Qaytiyya Qeitiya[1] | |
|---|---|
Village | |
| Etymology: El Keitîyeh, el Keitîyeh, from personal name[2] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Qaytiyya (click the buttons) | |
  Qaytiyya Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:33°11′59″N35°36′46″E / 33.19972°N 35.61278°E /33.19972; 35.61278 | |
| Palestine grid | 207/289 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Safad |
| Date of depopulation | May 19, 1948/June 1948[1] |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 940[3][4] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Whispering campaign |
| Secondary cause | Expulsion byYishuv forces |
| Current Localities | Kfar Blum,[5] possiblyBeit Hillel[5] |
Qaytiyya was aPalestinianArab village in theSafad Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the1948 War on May 19, 1948, by the Palmach's First Battalion ofOperation Yiftach. It was located 28 km northeast ofSafad, bordering both the Hasibani and the Dan Rivers.
In 1881, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine (SWP) describedEl Keitîyeh, while underOttoman rule, as a village of 80 Muslims built ofadobe and surrounded by streams: occupied during spring and harvest.[6]bordering both the Hasibani and the Dan Rivers.
In the1931 census of Palestine, under of theBritish Mandate in Palestine, Qeitiya had a population of 824 Muslims, in a total of 163 houses.[7]
In the1945 statistics,Qeitiya had a population of 940 Muslims,[3] and the total land area was 5,390dunums.[4] Of this, 19 dunums were for citrus and bananas, 4,465 for plantations and irrigable land, 44 forcereals,[8] while 93 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[9]
In 1992 the village site was described: "Only a few stones from the old village are still visible. The surrounding land is cultivated, except for a small section that contains stone rubble and is overgrown with thorny plants and eucalyptus trees."[5]
