Al-Kafrayn الكفرين Kafrin, al-[1] | |
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Village | |
 Children of Al-Kafrayn, around 1937 | |
| Etymology: "The two villages"[2] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Al-Kafrayn (click the buttons) | |
  Al-Kafrayn Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:32°34′25″N35°07′08″E / 32.57361°N 35.11889°E /32.57361; 35.11889 | |
| Palestine grid | 161/219 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Haifa |
| Date of depopulation | 12–13 April 1948[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 10,882 dunams (10.882 km2 or 4.202 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 920[3][4] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
Al-Kafrayn (Arabic:الكفرين) was aPalestinian village in theHaifa Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on 12 April 1948 as part of theBattle of Mishmar HaEmek. It was located 29.5 km southeast ofHaifa.
Archaeological discoveries spanning from theIron Age to the post-Islamic period have been unearthed at the site.[5] That includes an ancient stone bowl with an inscription inHebrew, using theJewish script, was found. The inscription bears the placename "Geva", possibly referring to the ancient city ofGaba/Geva, located 5 kilometers away. This name was also discovered on two objects at the site of the ancient city.[5]
TheCrusaders referred to al-Kafrayn asCaforana.[6]
During the 19th and first half of the 20th century, al-Kafryan was one of the settlements in the margins of the so-called "Fahmawi Commonwealth" established byHebronite clans belonging toUmm al-Fahm. The Commonwealth consisted of a network of interspersedcommunities connected by ties ofkinship, and socially, economically and politically affiliated with Umm al Fahm. The Commonwealth dominated vast sections ofBilad al-Ruha/Ramot Menashe,Wadi 'Ara andMarj Ibn 'Amir/Jezreel Valley during that time.[7]
In 1859,Kefrein was estimated to have a population of 200, who cultivated 30feddans.[8]
In 1882, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine described it as "a village of moderate size, on the west side of the watershed, with a spring on that side."[8] A population list from about 1887 showed thatKefrein had about 485 inhabitants, allMuslim.[9]
In the1922 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities,Al Kufrain had a population 571; 569 Muslims,[10] and 2 Orthodox Christians,[11] increasing in the1931 census to 657, all Muslims, in a total of 95 houses.[12]
In the1945 statistics, the village had a population of 920 Muslims,[3]and the total land area was 10,882 dunams.[4] Of the land, 147 dunams was for plantations and irrigable land, 9,776dunums (2,416acres) for cereals,[13] while 18 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[14]
Al-Kafrayn became depopulated in April 1948 after military assault byYishuv forces.[1]11–12 April 1948, the same day it was occupied, the Yishuv forces blew up some 30 of Kafrayns houses.[15][16]
On 19 April 1948, thePalmach held an exercise in al-Kafrayn and afterwards they blew up the rest of the village.[17][18]
Most of the villagers ended up in tent homes in theJenin area, appealing to theArab Higher Committee (AHC): "Thousands of poor women and children from the villages ofAbu Zureiq andMansi and Ghubayya and Kafrin and other places near the colony ofMishmar Ha‘emek, whose houses the Jews have destroyed and whose babies and old people [the Jews] have killed, are now in the villages around Jenin without help and dying of hunger. We ask you to repair the situation ... and do everything to quickly send forces of vengeance against the Jews and restore us to our lands."[19]
Following the war the area was incorporated into theState of Israel. An Israeli military training camp was later built on the village's land.[6]
In 1992, the remains were described: "The site and its surrounding area are divided between a military training camp and a cow pasture. A rubble-filled has been fenced in and is covered with dirt, underbrush and thorns. Almond, olive and fig trees are scattered around the site."[6]
Authority control databases: National |
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