Qannir قنْير Kannir | |
|---|---|
Village | |
| Etymology: from 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 Qannir (click the buttons) | |
  Qannir Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:32°31′42″N35°01′51″E / 32.52833°N 35.03083°E /32.52833; 35.03083 | |
| Palestine grid | 153/214 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Haifa |
| Date of depopulation | 25 April 1948[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 10,826dunams (10.826 km2; 4.180 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 750[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Influence of nearby town's fall |
| Secondary cause | Fear of being caught up in the fighting |
| Current Localities | Regavim[5] |
Qannir (Arabic:قنْير) was aPalestinian village, located 35 kilometers south ofHaifa. With 750 inhabitants in 1945, it was depopulated in the lead up to the1948 Arab-Israeli war.
In the lateOttoman era, Qannir appears on sheet 45 ofJacotin's map drawn-up duringNapoleon'sinvasion in 1799.[6][7]
In 1859, the English consul Rogers estimated the population to be 250, who cultivated 24feddans of land. By 1882,PEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine described the place as a village ofadobe of moderate size, with onewell to the south, and another to the west.[8] By a later account, the village consisted of stone houses built side by side.[5]
A population list from about 1887 showed thatel Kannir had about 665 inhabitants, all Muslim.[9]
In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, Qannir had a population of 400; allMuslims,[10] increasing slightly in the1931 census to 483, still all Muslims, in a total of 92 houses.[11]
In the1945 statistics the population was 750 Muslims[2] with 10,826 dunums of land.[3] Of this, a total of 5,760 dunums were used for cereals; while 460 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,[5][12] while 22 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[13]
Between 22 and 24 April 1948, the women and children of Qannir started to evacuate the village, apparently on [Arab] "orders from on high".[14][15]
According to a dispatch sent byFawzi al-Qawuqji to the [Arab] High Command, an enemy attack fromEin Hashofeit started on 0400 on 8 May towards Quannir and Kafr Quari. The attackers were supported by armored cars. According to al-Qawuqji the attack was "resisted and repelled", with a result of one killed and four wounded on the Palestinian side.[16]
However, according toHaganah sources, the forces of theAlexandroni Brigade "raided the village on 9 May 1948, killed four Arabs and blew up 55 houses".[17] According to Morris, the remaining villagers probably left at this time.[18] Following the war the area was incorporated into theState of Israel, with thekibbutz ofRegavim established on the village's former lands in 1949.[5]
Khalidi described the place in 1992:
Stone rubble is strewn about the site, which is covered with thorns, fig trees, and cactus. Part of the adjacent land is used by Israelis as pasture and the other part is cultivated.[5]
