al-Nahr النهر an-Nahr | |
|---|---|
| Etymology: In 1881, the place was namedKahweh, meaning "the coffee shop"[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-Nahr (click the buttons) | |
  al-Nahr Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:33°00′26″N35°08′29″E / 33.00722°N 35.14139°E /33.00722; 35.14139 | |
| Palestine grid | 163/268 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Acre |
| Date of depopulation | 21 May 1948[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 5,261dunams (5.261 km2; 2.031 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 610[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
| Current Localities | Ben Ami,[5][6]Kabri[6] |
al-Nahr (Arabic:النهر), was aPalestinian village 14 km (8.7 mi) northeast ofAcre. It was depopulated in May 1948 after a military assault carried out by theCarmeli Brigade as part of theIsrael Defense Forces'sOperation Ben-Ami. Immediately after the assault, the village of al-Nahr was razed.[7][8]
The twin villages of al-Nahr and nearbyal-Tall were both sites of ancient settlements atop the tel ofKabri. Recent excavations indicate habitation back to the sixth millennium BC.[9]
In theOttoman period, the village appeared under the name ofEl Qahweh inPierre Jacotin´s map from 1799.[10]In 1875, the French explorerVictor Guérin visited the village, which he calledEl Kahoueh. He found it to have 120 inhabitants, all Muslims.[11]
In 1881 thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine described the village, then namedEl Kahweh, as a "stone village, containing about 250 Moslems, [] situated on the plain, surrounded by figs, olives, mulberries, and pomegranates; there is a spring and flowing stream at this village."[12]
A population list from about 1887 showed thatel Kahweh had 370 inhabitant; allMuslims.[13]
In the1922 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, Al Nahr wa Tal had a population of 422; 3 Bahai, the rest Muslim.[14] In the1931 census, Al-Nahr had 522 Muslim inhabitants, in a total of 120 houses.[15]
In villagers of Al-Nahr lived principally of agriculture and animal husbandry.[16] In the1945 statistics it had a population of 610 Muslims,[2] with 5,261dunams of land.[3] A total of 2,066dunums was used forcitrus andbananas, 1,094 dunums were allotted tocereals, 1,937 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards, of which 30 dunums were planted inolive trees,[2][16][17] while 28 dunams were built-up land.[2][18]
On March 27, 1948, hundreds of armed villagers and units of theArab Liberation Army attacked a Jewish convoy nearKabri, killing forty-nineJews. Six Arabs were also killed in the battle. Two months later the commander ofOperation Ben-Ami gave operational orders given that day were to "attack with the aim of capturing, the villages of Kabri,Umm al Faraj and Al-Nahr, to kill the men [and] to destroy and set fire to the villages."[8][19] Benvenisti states that "the orders were carried out to the letter", while Morris writes that a number of villagers were apparently executed.[8][20]
Following the war the area was incorporated into theState of Israel. Thekibbutz ofKabri was founded the following year and uses land that had belonged to al-Nahr.[16] ThemoshavBen Ami, named after the fallen commander of an attack on nearbyNahariyya, was also established on the village's land.[16] In 1992, the village site was described as "Only two houses remain, and one of them is partially destroyed. A tall date-palm tree grows on the village site, which is overgrown by wild grasses, a few cactuses, and fig trees. Thecemetery, on the western side of the village contains one identifiable grave. The nearby Fawwara spring has been fenced in and declared private property."[16]
