Al-Jammasin al-Sharqi الجمْاسين الشرقي | |
|---|---|
Village | |
| Etymology: The eastern buffalo breeders[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Al-Jammasin al-Sharqi (click the buttons) | |
  Al-Jammasin al-Sharqi Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:32°05′54″N34°49′44″E / 32.09833°N 34.82889°E /32.09833; 34.82889 | |
| Palestine grid | 134/166 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Jaffa |
| Date of depopulation | March 17, 1948[4] |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 730[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Fear of being caught up in the fighting |
Al-Jammasin al-Sharqi was aPalestinian Arab village in theJaffa Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the1948 Palestine War on March 17, 1948. It was located 9 km northeast ofJaffa.
The name refers to the Jammasintribe, aplural form of theArabic word "jammas", meaning awater buffalo grower. Al-Sharqi is anadjective which means "the eastern", pertaining to the eastern part of the tribe.[5]
Al-Jammasin's inhabitants were known to be descendants of nomads from theJordan Valley.[1] In 1596, a Jammasin (Masra'at Hasana) tribe appear in theOttomancensus, located in theNahiya of Bani Sa'b of theLiwa ofNablus, paying taxes on goats, beehives and water buffalos.Khalidi writes that judging from the absence of taxes on any crops, thisMasra'at (farm) probably specialised in short-distance herding and semi-nomadic tasks.[6] The tribe was known to have settled in the area by the 18th century.[1]
In the1922 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, the tribal area of Jammasin had a population of 200Muslims,[7] while in the1931 censusJammasin esh-Sharqiya had 395 Muslim inhabitants.[8]
In the 1945 statistics the population of Al-Jammasin al-Sharqi consisted of 730 Muslims[2] and the land area was 358dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[3] Of this land, Arabs used 53 dunams for citrus and bananas, 193 for plantations and irrigable land, 40 for cereals,[9] while a total of 18 dunams were non-cultivable areas.[10]
The children attended school onAl-Shaykh Muwannis.[1]
In December, 1947, Jewish agents reported that Arabs were leaving the Al-Jammasin villages.[11] In December 1947 and January 1948 the leaders ofal-Shaykh Muwannis,Al-Mas'udiyya, Al-Jammasin al-Sharqi/Al-Jammasin al-Gharbi, and themukhtars ofIjlil al-Qibliyya,Ijlil al-Shamaliyya andAbu Kishk met withHaganah representatives inPetah Tikva. These villages wanted peace, and promised not to harbor anyArab Liberation Armies or local Arab Militia. They further promised that, in the case they were not able to keep them out alone, they were to call on Haganah for help.[12] The Jammasin villages, together with Abu Kishk, also jointly approached a Jewish police officer atRamat Gan.[13]
