1948[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 14,628dunams (14.628 km2; 5.648 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 2,170[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
| Current Localities | Ein Ayala?[5]Ofer |
Ayn Ghazal (Arabic:عين غزال, "Spring of the Gazelle") was aPalestinianArab village located 21 kilometers (13 mi) south ofHaifa. Depopulated during the1948 Arab-Israeli War as a result of an Israeli military assault duringOperation Shoter, the village was then completely destroyed. Incorporated into theState of Israel, it is now mostly a forested area. The Israelimoshav ofOfer ("fawn") was established in 1950 on part of the former village's lands.Ein Ayala, a moshav established in 1949, lies just adjacent; its name being theHebrew translation of Ayn Ghazal.[6]
In 1517 the area of 'Ayn Ghazal was incorporated into theOttoman Empire with the rest of Palestine. During the16th and17th centuries, it belonged to theTurabay Emirate (1517–1683), which encompassed also theJezreel Valley,Haifa,Jenin,Beit She'an Valley, northernJabal Nablus,Bilad al-Ruha/Ramot Menashe, and the northern part of theSharon plain.[7][8]
In1799, it appeared as the village Ain Elgazal on the map thatPierre Jacotin compiled that year, though it was misplaced.[9]
In 1870,Victor Guérin passed by, and noted that the village had 290 inhabitants. It was divided into two sections, and surrounded by tobacco plantations.[10]
UnderOttoman rule like much of the rest ofPalestine in the late 19th century, Ayn Ghazal was described as a small village built of stone andmud, with about 450 residents. The villagers cultivated 35 Faddans of land (1 faddan is equal to 100-250dunams).[11] Much of the land in the Ayn Ghazal and the neighbouring villages ofJaba',Khubiza,Tira, andSarafand was owned by the sons of Abdel al-Latif al-Salah, who himself owned the entire village ofJi'ara. All these villages became entirely dependent upon the Salah family because of loans they took from them or as a result of the family's commercial activities.[12]
Ayn Ghazal had two schools: an elementary school for boys founded by the Ottomans in 1886, and an elementary school for girls. The village also had a cultural club and an athletic club.[13] The villagers wereMuslim, and they maintained aMaqam (shrine) for a local sage namedSheikh Shahada.[13]
A population list from about 1887 showed thatAin Ghuzal had about 910 inhabitants; allMuslims,[14] while in the early twentieth century the number of inhabitants was given as 883, and a mosque and a school in the village was noted by travellers.[15]
In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, ‘Ain Ghazal had a population of 1,046, all Muslims,[16] increasing in the1931 census, when it was counted withKhirbat al-Sawamir, to 1,439, still all Muslims, in 247 houses.[17]
In the1945 statistics the population was 2,170, all Muslims,[2] and it had a total of 18,079dunams of land according to an official land and population survey.[3] 1,486 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land, 8,472 for cereals,[18] while 130 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[13][19]
When the conflict started, the village was poorly armed. Israeli intelligence estimated the village arsenal at a total of 87 weapons by mid-1947; including 23 obsolete rifles and 45 pistols.[20] The November 1947United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine allocated Ayn Ghazal and other Arab villages in theHaifa district of Mandate Palestine to the proposedJewish state, which alongside the Arab state, was to be established upon termination of the British Mandate, scheduled for May 15, 1948. Ayn Ghazal and the neighboring village ofAyn Hawd were attacked on the evening of April 11, 1948, according to the Palestinian newspaperFilastin, who reported that a group of 150Jewish troops were unsuccessful in driving out the inhabitants.[21] Arab states responded toIsrael's Declaration of Independence on May 15, 1948, by sending in Arab troops, kicking off the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. On May 20, theAssociated Press reported that another attack on Ayn Ghazal and Ayn Hawd had been thwarted.[22]
In early June 1948, anIsrael Defense Forces (IDF) report shows that Ayn Ghazal, together withIjzim andJa'ba, were asking the IDF, "to open negotiation for surrender." Nothing resulted from the request.[23] On 14 July, before theSecond truce of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Israeli cabinet discussed the three villages in "The Little Triangle".Ben-Gurion said that there was no need to hurry:
