Al-Ruways الرويس al-Ruweis | |
|---|---|
Former village | |
| Etymology: "The little hilltop", or "headland"[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-Ruways (click the buttons) | |
  Al-Ruways Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:32°51′50″N35°10′41″E / 32.86389°N 35.17806°E /32.86389; 35.17806 | |
| Palestine grid | 167/252 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Acre |
| Date of depopulation | July 15–16, 1948[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,163dunams (1.163 km2; 0.449 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 330[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
Al-Ruways (Arabic:الرويس), was aPalestinianArab village on a rocky hill located 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) southeast ofAcre and south of the village ofal-Damun. Its population in 1945 was 330. Al-Ruways was depopulated following its capture by Israeli forces during the1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Al-Ruways stood on the site of theCrusader town ofCareblier,[5] which was also referred to by the Crusaders asRoeis.[6] In 1220,Beatrix de Courtenay and her husband CountOtto von Botenlauben,Henneberg, sold their land, including Roeis’, to theTeutonic Knights.[7] However, they appeared not to have sole ownership, as in 1253John Aleman,Lord of Caesarea, sold several villages, including Roeis, to theKnights Hospitaller.[8] In 1266, a Crusader vanguard returning from a raid inTiberias to Acre was ambushed at Roeis byMamluk forces based inSafad.[9] In 1283 it was mentioned as part of the domain of the Crusaders in thehudna (truce) between the Acre-based Crusaders and the Mamluk sultanal-Mansur Qalawun.[10]
Based on tradition, the people of the village professed to have blood relations withHusam ad-Din Abu al-Hija. Hussam ad-Din was a high-ranking officer in theAyyubid army of SultanSaladin.[11]
French explorerVictor Guérin visited al-Ruways in 1875, and noted that the village contained "150 people at most, whose homes are located on a hill, amid gardens filled with fig, pomegranate and olive trees, and here and there are palm trees".[12]
In 1881, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine described al-Ruways as being situated on open ground with olive groves to the north of the village. Its population of 400 was entirelyMuslim.[13]
A population list from about 1887 showed thatRuweis had about 190 inhabitants; all Muslims.[14]
Under theBritish Mandate of Palestine in the early twentieth century, al-Ruways was one of the smallest villages in theDistrict of Acre. In the1922 census Al-Ruways had a population of 154; all Muslims,[15] increasing in the1931 census to 217, still all Muslim, in a total of 44 houses.[16] and consisting of two quarters.
The village had amosque. Its children attended school in nearbyal-Damun. The inhabitants' drinking water came from domestic wells, and they primarily grew wheat, corn, sesame, watermelons, and olives.[5]
In the1945 statistics the population of al-Ruways was 330 Muslims,[2] who owned 1,163dunams of land according to an official land and population survey.[3] 222 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 844 used for cereals,[17] while built-up areas consisted of 15 dunams.[18]
On 18 July 1948, two days afterNazareth was occupied byIsrael'sSeventh Armored Brigade inOperation Dekel, some units advanced into the Western Galilee and captured a number of Arab villages, one of which was al-Ruways. The inhabitants fled after bombardment and the fall of major towns in the vicinity, namelyShefa-'Amr and Nazareth.[19][20] Following the war the area was incorporated into theState of Israel. According to Palestinian historianWalid Khalidi, "the site is deserted. The debris of old wells and cement roofs is strewn of over the site, which is otherwise covered by a forest of eucalyptus trees and cactus."[19] By 1992 there were no villages on al-Ruways land, but the surrounding area was cultivated by residents ofkibbutzYas'ur.[19]
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