Karatiyya كرتيا Karatayya, Karatiya, Qaratiyya | |
|---|---|
| Etymology: "Thick, tangled grass" (possibly)[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Karatiyya (click the buttons) | |
  Karatiyya Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:31°38′37″N34°43′33″E / 31.64361°N 34.72583°E /31.64361; 34.72583 | |
| Palestine grid | 124/116 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Gaza |
| Date of depopulation | 17–18 July 1948[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 13,709dunams (13.709 km2; 5.293 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 1,370[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
| Current Localities | Komemiyut,[5]Revaha,[5]Nehora[5] |
Karatiyya (Arabic:كرتيا) was aPalestinian Arab village of 1,370, located 29 kilometers (18 mi) northeast ofGaza, situated in a flat area with an elevation of 100 meters (330 ft) along the coastal plain ofPalestine and crossed by Wadi al-Mufrid.[6]
Byzantine ceramics have been found here.[7]
In the 12th century, a castle calledGalatie was built on the village site by theCrusaders, it was subsequently captured by theAyyubids underSaladin in 1187,[6] and destroyed in September 1191.[8]
The place calledKulat el Fenish by the village was apparently once a church. The remains were seen in 1875: "The tower on the mound is called Kulat el Fenish. It is a solid block of masonry, standing some 20 or 30 feet in height. Near it lie shafts and bases of white marble, and an elaboratecornice, well and deeply cut. There is also afont, like that atBeit 'Auwa (Sheet XXI.), formed by four intersecting circles, and measuring 37 feet along the diameter, and 2 feet high."[10][11]
In 1226,Arab geographerYaqut al-Hamawi writes of the village under Ayyubid rule as "Karatayya" as "a town nearBait Jibrin, in theProvince of Filastin. It belongs toJerusalem."[12]
TheMamluk sultanal-Nasir ibn Qalawun camped in Karatayya in 1299 on his way to fight theMongols.[13] 14th-century Arab geographerAl-Dimashqi reports that at times it was a part of Mamlakat Ghazzah ("Kingdom of Gaza").[14]
Karatiyya was incorporated into theOttoman Empire in 1517 with the rest ofPalestine, and by the 1596tax records it was namedKarta, a village in thenahiya of Gaza, part ofSanjak of Gaza. It had a population of 46Muslim households, an estimated 253 persons. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33.3% on various agricultural products, including wheat, barley, fruit, vineyards, beehives, and goats; a total of 5,830akçe.[15]
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the area of Karatiyya 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.[16]
In 1838Edward Robinson noted it asKuratiyeh, a Muslim village in the Gaza district.[17] He further noted a ruined tower of "modern" date, built partly of (adobe) bricks; and a few ancientcolumns lying about.[18]
In 1863Victor Guérin found it to be a small village with many houses demolished. To the north of this hamlet, on a nearby hill, were huge sections of walls and the remains of a square tower, three-quarters destroyed, called "El-Kala'", or "the Castle". South of the village was amaqām, decorated with two ancient grey-white marble columns.[19] An Ottoman village list of about 1870 indicated 73 houses and a population of 196, though the population count included men, only.[20][21]
In the 19th century, a ruined tower stood atop a mound just outside the village which was built in an open plain.[22][18]
During theBritish Mandate of Palestine period in the 20th century, the village houses were built ofadobe brick and it relied on the nearby town ofal-Faluja for medical, commercial, and administrative services. Karatiyya itself, had a mosque, a grain mill, and an elementary school—the latter was built in 1922 and had an enrollment of 128 students in the mid-1940s. Domestic water was supplied by twowells dug within the village and the primary agricultural crops were grain and prickly pears.[6]
In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Karatiya had a population of 736 Muslims,[23] increasing in the1931 census to 932, still all Muslims, in 229 houses.[24]
In the1945 statistics Karatiyya had a population of 1,370 Muslims,[2] with a total of 13,709dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[3] Of this, 321 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 12,928 for cereals,[25] while 48 dunams were built-up land.[26]
As a part of a new policy theHaganah blew up a house in Karatiyya on the night of December 9, 1947,[27] the orders to theGivati Brigade who executed the order[28] had been for "two houses".[29]
Karatiyya was captured by theIsraeli Army's89th Mechanized Battalion, commanderMoshe Dayan, on July 18, 1948, as part ofOperation Death to the Invader. Its inhabitants fled upon their arrival, according to Dayan.[30] According toBenny Morris, the village "was harassed by machine-gun fire and abandoned by its inhabitants".[31] Israeli forces intended to link their northern territory with that held by Israeli forces in theNegev, but succeeded only partially, only taking control ofHatta and Karatiyya. After it was stormed by Dayan's troops he controversially withdrew them leaving a Givati infantry company to hold the position.[32] A fierce battle ensued between them and theEgyptian Army who got as far as the village outskirts. When two Egyptian tanks were on the verge of breaking the Israeli defenses from the south, a unit hiding behind a wall of prickly pear cacti, armed with anti-tank weapons "changed the course of the battle", according toHaganah accounts.[6]
Following the war the area was incorporated into theState of Israel. On August 20, 1948,Ben-Gurion together with Yehoshua Eshel, presented a plan for 32 new Jewish settlements on newly depopulated Palestinian villages, with a settlement namedOtzem orKomemiyut proposed for Karatiyya.[33] Three villages were eventually founded on village land;Komemiyut in 1950 andRevaha in 1953, close to the village site.Nehora, established in 1956, is partly on village land, and partly on land belonging toal-Faluja.[5]
The Palestinian historianWalid Khalidi described Karatiyya in 1992: "Piles of debris are scattered on the site, and a destroyed cemetery (partially hidden among eucalyptus trees) can be seen. An agricultural road runs through it. Grain and alfalfa are grown by Israeli farmers on the site and surrounding lands."[5]
Some of Karatiyya's residents came fromEgypt andTransjordan, and some had long-standing roots in the area.[34]
