Julis جولس | |
|---|---|
| Etymology: personal name[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Julis, Gaza (click the buttons) | |
  Julis Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:31°40′54″N34°39′13″E / 31.68167°N 34.65361°E /31.68167; 34.65361 | |
| Palestine grid | 117/121 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Gaza |
| Date of depopulation | June 11, 1948[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 13,584dunams (13.584 km2; 5.245 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 1,030[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
| Current Localities | Hodaya[5] |
Julis (Arabic:جولس) was aPalestinian Arab village in theGaza Subdistrict, located 26.5 kilometers (16.5 mi) northeast ofGaza on a slight elevation along the southern coastal plain. In 1945, there were 1,030 inhabitants in the village. It was ethnically cleansed during theNakba.[6]
Julis was built on an archaeological site whose ancient name is unknown.[6]Potsherds from theMamluk era have been found in the village.[7]The village had aMaqam (shrine) which was constructed with ancient materials.[8]
Julis was inhabited in the15th century. In 1472–1473 CE, SultanQaitbayendowed it for the benefit of hisJerusalemmadrasa.[9]
A branch of the Jaradat tribe, originating fromSa'ir, settled in Julis.[10]
Julis was incorporated into theOttoman Empire in 1517 with the rest ofPalestine. In first Ottomantax register of 1526/7 the village was unpopulated.[11] By 1596 CE, however, the village had been refounded as part of thenahiya of Gaza, in theLiwa of Gaza. It consisted of 204 persons (37 households), allMuslims. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 33,3 % on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, fruit, beehives, vineyards and goats; a total of 10,400akçe. 6,5/24 of the revenue went to aWaqf.[12]
Marom andTaxel have shown that during the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries, nomadic economic and security pressures led to settlement abandonment around Majdal ‘Asqalān, and the southern coastal plain in general. The population of abandoned villages moved to surviving settlements, while the lands of abandoned settlements continued to be cultivated by neighboring villages. Thus, Julis absorbed the lands of Bardagha, mentioned separately as an inhabited village in the Ottoman tax registers of the 16th century.[9]
In 1838, Julis was noted as a village in the District of Gaza.[13]
In 1863Victor Guérin found the village to be located on a hillock and containing five hundred inhabitants. It had aoualy, dedicated toScheik Mohammed, was internally decorated with two fragments.[14] Guérin further noted that "Severalmarblecolumns are laid across the mouth of thewell, with furniture arranged around it."[15]
An Ottoman village list of about 1870 indicated 101 houses and a population of 307, though the population count included only men.[16][17]
In 1882, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine described Julis as mostly built ofadobe brick structures, and it had awell to the south, and a pool surrounded by gardens to the northeast.[18]
In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities,Jules had a population of 481 Muslims,[19] increasing in the1931 census to 682, still all Muslims, in 165 houses.[20]
The village was laid out in a square, sandwiched between the two highways and bounded at one end by the traffic circle where they intersected. Itsadobe and cement houses were constructed close together. The village had amosque, and a shrine dedicated to Shaykh Khayr. According to local tradition, Khayr was a Muslim soldier killed fighting against theCrusaders. Village shops were scattered along the highway and in 1937 a school was opened; it had an enrollment of 86 students in the mid-1940s. Underground water was abundant in Julis and was used for domestic methods.[6]
DuringWorld War II, the British authorities built a highway that passed through Julis parallel and feeding traffic to the coastal highway. The road also intersected at the village with the highway leading fromal-Majdal (Ashkelon) to theJerusalem–Jaffa highway. This gave the village importance as a transportation center. The British also constructed a military camp in Julis to control the junction.[6]
In the1945 statisticsJulis had a population of 1,030 Muslims,[2] with a total of 13,584dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[3] Of this, 1,360 dunams were used for citrus and bananas, 931 for plantations and irrigable land, 10,803 for cereals,[21] while 30 dunams were built-up land.[22]
In addition to agriculture, residents practicedanimal husbandry which formed was an important source of income for the town. In 1943, they owned 278 heads ofcattle, 346sheep over a year old, 138goats over a year old, 35camels, 5horses, 14mules, 114donkeys, 1010fowls, and 776pigeons.[23]
On May 27–28, 1948, theGivati Brigade's First Battalion captured a military barracks in Julis duringOperation Barak, but failed to gain control of the village itself.Egyptian forces attempted to recapture it almost immediately. According to theHistory of the Haganah, "The defenders of the place [Givati forces] blocked enemy units which tried... to infiltrate the barracks from the direction of the village of Julis." The Haganah account says that Julis was captured on June 11, as the Givati's Third Battalion mounted a number of operations to occupy a number of villages before the first truce of thewar took place. However, inGamal Abdel Nasser's memoirs, he recalled the maneuvers having taken place soon after the truce came into effect.[6]
At the end of the truce, Julis became one of the many main positions the Egyptians failed to recapture. The Egyptian Army's Sixth Battalion which Nasser was chief of staff of, was ordered to take back the position. In later years, Nasser was very critical of the operation's planning, writing "Once again we were a facing a battle for which we had no preparation. We had no information about the enemy at Julis." In the few hours before his unit was to move towards Julis, Nasser organized a quick reconnaissance of the position. During the course of the battle, his commanding officer ordered him to participate in the actual fighting, leaving his unit without direction or coordination. After getting hold of a few aerial photographs of the village, Nasser convinced his commander that "even if we had succeeded in entering Julis... it would have turned into a cemetery for our forces." He argued that Julis was indefensible without the barracks which overlooked it.[6] On July 10, after many Egyptian casualties, the battle was called off. According to the Haganah, the Givati units repulsed an Egyptian attack in which no Israeli soldier was injured. A close colleague of Nasser, Isma'il Mohieddin was killed during the battle.[5]
Following the war the area was incorporated into theState of Israel and themoshav ofHodaya was established on village lands southwest of the village site in 1949. According to Palestinian historianWalid Khalidi, "Only a few houses remain. Most of them are made of cement, and have simple architectural features: flat roofs and rectangular doors and windows. One has two storeys and another has an 'illiyya. (A guest room on the top floor.) One house, in the southwestern section of the site, is occupied by Jewish residents."[5]
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