Kharruba خروبة | |
|---|---|
 Kharruba, 2008 | |
| Etymology:The carob, or locust tree[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Kharruba (click the buttons) | |
  Kharruba Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:31°54′44″N34°57′38″E / 31.91222°N 34.96056°E /31.91222; 34.96056 | |
| Palestine grid | 146/146 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Ramle |
| Date of depopulation | July 12–15, 1948[3] |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 170[2] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
Kharruba was aPalestinian Arab village in theRamle Subdistrict ofMandatory Palestine, nearModi'in. It was located 8 km east ofRamla. It was depopulated on July 12, 1948, during the1948 Arab–Israeli War.
The name Kharruba, in its current form, is anArabic one: "a carob tree".[4]
It may be Kfar Hariba or Kfar Haruba mentioned in theJerusalem Talmud as home of two brothers who fought theRomans during theBar Kokhba revolt.[5]
In 1552, Kharruba was a cultivated place (mazra'a). Part of the tax revenues of Kharruba were endowed to theHaseki Sultan Imaret inJerusalem, founded byHasekiHürrem Sultan, the favourite wife ofSuleiman the Magnificent. Administratively, Kharruba belonged to the Sub-district ofRamla in the District ofGaza.[6]
Kharruba appeared inOttomantax registers compiled in 1596 under the name ofHarnuba, in theNahiyas of Ramla, of theGaza Sanjak. It was indicated as empty (hali), though 25% taxes were paid on agricultural products. These included wheat, barley, summer crops, vineyards, fruit trees, sesame, goats, beehives, in an addition to occasional revenues; a total of 4,000akçe.[7]
In 1838, it was noted as aMuslim village,Khurrubeh, in theIbn Humar area in the District ofEr-Ramleh.[8]
In 1863,Victor Guérin described Kharruba as a hamlet of a few huts. He noticed the remains of a medieval fort and suggested it might be the Crusadercastle Arnaldi.[9] The following decade, thePEF's "Survey of Western Palestine" found only ruins.[10]
By the beginning of the 20th century, residents fromBeit Iksa resettled the site, establishing it as a dependency – or satellite village – of their home village.[11]
During theBritish Mandate period, Kharruba was one of the key areas ofLime production for the developing urban centers along Palestine'scoastal plain.[12]
At the time of the1931 census, Kharruba had 21 occupied houses and a population of 119 inhabitants, all Muslims.[13]
In the1945 statistics, the village had a population of 170 Muslims.[14] The total land area was 3,374dunams,[2] of this, a total of 1,620 dunums were used for cereals, 25 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,[15] while 3 dunams were classified as built-up public areas.[16]
It was depopulated during the1948 Arab–Israeli War on July 12, 1948, by theYiftach Brigade which reported that it had blown up the houses and "cleared the village".[17]
In 1992 the village site was described: "The site is covered with the stone rubble of the destroyed houses, overgrown with vegetation. Many of the plants that grow on the site are the ones that Palestinians traditionally planted near their homes: cactuses,castor oil (ricinus) plants, and cypress,Christ's thorn, andolive trees. The surrounding land is used by the Israelis as grazing ground."[18]
A site called Haruba is mentioned in theCopper Scroll, the only one of theDead Sea Scrolls engraved on copper rather than written on parchment. Modern scholars do not believe it to be the site mentioned in the scroll.[19]
In 2012, five suspected antiquities robbers were caught at Kharruba, after damaging amikveh (ritual bath) dating to the Second Temple period and trenches used as hiding places during theBar Kokhba revolt.[19]
