Iraq Suwaydan عراق سويدان Iraq al-Suweidan | |
|---|---|
 View of Iraq Suwaydan village from Israeli machine gun position, November 1948 | |
| Etymology: "The cavern of Suweidan"[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Iraq Suwaydan (click the buttons) | |
  Iraq Suwaydan Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:31°38′55″N34°41′34″E / 31.64861°N 34.69278°E /31.64861; 34.69278 | |
| Palestine grid | 121/117 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Gaza |
| Date of depopulation | 8 July 1948[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 7,529dunams (7.529 km2; 2.907 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 660[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
| Current Localities | Yad Natan,[5]Otzem,[5]Sde Yoav[5] |
'Iraq Suwaydan (Arabic:عراق سويدان,Hebrew:עיראק סווידאן) was aPalestinianArab village located 27 km (17 mi) northeast ofGaza City. It was captured by Israeli forces inOperation Yoav against the defendingEgyptian Army during the1948 Arab-Israeli War. The village infrastructure, with the exception of thepolice station built by the British Mandate authorities, was destroyed.
Archaeological excavations have found remains from the earlyRoman,Byzantine andUmayyad periods.[6]
Iraq Suwaydan, like all ofPalestine was incorporated into theOttoman Empire in 1517. In the 1596tax registers, Iraq Suwaydan was listed as an entirelyMuslim village called "Iraq", located in thenahiya ofGazza, part ofGaza Sanjak, with a population of 45 families and 16 bachelors. The inhabitants paid a fixed tax rate of 33.3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, vineyards, fruit trees, sesame, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 5,000akçe. 1/4 of the revenue went to aWaqf.[7]
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the area of 'Iraq Suwaydan 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.[8]
In 1838Edward Robinson noted it on his travels in the area,[9]as a Muslim village in the Gaza district.[10]
Socin found from an official Ottoman village list from about 1870 thatArak es-Sudan counted 29 houses and a population of 112, though the population count included men only.[11]Hartmann found that the village had 94 houses.[12]
In 1883, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine described it as a moderate-sized village situated on a plain.[13]
In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, 'Eraq el-Suaiden had a population of 349 Muslims,[14]increasing in the1931 census to 440, still all Muslims, in 81 houses.[15]
In 1942, the villagers established an elementary school and in 1947 shared its facilities with the children of the neighboring villages,Ibdis andBayt 'Affa. There were 104 students in the mid-1940s.[5] The main crop was grain, with somealmond trees and grapes.[5]
In the1945 statistics 'Iraq Suweidan had a population of 660, all Muslims,[2] with a total of 7,529 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[3] Of this, 9 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 7,329 for cereals,[16]while 35 dunams were built-up land.[17]
On 12 May 1948, the British authorities withdrew, handing over the police fort to the Egyptian army, which then garrisoned it.[18]The fort controlled the road betweenal-Majdal andBayt Jibrin as well as the main road to theNegev. The village was captured and destroyed duringOperation Yoav. Eight Israeli attempts to capture the fort failed. It finally fell on 9 November 1948 after a massive bombardment including air strikes byB-17 Flying Fortress aircraft.[5]
Following the war the area was incorporated into theState of Israel. In 1953 themoshav ofYad Natan was founded east of Iraq Suwaydan on village lands. In 1955 another moshav namedOtzem was established on village lands to the southeast and in 1956,kibbutzSde Yoav was established west of the site, close to village land.[5]
In 1992, remains of houses could be seen in a eucalyptus grove that the Palestinian historianWalid Khalidi identified as the center of the village, along with cacti and remnants of a pool. Two roads, one passing through the village and the other leading to fields, were recognizable. The British police station, renamed Metzudat Yo'av, was still in use and the surrounding lands were cultivated by Israeli farmers.[5]
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)