"these villages are in our pocket [...] We can act against them also after the [reinstitution of the] truce. This will be a police action... They are not regarded as enemy forces as their area is ours [i.e., in Israel] and they are inhabitants of the state...[and] these villages do not represent a military danger."[24]
The second truce, beginning on the 18 July, was not violated by the villagers.[25]
According toMeron Benvenisti,IDF actions over course of the Second Truce were concentrated on "cleansing" small clusters of Arab villages located in "strategic" areas.[26] 'Ayn Ghazal was depopulated along with two other villages (Ijzim and Ja'ba) located on the western slopes of theCarmel mountains between July 24 and 26.[26] A week after the start of thetruce, Israel undertookOperation Shoter ("Operation Policeman"), with the aim of conquering the "Little Triangle" villages.[27] The operation was executed by a combination of brigades from theIsrael Defense Forces and the military police.[26] On July 25, street fighting was reported from Ayn Ghazal and Ja'ba. On the morning of the next day, the villages were found deserted.[27]
'Ayn Ghazal was one of dozens of Palestinian villages subjected to aerial bombardment after the IDF managed to procureB-17 bombers and fighter planes from the European and American black markets during the First Truce (June–July 1948). Salah Abdel Jawad writes that in addition to loss of civilian life, the air raids spread, "widespread demoralisation due to its indiscriminate character, and because Palestinians who had never experienced aerial bombardment before, had no defences against it."[28] (Later, the then Israeli Foreign MinisterShertok lied to aUnited Nations mediator and said that "no planes were used".)[13][29]
Azzam Pasha, the Secretary General of theArab League issued a statement alleging that atrocities were committed during and after the attacks. In particular it was stated that 28 people from al-Tira were burnt alive. The IDF rejected these allegations but admitted that their soldiers had found 25–30 bodies at 'Ayn Ghazal in "an advanced state of decomposition," and that the soldiers made prisoners bury the remains. The IDF also buried about 200 bodies found in the three villages after the battle.[30] On July 28, a United Nations observer visited the area, and found, according toFolke Bernadotte, "no evidence to support claims of massacre."[31] In early August, 1948, neighbouring Jewish settlers arrived in carts and looted Ayn Ghazal and Ja'ba.[32]
In mid-September 1948, UN investigators placed the number of killed or missing in the three villages (Ayn Ghazal, Ijzim and Ja'ba) at 130. Bernadotte condemned Israel's "systematic" destruction of Ayn Ghazal and Ja'ba, and asked that the Israeli government restore at its own expense all houses damaged or destroyed during and after the attack. Bernadotte said that a total of 8,000 people had been driven out of the three villages, and demanded that they be allowed toreturn; however, Israel rejected these demands.[13]
One of a number of Palestinian villages that was completely obliterated and then reforested by Israeli authorities, Ayn Ghazal, likeMujeidel,Ma'alul, andMi'ar, was planted withpine orcypress trees.[33] After the area was incorporated into the State of Israel, the moshav ofEin Ayala was established in 1949 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) southeast of the village site.Benny Morris writes that it is close to village land;[5] however,Walid Khalidi writes that it is not on village land. Themoshav ofOfer was established the following year 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) southeast of the built up portion of the village, and according to Khalidi, was built on village land.[13] Describing the village remains in 1992, Khalidi writes:
"The dilapidated shrine of Sheikh Shahada is the only standing structure on the village site. Ruins of walls and piles of stones can be seen all over the site, as well as stands of pine, cactus, and fig andpomegranate trees. The site has recently been fenced in for use as a grazing area. The flat lands around it are also used for growing vegetables,bananas, and other types of fruit. Parts of the slopes are planted withalmond trees."[13]
Zochrot, an Israeli-Jewish organization that aims to raise awareness of theNakba has produced a booklet on Ayn Ghazal and organized tours to the site of the destroyed village. The booklet was produced in collaboration with Ali Hamude, anInternally displaced Palestinian refugee from Ayn Ghazal, who currently lives inFuraydis. Hundreds of copies of the booklet were distributed by Hamude, and a village school in Furaydis uses the booklet during class trips to Ayn Ghazal to educate students on its history.[34]
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