Khan al-Duwayr خان الدوير | |
|---|---|
Village | |
| Etymology: Khân ed Duweir, thecaravanserai of the littleconvent or circle[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Khan al-Duwayr (click the buttons) | |
  Khan al-Duwayr Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:33°14′22″N35°40′19″E / 33.23944°N 35.67194°E /33.23944; 35.67194 | |
| Palestine grid | 213/293 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Safad |
| Date of depopulation | Not known[3] |
| Population (1931) | |
• Total | 137[2] |
Khan al-Duwayr (Arabic:خان الدوير) was aPalestinianArab village in theSafad Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the1948 Arab-Israeli War on May 30, 1948, by the Palmach's First Battalion ofOperation Yiftach. It was located 35 km northeast ofSafad. The ruins of the village were overbuilt by the Israeli kibbutz ofSnir.
The village had akhirbat named Tall al-Qadi, which lay about 1 km to the northwest of the village.[4] Tell el-Qadi has been identified as the site of thebiblical city ofLaish/Dan since the mid-19th century.[5] Excavations at Tell el-Qadi/Tel Dan have brought to light substantial remains from the Early Bronze Age through Iron Age IIB, when Dan was destroyed byTiglath-Pileser III in 733/2 BCE, and with continued occupation and/or cultic activities through to the Roman period.[6]
In 1875Victor Guérin noted it as ahamlet calledKhan Doueir. A small wood of oaks andterebinths grew close to it.[7]
In 1881 thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine describedKhan ed Duweir as: "Two stone houses here contain about twentyMoslems; situated on slope of hill near the stream of water, with olives and arable cultivation around."[8]
In the1931 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, the population ofKhan ed-Duwair was 137, all Muslims, in a total of 29 houses.[2]
In the1945 statistics no Arabs were listed as inhabitants, while the nearbyDan had a population of 260,[9] and Arabs still owned 2,163dunams of the land.[10] Of this, they used 2,067 for plantations and irrigable land, while 96 were used for cereals.[11]
On 12 April 1948, prior to the outbreak of the1948 Arab-Israeli war,Israel Galili wrote toYosef Weitz recommending that new settlements be established at the site of a number of Arab villages, including Khan al-Duwayr, 'as soon as possible'.Norman Finkelstein, quotingBenny Morris, notes this recommendation was made even though most of the sites had not yet been depopulated.[12][13]
On the 22 April, 1948,Haganah command agreed to provide the manpower to set up settlements on non−Arab land in several Arab villages; one of the villages mentioned was Khan al-Duwayr.[14]
According to theIsrael–Syria Mixed Armistice Commission, Khan al-Duwayr was part of theDM after the 1948 war. Israel, however, gradually managed to evict all the Arab inhabitants of the DM zone, using a "stick and carrot" method.[15]
Dafna is located about 3 km southwest of the Khan al-Duwayr site, whileDan 2 km to the west of the site: neither is on village land.[4]
In 1992 the village site was described: "The site is deserted, overgrown with grass. Only the ruins of a khan (caravansary) are visible. The surrounding land is either cultivated by Israelis, or used as forest or pasture."[4]
