Bayt Daras بيت دراس | |
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 Old structure from Bayt Daras, presently inAzrikam | |
| Etymology: "The house of treading corn"[3] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Bayt Daras (click the buttons) | |
  Bayt Daras Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:31°43′24″N34°40′58″E / 31.72333°N 34.68278°E /31.72333; 34.68278 | |
| Palestine grid | 120/125 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Gaza |
| Date of depopulation | May 11, 1948[6] |
| Area | |
• Total | 16,357dunams (16.357 km2; 6.315 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 2,750[4][5] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
| Current Localities | Giv'ati[7][8]Emunim[8]Azrikam[8] |
Bayt Daras (Arabic:بيت دراس) was aPalestinian Arab town located 46 kilometers (29 mi) northeast ofGaza[9][10] and approximately 50 meters (160 ft) above sea level. The village was depopulated and destroyed during the1948 Palestine war, as part of the1948 Palestinian expulsion and theNakba.[8]
A grave, dating to theHellenistic era, probably from the first half of the third century BCE, have been found and excavated at the site.[11]
Bayt Daras was an archaeological site that contained stone foundations and vaulted rooms. TheCrusaders built a castle on the hill that overlooked the village.[8][12][13] Church endowments and land deeds mention it as Betheras.[14] During theMamluk rule inPalestine, (1205-1517), Bayt Daras formed part of amail route fromCairo toDamascus. In this period, in 1325, akhan, orcaravanserai, was built in the village.[1][8]
Bayt Daras was one of twin villages carrying this name, inhabited in the15th century. In 1459,Mamluk records mention Bayt Daras al-Surgha (Lesser Bayt Daras)'s endowment as awaqf.[14]
In 1517, Bayt Daras was incorporated into theOttoman Empire with the rest ofPalestine. In first Ottomantax register of 1526/7 the village had a population of 22Muslim households, and it belonged to thenahiya (subdistrict) of Gaza (Gaza Sanjak).[15] In 1596 the village also appeared as being in thenahiya ofGaza under theLiwa of Gaza, with a population of 58Muslim households; an estimated 319 persons. It paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on a number of crops, includingwheat andbarley, as well as on goats, beehives and vineyards; a total of 7,900akçe. 1/24 of the revenue went to awaqf.[16]
During the17th and18th centuries, the area of Bayt Daras experienced a significant process of settlement decline due tonomadic pressures on local communities. The residents of abandoned villages moved to surviving settlements, but the land continued to be cultivated by neighboring villages.[17]
In 1838,Beit Daras was noted as a Muslim village in the Gaza district.[18][19]
French explorerVictor Guérin visited the village in 1863, and found it to have 700 inhabitants.[20] In the 1882PEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine (SWP), the village of Bayt Daras was described as being surrounded by gardens andolive groves, and it was bordered to the north by a pond.[21]
In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, Bait Daras had a population of 1,670 Muslims,[22] increasing in the1931 census of Palestine, to 1,804, still all Muslim, in 401 inhabited houses.[23]
In the1945 statistics Beit Daras had a population of 2,750 Muslims,[4] with 16,357dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[5] Of this, 832 dunams were allocated to citrus and banana plants, 472 plantations and irrigable land, 14,436 used for cereals,[24] while 88 dunams were built-up land.[25] One quarter of the land was owned by a single family, one of whose survivors still has their title deeds in her keeping in a Khan Younis refugee camp.[26][27] A school was established there in 1921 and in its first year had 234 students enrolled, taught by 5 teachers in six classes.[28]
In addition to agriculture, residents practicedanimal husbandry which formed was an important source of income for the town. In 1943, they owned 653 heads ofcattle, 489sheep over a year old, 103goats over a year old, 35camels, 10horses, 18mules, 299donkeys, 6307fowls, 2454pigeons, and 23pigs.[29]
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According to Palestinian accounts, Beit Daras villagers lived peacefully with residents ofTabiyya, a walledkubaniya (Jewish colony) on its borders. Jews brought their produce, spoke the dialect fluently and their local doctor, Tsemeh, would care for Beit Daras' sick people when called on for assistance. The only anomaly was the occasional sound of gunfire practice in Tabiyya which soldiers from the British army appeared to be training their neighbours in the use of arms. Occasionally British soldiers on horseback made harassing forays into Beit Daras.[30]
According toRamzy Baroud, Beit Daras began to be subjected to heavy shelling on March 27–28, 1948, during which nine villagers died and much of the crops were destroyed.[31][32]
The village was subject to an Israeli offensive military assault four times.[33] It was defended by theSudanese Army and a number of local militiamen and, The objective of thePalmach's operational plan, 'Operation Lightning' (Mivtza Barak) was to compel the Arab inhabitants of the area to 'move' and by striking one or more population centres to cause an exodus, which was foreseen given the wave of panic that was sweeping Arab communities after theDeir Yassin massacre.[31] Bayt Daras was targeted to be surrounded, to have the villagers surrender and hand over their arms, and if this order was resisted, it was to be mortared, stormed and 'dealt with in the manner ofscorched earth'.
The village was attacked and captured on May 11, 1948 by theGivati Brigade duringOperation Barak, just prior to the outbreak of the1948 Arab–Israeli War.[34] The village suffered some 50 casualties, and many houses were then blown up, and wells and granaries sabotaged.[35] Bayt Daras had a population of 3,190 living in 709 houses in 1948. In Baroud's account, a massacre took place as people fled the village.[31]
According to the memoirs ofGamal Abdel Nasser, the empty village was reoccupied by Sudanese forces in June, but they left after a signaling error caused them to be shelled by their own side.[36]
Structures in the village were made of stone foundations with vaulted rooms. There were also two elementary schools and two mosques, all of which were demolished after its capture.
Following the war the area was incorporated into theState of Israel. In 1950 themoshav ofGiv'ati was built on the site of the village, with two other moshavim,Azrikam,Emunim, established on land that had belonged to Bayt Daras.[8] Later in the 1950s a farm calledZemorot was built on Khirbat Awda, which had also belonged to Bayt Daras.[37]
In 1992 the village site was described: "The only remain of village buildings are the foundations of one house and some scattered rubble. The site is overgrown with wild vegetation interspersed by cactuses and eucalyptus trees. At least one of the streets is clearly recognisable. The surrounding fields are cultivated by the settlements."[37]
A woman'sthob (loose fitting robe with sleeves) dated to about 1930 from the village of Beit Daras is part of theMuseum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) collection atSanta Fe. The dress fabric is calledabu hizz ahmar (black cotton ground with purple, orange and green stipes of cotton and silk), fromMajdal. The only embroidery on the front is below the neck opening. The back panel has three horizontal bands of embroidery, and a local version of thekhem-el-basha ("the pashas tent") motif along the hem.[38]
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