Huj هوج al-Hug, Hojj, Houg | |
|---|---|
 Huj in 1948 | |
| Etymology: Possibly named after the prophet Og[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Huj, Gaza (click the buttons) | |
  Huj Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:31°30′41″N34°37′21″E / 31.51139°N 34.62250°E /31.51139; 34.62250 | |
| Palestine grid | 114/102 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Gaza |
| Date of depopulation | May 31, 1948[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 22.9 km2 (8.8 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 810[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Expulsion byYishuv forces |
| Current Localities | Dorot[5]Havat Shikmim |
Huj (Arabic:هوج) was aPalestinianArab village located 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) northeast ofGaza City. Identified as the site of the ancientPhilistine town of Oga,[6] the modern village was founded by theOttomans in the early 19th century.
Situated in a hilly area on the northern edge of theNegev Desert, it was depopulated during the1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Architectural remains from theIron Age,Persian andHellenistic eras have been found here.[7]
Identified with thePhilistine town of Oga, it is notable for being depicted on the 6th centuryMap of Madaba.[6] Six tombs from theByzantine era have been excavated.[7]
Remains from theUmayyad era have also been found here.[7]
The modern village of Huj was established sometime between 1818 and 1820 byMustafa Bey, theOttoman Governor of Gaza andJaffa. He built a police station to keep the village secure, and offered free land to encourage migration to the site fromGaza from amongst the surroundingBedouin tribes. Huj and its greater vicinity were dominated by the tribes of Jebarat and Wahaideh, the latter of which participated in the 1834 rebellion againstEgyptian rule. The rebellion was suppressed and most of the Wahaideh were killed, imprisoned, or forced to work the lands, while the rest fled the area.
It was later resettled byfellahin fromGaza.[8]
In 1838,Edward Robinson noted it asMuslim village, located in the Gaza district.[9] He further observed that its houses were built ofadobe and that the population ranged from 200 to 300, most of whom made a living through grain cultivation and bread making.[10]
In 1863 the French explorerVictor Guérin visited the village. He described as a village of at most three hundred people. The houses were roughly built with mud bricks. Near thewell, which was very deep, were a few fragments of ancient columns of gray-white marble lying on the ground.[11]
An Ottoman village list from about 1870 found that Huj had a population of 153, in 63 houses, though the population count included men, only.[12][13]
In 1883, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine described it as a "smallmud village on flat ground. It has a well some 200 feet deep. It is named from Nebi Huj".[14]
Huj witnessed battles between Ottoman andBritish forces known as theCharge at Huj in 1917. FollowingGreat Britain's victory and the establishment of theBritish Mandate in Palestine, Huj expanded eastward and to the west. Water was provided by a 200-foot-deep (61 m) well, and by other wells in surrounding riverbeds. The inhabitants cultivated grains, apricots, figs, grapes, and almonds.[5]
In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Huj had a population of 426 inhabitants, all Muslims,[15] increasing in the1931 census to 618, still all Muslims, in 118 houses.[16]
In the1945 statistics the population of Huj was counted with that of the nearby Jewish kibbutzDorot, together they had a population of 810 Muslims and 230 Jews,[2] with a total of 21,988dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[3] Of this, Arabs used 93 dunams for plantations and irrigable land, 16,236 for cereals,[17] while they had 34 dunams as built-up land.[18]
Huj was a village with traditions of friendship with Jews: in 1946, men from theHaganah, being pursued in a crackdown by the British army, were given sanctuary by its inhabitants. Only after the passage ofthe United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in late November 1947 did relations sour and themukhtar and his brother were shot on the charge that they were collaborators.[19][20]
As the Egyptian army advanced from the south a decision was taken towards the end of May 1948 by theNegev Brigade to expel the villagers of Huj from their lands, and on 31 May, their houses were blown up, their assets looted, and they were driven off to theGaza Strip. The heads of three kibbutzim, respectively Farda, Gavri and Frisch fromDorot,Nir-Am andRuhama, later, on August 4, wrote a letter of complaint toBen-Gurion over the treatment that had been meted out to the local Palestinians. While personally he did not intervene and did not condemn what had happened, he expressed a hope that theIDF might listen to their complaint:
"I hope that the HQ will pay attention to what you say, and will avoid such unjust and unjustified actions in the future, and will set right these things in so far as possible with respect to the past."[21]
In September 1948 former villagers of Huj, noting that the area around Huj was quiet, appealed to Israel to allow them back. Members of theMinistry of Minority AffairsBechor-Shalom Sheetrit and Yaakov Shimoni wrote that the inhabitants deserved special treatment as they had been "loyal", and had not fled but were expelled. However, the Israeli defence authorities decided not to allow the villagers back.[20][22]
Havat Shikmim ("Sycamore Ranch") was built on Huj lands and was later purchased byAriel Sharon in 1972.[23] According toIzzeldin Abuelaish the mosque of Huj has been serving as the pen for Sharon's Arabian thoroughbred horses.[24]
In 1992, the village site was described: "Only one dilapidated building remains, a concrete structure with rectangular doors and windows and a flat roof. Its former function is not clear; it now serves as a farm storehouse. One can also identify the remnants of a watering trough. Sycamore trees and cactuses grow on the eastern and western edges of the site. An Israeli sheep farm has also been established on the site."[5]
In 1998,refugees from Huj in Gaza numbered an estimated 5,770 people.[citation needed]
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