Kirad al-Baqqara كراد البقارة | |
|---|---|
Village | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Kirad al-Baqqara (click the buttons) | |
  Kirad al-Baqqara Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:33°01′07″N35°36′04″E / 33.01861°N 35.60111°E /33.01861; 35.60111 | |
| Palestine grid | 206/269 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Safad |
| Date of depopulation | April 22, 1948[3] |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,021dunams (2.021 km2; 0.780 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 360[1][2] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Influence of nearby town's fall |
| Current Localities | Gadot andMishmar ha-Yarden |
Kirad al-Baqqara (Arabic:كراد البقارة) was aPalestinianArab village in theSafad Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on April 22, 1948, by the Palmach's First Battalion ofOperation Yiftach. It was located 11 km northwest ofSafad and Wadi Mushayrifa ran between the two Kirad villages (al-Ghannama and al-Baqqara).
In theBritish Mandate period, in the1931 census Arab al-Baqqara had a population of 245 Muslims, in 34 houses.[5]
By the1945 statistics the population was 360 Muslims,[2] with a total of 2,262 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[1] Of this, a total of 1,961 dunums were used for cereals; 60 dunums were irrigated or used for plantations,[4] while 120 dunams were non-cultivable area.[6]
In April 1948, large part of the population left the village after full-scale hostilities broke out.[7]
After the1948 Palestine war, according to thearmistice agreements of 1949 Between Israel and Syria, it was determined that a string of villages, includingAl-NuqaybAl-Hamma,Al-Samra in theTiberias Subdistrict and Kirad al-Baqqara andKirad al-Ghannama further north inSafad Subdistrict, would be included thedemilitarized zone (DMZ) between Israel andSyria. The villagers and their property were formally protected by Article V of the Israeli-Syrian agreement of 20 July that year.[8][9] However, Israel thought the villagers could pose a security threat, and Israeli settlers and settlement agencies coveted the land. Israel therefore wanted thePalestinian inhabitants, a total of 2,200 villagers, moved to Syria.[8]
In the spring of 1951, Israel decided to assert its sovereignty over the DMZ, including "the transfer of Arab civilians from the area." On the night of the 30 March they forcibly transferred all the 800 inhabitants ofKirad al-Ghannama and Kirad al-Baqqara toSha'ab.[10][11]
AUnited Nations decision allowed the villagers to return, however, Israel pressured them to remain in Sha'ab. In spite of this, many of the villagers returned to their homes in the DMZ. In 1956 Israel expelled the two Khirad-villages again, and this time the sites were physically destroyed and ploughed over. Most of the villagers went to Syria; a few went back to Sha'ab.[12]
