Zikrin ذكرين Dhikerin[1] | |
|---|---|
 Façade of ruined house in Khirbet Dhikrin | |
| Etymology: Dhikerin el Baradan; Dhikerin the cool[2] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Zikrin (click the buttons) | |
  Zikrin Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:31°39′48″N34°51′38″E / 31.66333°N 34.86056°E /31.66333; 34.86056 | |
| Palestine grid | 136/119 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Hebron |
| Date of depopulation | 22–23 October 1948[5] |
| Area | |
• Total | 17,195dunams (17.195 km2; 6.639 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 960[3][4] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
Zikrin (Arabic:ذكرين), pronouncedDhikrin, was aPalestinianArab village in theHebron Subdistrict, depopulated in the1948 Palestine War. The site is located about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) northwest ofBeit Gubrin and sits at a mean elevation of 212 metres (696 ft) above sea-level, its access somewhat impeded by hedges ofbuckthorn andcactus. The entire site is dotted with grottoes and caves, and razed structures.
The village was calledKefar Dikrina inRoman times.[6] Geographer,Adolf Neubauer mentions the village as formerly being calledKefar Dhikrin (Hebrew:כפר דכרין) in severalRabbinic sources, including theBabylonian Talmud.[7] Neubauer cites one of the sources, saying that the village's name is derived from the fact that the womenfolk of the village bare only male children (hence:dikhra = male). According toLamentations Rabbah, the region ofKefar Dhikrin was one of the most densely populated areas of the country at that time.[8] These sources mostly date back to the 3rd and 4th centuries CE.
In 1479, it was mentioned byTucher of Nurnberg, who travelled from Bethlehem to Gaza and lodged at Zikrin. He notedcisterns here.[9][10]
In 1596, Zikrin was part of theOttoman Empire,nahiya (subdistrict) ofGaza under theGaza Sanjak, with a population of 40Muslim households, an estimated 220 persons. They paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on several products, includingwheat,barley,sesame and fruits, andvineyards; a total of 8,000akçe.[11]
In 1838,Edward Robinson describedDhikrin as a "large"Muslim village, located in the Gaza district.[9][12]
In 1863Victor Guérin visited, and found here a village with about 600 inhabitants. On the west side of the village, there were as many as 40cisterns. Guérin toured the village with the villageSheikh, whom he described as a "tall, young and intelligent" man, whose father was the Sheikh ofBayt Jibrin, and whose uncles were the same inTell es-Safi and'Ajjur.[13]Socin found from an Ottoman village list of about 1870 that Zikrin had 38 houses and a population of 101, though the population count included men, only.[14]Hartmann found that Zikrin had 60 houses.[15]
In 1883, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine described Zikrin as being a stone village with gardens and "numerous"water wells.[1][6]
In 1896 the population of Dikrin was estimated to be about 609 persons.[16]
In the1922 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities,Zekrin had a population of 693, all Muslims,[17] increasing in the1931 census to 726, still all Muslim, in a total of 181 houses.[18]
The modern village had an elementary school and a few shops. The villagers, who wereMuslim, were farmers.[6]
In1945 statistics, it had a population of 960, all Muslims,[4] and a total land area of 17,195 dunams.[3] In 1944/45 15,058dunams (15.058 km2; 5.814 sq mi) of village land was planted withcereals,[6][19] while 63 dunams were built-up (urban) areas.[20]
On 6 August 1948, in the middle of the official Second truce, two squads from the 53rd Battalion of theGivati Brigade raided Zikrin, lobbinggrenades and torching three or four houses. About 10 adult men, two children and one woman were killed in the village, according toIDF sources. The last three were killed accidentally, according to the report, while IDF suffered one soldier "slightly injured."[21]
Zikrin was finally depopulated on 22–23 October 1948 during the third stage ofOperation Yoav under the command ofYigal Allon.[6] According toMorris, most of the villagers fled before the troops arrived, those who remained were expelled eastwards.[22] According to Morris, Yigal Allon was so successful in completely driving out the local population during Operation Yo'av, that the villagers found it almost impossible to "reinfiltrate" to their old villages, as there was no longer any local Arab population to help them resettle. During a military "sweep" of the villages in early 1949, they found most villages empty. In Zikrin it is reported that the troops found "two Arabs" who "managed to escape."[23]
Following the war, the area was incorporated into theState of Israel and the land that had belonged to the village was left undeveloped. KibbutzBeit Nir is about 3 km south of the village site.[6]
The Palestinian historianWalid Khalidi described the village site in 1992 as being "overgrown with tall weeds, scrub, and other wild vegetation, containing several olive and carob trees. Truncated stone terraces, partially overgrown with cactuses, further marked the site. Some of the surrounding lands were cultivated by Israeli farmers for wheat, and the rest was used as rangeland."[6]
