'Arab Sukrir عرب سكرير | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Arab Suqrir (click the buttons) | |
  'Arab Sukrir Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:31°49′31″N34°39′28″E / 31.82528°N 34.65778°E /31.82528; 34.65778 | |
| Palestine grid | 121/136 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Gaza |
| Date of depopulation | 25 May 1948[5] |
| Area | |
• Total | 40,224dunams (40.224 km2; 15.531 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 390[3][4] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
| Current Localities | Bnei Darom[6]Netivot[7]Nir Galim,[1][8]Ashdod[1] |
'Arab Sukrir (Arabic:عرب سكرير) was aPalestinianArab village in theGaza Subdistrict, located 38 kilometers (24 mi) northeast ofGaza in a flat area with an elevation of 25 meters (82 ft) along the coastal plain just north ofIsdud. The total land area of the village was 40,224dunams, of which 12,270 wasArab-owned, while the remainder was public property. In 1931, it had a population of 530, decreasing to 390 in 1945. It was destroyed and depopulated during the1948 Arab-Israeli War.[1]
The latter part of the town's name, 'Arab Sukrir could have derived from theCanaanite name of the site, "Shakrun".[1]
Al-Maqrizi mentions Sukrir as a place that the new amirLajin passed through on his return to Egypt, after the defeat of his rival the sultanKitbagha in 1296 C.E[9]
Under theOttoman Empire, in 1596, it was under the administration of thenahiya of Gaza, part of theLiwa of Gaza. With a population of 55 (10 households), allMuslims. The villagers paid taxes on wheat, barley,sesame, beehives, and goats; a total of 2,000Akçe.[10] The original inhabitants of the village wereMuslimBedouins who gradually settled on the site, built stone houses, and became farmers.[1]
Arab Sukrir was mainly inhabited theBedouintribe of'Arab al-Malaliha (عرب الملالحة). These nomadic people, who inhabited the sanddunes, depended onlivestock,transportation, and basicagriculture for survival. Due to their transient lifestyle and modest material possessions, their presence has left only faint marks in thearchaeological record.[11]
Socin found from an official Ottoman village list from about 1870 showed that the place (calledAbu Suweirih) had 41 houses and a population of 105, though the population count included men, only.[12]Hartmann disagreed both about the number of houses, and the identification.[13] Excavations at the site, today called Tel Mor, revealed traces of Late Ottomaninfantjar-burials, commonly associated withnomads oritinerant workers ofEgyptian origins.[14]
In the1931 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities,Abu Sweirah had a population of 530 Muslims.[2]
In the1945 statistics the population of Arab Sukrir consisted of 390 Muslims[3] and the land area was 40,224dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[4] Of this, 583 dunams were designated for citrus and bananas, 489 for plantations and irrigable land, 15,538 for cereals,[15] while 966 dunams were non-cultivable.[16]
On January 11, 1948, 'Arab Sukrir was subject to the firstHaganah operational proposal to level a village. An intelligence report reveals an official recommendation that "The village should be destroyed and some males from the same village should be murdered."[17] According toIsraeli historianBenny Morris, the report was issued as a result of the killing of eleven Haganah scouts outside patrol atGan Yavne by militiamen from 'Arab Sukrir on January 9. The recommendation of leveling the village was endorsed by Haganah intelligence director Ziama Divon who said "the Arabs in the area expect a reprisal... A lack of response on our part will be interpreted as a sign of weakness."[17]
According to Palestinian historianWalid Khalidi, press accounts at the time told a different story.The New York Times quoted police sources saying that a party ofJews from nearbyYavne attacked "Wadi Sukrayr" with gunfire on January 9, adding that police arrived and counterattacked, resulting in the deaths of eightArabs and twelve Jews. TheJaffa-based newspaperFilastin also reported an attack on the village on January 9.[18]
On January 20, the official order was issued with directives to "... Destroy the well... destroy the village completely, kill all the adult males, and destroy the reinforcements that arrive." However, when the operation was carried out on January 25, the women and children had already evacuated a few days prior and the roughly 30 men who had remained to guard the village after hearing of the approach by the Haganah. Morris writes that the Israelis destroyed the houses, two trucks, and the nearby well, citing a report that said "The village, apart from a few relics, no longer exists."[17] TheAssociated Press reported that the Haganah bombed fifteen or twenty houses in an Arab village nearYibna, but gave no casualty figures and quoted informants that the bombing were in retaliation for attacks on Jewish convoys.[1]
The inhabitants of 'Arab Sukrir were angry that "no village dared to come to their help and they asked how could the Arabs fight this way." Some villagers returned to the site soon after its destruction and finally left at the end of March. The village came under the control ofIsrael by the Haganah'sGivati Brigade around May 10, 1948, at the start ofOperation Barak, but the village was not physically destroyed until August 24–25 in Operation Nikayon.[1] Following the war the area was incorporated into theState of Israel.
Khalidi wrote that the village remains consist of "overgrown weeds, a few cactuses, and trees. Two houses remain standing. One of them is in a citrus grove and has a concrete frame and cinder block walls. On the top of the flat roof is anilliya." Two Jewish towns are currently located on the former land of 'Arab Sukrir:Nir Galim was established in 1949 andAshdod was established in 1955.[1]
According to Petersen, the village site is today located in the centre of theBnei Darommoshav, with the remains of akhan located in a wooded park next to the water tower of the moshav.[6] The khan ruins were first described byVictor Guérin, who inspected them in 1863, and who wrote the following description:
This ruin is that of a Khan, now overthrown. It is 60paces long by 37 broad. It contains acistern and a small vaulted magazine, as yet not destroyed. Below thehillock covered by its ruins I remarked on the east a reservoir andviaduct, a well partly fallen in, but well built. A canal, traces of which are alone visible, carried the water of the reservoir to afountain, now demolished, and situated in the plain near the road[6][19]
Clermont-Ganneau visited the place in 1873, and gave a very similar description, with the addition: "this must have been the site of some ancient "manzel", or posting-house, on the Arab route fromSyria toEgypt.[20]
The site was registered as "an ancient monument" during theBritish Mandate of Palestine-period, although the owners were permitted to build a reservoir 20m square within the khan.[21]
Petersen, inspecting the place in 1994, found the place in much the same condition as during the British mandate period, except that the reservoir from the Mandate time is now replaced with a water-tower. Petersen described the remains as comprising a nearly 40 m-long wall, running north–south, with an entrance near the north end. Abarrel-vaulted chamber, with an interior measuring 8.3 m long and 3.8 m wide, is located inside the khan, just south of the entrance.[22]
In 2002. excavations inBnei Darom found major remains from theMamluk period.[23]
