Bayt Umm al-Mays بيت أم الميس | |
|---|---|
| Etymology: The house of the meis-tree (Cordia myxa)[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Bayt Umm al-Mays (click the buttons) | |
  Bayt Umm al-Mays Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:31°46′49″N35°04′49″E / 31.78028°N 35.08028°E /31.78028; 35.08028 | |
| Palestine grid | 157/131 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Jerusalem |
| Date of depopulation | October 21, 1948[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,013dunams (1.013 km2; 0.391 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 70[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
Bayt Umm al-Mays was a smallPalestinianArab village in theJerusalem Sub-district, located 14 km west ofJerusalem..
The village was established and settled during the lateBritish Mandatory period, and had 70 inhabitants in 1945.[5] It was depopulated during the1948 Arab-Israeli War on October 21, 1948, by theHar'el Brigade ofOperation ha-Har.
In 1863,Victor Guérin found the remains of a small village, in the middle of which was aMuslim sanctuary. He further noted that the villagers had neitherwells norcisterns, but were obliged to fetch water from a rather distant spring.[6]
In 1883, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine (SWP) noted at Beit Meis: "Ruined walls. No indication of age."[7]
In the1945 statistics, the village had a population of 70Muslims[2] with 1,013dunums of land.[3] Of this, 51 dunams were for irrigable land or plantations, 273 forcereals,[8] while 2 dunams were built-up, urban, land.[9]
Bayt Umm al-Mays was depopulated October 21, 1948.[4]
Following the war, the area was incorporated into theState of Israel. According toMorris,Ramat Raziel was established near Bayt Umm al-Mays,[10] but according toKhalidi there are no Israeli settlements on village land.[11] In 1992 it was noted that "the site is covered with wild grass that grows around the remains of stone terraces. A few almond, olive and fig trees also grow along the terraces. The remains of the demolished house, which include fragments of an archway, stand at the northern end of the village; the ruins of another house stand at a short distance from the southern end, near awell. Two caves can be seen in the west. There are two very large stone slabs standing at the southern edge of the site, surrounded by bushes."[11]
