Dayr al-Qassi دير القاسي | |
|---|---|
Former village | |
 House belonging to Abdullah Abedalmajeed Alsadek in Dayr al-Qassi | |
| Etymology: The convent of Wady el Kasy[3] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Dayr al-Qassi (click the buttons) | |
  Dayr al-Qassi Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:33°02′07″N35°19′30″E / 33.03528°N 35.32500°E /33.03528; 35.32500 | |
| Palestine grid | 181/271 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Acre |
| Date of depopulation | 30 October 1948[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 34.0[5] km2 (13.1 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 1,250[4] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
| Current Localities | Mattat,[6]Elkosh,[6][7]Abirim,[6]Netu'a[6] |
Dayr al-Qassi orDeir el-Qasi (Arabic:دير القاسي), was aPalestinian Arab village located 26 km northeast of the city ofAcre, which was depopulated during1948 Arab-Israeli war.
The village was located 26 km northeast of the city of Acre, on a rocky hill about 5 km south of theLebanese border. It was linked by a paved road toFassuta in the north andTarshiha in the southwest. The road divided the town into an eastern and western quarter, orharat, the eastern quarter being higher up.[8]
The first part of the village name,Dayr ("monastery") suggest that the village might have had a monastery and a Christian population. However, in modern times the population wasMuslim. According to the residents of the village, ancient artifacts from the Canaanite, Israelite and Roman period were unearthed in the Ottoman andBritish Mandate period.[8]
Ceramics from the lateRoman and theByzantine eras have been found here.[9]
In theCrusader era it was known asCassie, and in 1183 it was noted thatGodfrey de Tor sold the land of the village toJoscelin III.[10] In 1220 Jocelyn III's daughterBeatrix de Courtenay and her husbandOtto von Botenlauben,Count of Henneberg, sold their land, includingCassie and the nearbyRoeis (Khirbet Tell ‘er-Ruwesah/Tel Rosh), to theTeutonic Knights.[11]
Remains from theMamluk era have been found in the area.[12]
Dayr al-Qassi was incorporated into theOttoman Empire in 1517 and it belonged to thenahiya (subdistrict) ofJira, part of theSafad Sanjak (District of Safed). In the 1596tax records Dayr al-Qassi had a population of 24Muslim household; an estimated 132 persons. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rated of 25% on a number of crops, includingwheat andbarley, as well as on goats and beehives; a total of 345akçe.[13][14]
In the early 18th century, Dayr al-Qassi was a fortified village controlled by a localsheikh (chief) named Abd al-Khaliq Salih. In 1740, SheikhDaher al-Umar, a localmultazim (tax farmer) from theBanu Zaydan family whose strength was growing throughout theGalilee, struggled to gain control of Dayr al-Qassi. Later that year, he made the village part of his domain by marrying Sheikh Salih's daughter, thereby sealing an alliance with the latter's family.[15] In late 1767, Daher's son Ali of Safed requested control of Dayr al-Qassi from his father after his request forDayr Hanna was rejected. Daher refused and the two entered into an armed conflict, which Daher won. Nonetheless, Daher pardoned Ali and ultimately ceded the village to him.[16]
In 1838, Dayr al-Qassi was noted as a Muslim village in the Jabal subdistrict, located west of Safed.[17]
Victor Guérin visited Dayr al-Qassi in 1875, and he estimated that the village had 350 Muslim inhabitants.[2] In 1881, Dayr al-Qassi was described in thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine (SWP) as being situated on a ridge, encircled by fig and olive trees and arable land. It then had a population of about 200.[18] A population list from about 1887 showed Dayr al-Qassi to have about 945 inhabitants, all Muslims.[19]
At the time of the1922 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate, Dayr al-Qassi had a population of 663 Muslims.[20] increasing in the1931 census, when Dayr al-Qassi had a population of 865, still all Muslims, living in a total of 169 houses.[21]
Later, Dayr al-Qassi was mostly Muslim but had a largePalestinian Christian minority. According to the1945 census it had 1,250 inhabitants; 370 Christians and 880 Muslims.[4][22] Together with the two villages ofFassuta andal-Mansura, the population was 2,300 and their total land area was 34,011 dunums.[23] 1,607 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 6,475 used for cereals,[24] while 247 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[25]
During the1948 Arab-Israeli War Dayr al-Qassi was defended by theArab Liberation Army but the village was occupied by theIsraeli Army during its offensiveOperation Hiram on October 30, 1948.[6] At the same time, Dayr al-Qassi was bombed by the Israelis, which they claimed was "by mistake", and seven residents were killed.[26] In December 1948, there was a suggestion of sending new Jewish immigrants to settleal-Bassa, Dayr al-Qassi andTarshiha, butAharon Zisling objected to sending militarily untrained immigrants there.[27]
However, in January 1949, theCabinet voted to "encourage introducing ‘olim into all the abandoned villages in the Galilee".[28] The village's residents were (again) expelled on 27 May 1949 and most migrated north intoLebanon.[6] By June 1949, it was reported that the whole northern area had been "Judaised", including Tarshiha,Suhmata, Dayr al-Qassi,Tarbikha,Meirun,al-Sammu'i,Safsaf andal-Ras al-Ahmar.[29]
Elkosh was established in 1949, and occupies part of the village site.Netu'a, founded in 1966,Mattat, founded in 1979 andAbirim, founded in 1980, are also on village land. Netu'a is near the neighboring village ofal-Mansura.[6]
The Palestinian historian,Walid Khalidi, described the remaining structures on the village land in 1992: "A few stone houses still are used as residences or warehouses by the inhabitants of Elqosh. The debris of destroyed houses is strewn over the site. The school building stands deserted. Fig and olive trees and cactuses grow on the site."[6] In 2004, some of the remains of the village were removed by mechanical equipment during excavations by theIsrael Antiquities Authority.[30]
In 2000, a book about the village history was published by Ibrahim Khalil Uthman.[31]
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