Al-Hamma الحمّة El Hamma, El Hammé | |
|---|---|
![Former railway station of Al-Hamma, with a sign in Arabic reading "al-Hama".[1]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aPikiWiki_Israel_13901_Turkish_railway_station_at_Hamat_Gader.JPG) Former railway station of Al-Hamma, with a sign in Arabic reading "al-Hama".[1] | |
  Al-Hamma | |
| Coordinates:32°41′10″N35°39′51″E / 32.68611°N 35.66417°E /32.68611; 35.66417 | |
| Palestine grid | 212/232 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Tiberias |
| Date of depopulation | July 1949 |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,692dunams (1.692 km2; 0.653 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 290[2][3][4] |
| Current Localities | Hamat Gader |
Al-Hamma (Arabic:الحمّة) was aPalestinian Arab village in theTiberias Subdistrict, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) southeast ofTiberias. It was situated on a narrowsalient in theYarmouk Valley bounded by Syria to the north and Transjordan to the south and east. Al-Hamma was one of the stations on theJezreel Valley railway, linking theHejaz Railway toHaifa.[4] It wasdepopulated twice, once in July 1949, and again between 1949 and 1956.
The name indicates the presence of hot water springs, ashammah isArabic for "hot spring".[7][8]
During theRoman Empire it was known as Emmatha. During this period, Al-Hamma belonged to the district ofGadara.[4]
Recent excavations have revealed a largeUmayyad public building comprising several rooms withmosaic floors, set with red, black and whitetesserae. The building seems to have been destroyed by the749 Golan earthquake, but was rebuilt and used until finally abandoned after theearthquake of 1033.[9]
Al-Hamma appeared inOttomantax registers compiled in 1596 under the name ofHammat Jur, in theNahiyas of Gawr, of theLiwa ofAjloun. It was indicated as empty (hali), though taxes were paid on awatermill, in addition to a fixed sum.[10]
In 1875, the French explorerVictor Guérin visited the village.[11]
In 1905, the Jezreel Valley railway opened, linking Haifa viaSamakh and Al-Hamma to theHejaz Railway atDaraa.
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In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities,Samakh and Al-Hamma were counted together, reaching a total population of 976. Of these, 922 wereMuslims, 28Jews, 1Baháʼí and 25Christians;[12] where the Christians were 6 Orthodox, 1 Roman Catholic, 2 Melkite, 11 Armenian and 5 Anglican.[13] At the time of the1931 census, the village had 46 occupied houses and a population of 170 Muslims, 1 Jew and 1 Christian.[14]
In 1936, a Lebanese businessman, Sulayman Nasif, was given a concession to develop the local springs, which became a popular place to visit, both for local Palestinians and other Arabs.[15] In the1945 statistics, the village had a population of 290 Muslims,[2][3][15] who cultivated a total of 1,105dunums of land.[5][15] The villagers were mostlyMuslim and Al-Hamma had a large mosque with a fountain in the front courtyard.[15]
During the early part of the1948 Palestine war, some Palestinian inhabitants ofTiberias fled to Al-Hamma during the unrest in March and April that year. A local leader from Tiberias, Sidqi al Tabari, made "desperate efforts" (according to Israeli sources) to bring the citizens back. The people who had fled to al-Hamma from Tiberias were "ordered back and, in fact, returned".[16]
According toMorris, many villagers in the area had fled or been expelled toSyria during April and early May 1948. However, on 16 May, the villages came under Syrian control and many inhabitants returned.[17] After the war, according to thearmistice agreements of 1949 between Israel and Syria, it was determined that a string of villages, including Al-Hamma,Nuqeib,Al-Samra in theTiberias Subdistrict, as well asKirad al-Baqqara andKirad al-Ghannama further north in theSafad Subdistrict, would be included thedemilitarized zone (DMZ) between Israel andSyria. The villagers and their property were formally protected by Article V of the Israeli-Syrian agreement of 20 July that year.[17][18] However, Israel wanted the 2,200Palestinian inhabitants moved to Syria.[17] The Israeli militarythought that the inhabitants of the DMZ remained loyal to Syria and they suspected them of helping Syrian intelligence. Local Jewish settlers and law enforcement suspected the villagers of petty crimes.[19] Morris also notes that Israeli settlers and settlement agencies coveted the land of the local Palestinian Arabs.[20]
Until 1951, Israel had never patrolled or occupied al-Hamma. However, in the spring of that year, Israel decided to assert its claimed sovereignty over the village.[21] On 4 April that year, theIDFGeneral Staff (ignoring protests from theNorthern Command) sent two patrol vehicles towards the village.[21][22] Since Israel was not allowed to have soldiers in the DMZ, the patrol was disguised as policemen.[23] In what became known as theAl-Hamma Incident, seven Israeli soldiers were killed by the Syrians. The following day, four Israeli planes bombed the police station at Al-Hamma and a Syrian position at Al-Hadid. Two women were killed, and six people reported injured.[22] According toWalid Khalidi,Israel then decided to "drive the villagers out", and proceeded to do so during 1949–1956. He described the village site in 1992:
The site has been converted into an Israeli tourist park (Hamat Gader), with parking facilities, swimming pools, and a small fishing pond. The deserted mosque still stands, and its minaret and marble columns are intact. Five buildings east of the village site are built of blackbasalt. The railroad station still exist and the name of the village is inscribed on its entrance. There are three more deserted buildings next to the station, as well as the remains of destroyed houses.[4][15]
The area of al-Hamma is mentioned in the article 24 of the Palestinian national covenant in its 1964 version (al-mithaq al-qawmi al-Filastini), together with the West Bank and the Gaza strip.
