Qumya قوميه Kumieh, Qumiya | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 Qumya, 1948 | |
| Etymology: "Stature", or "Support"[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Qumya (click the buttons) | |
  Qumya Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:32°33′55″N35°23′45″E / 32.56528°N 35.39583°E /32.56528; 35.39583 | |
| Palestine grid | 187/219 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Baysan |
| Date of depopulation | 26 March 1948[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 4,898dunams (4.898 km2; 1.891 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 440[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Fear of being caught up in the fighting |
| Current Localities | Ein Harod (Ihud)[5] |
Qumya (Arabic:قوميه), was aPalestinian village of 510 inhabitants when it was depopulated prior to the1948 Arab-Israeli war.[6]
Located 12.5 kilometers north ofBaysan, the village was assaulted by the forces of theGolani Brigade on 26 March 1948 duringOperation Gideon, on the orders ofYosef Weitz, a representative of theJewish National Fund (JNF). Its inhabitants fled in fear of being caught in the fighting.
The village was located 12.5 kilometers northwest ofBaysan, on a hilltop. Together with the village ofShatta, it was considered the western gate to the plain of Baysan.[5]
Qumya was well known for its archaeological sites, including Khirbat Qumya which contained rectangular structures, caves, and rock-hewn cisterns. About 800 meters south-west of the village wasAyn Jalut, an archaeological site whereRoman artifacts, including milestones and a large pool cut in the rock, have been found.[5]
By 1596, under the rule of theOttoman Empire, Qumya was a farm under the administrative jurisdiction ofSanjak Lajjun.[7]
Pierre Jacotin named the villageKouni on his map from 1799.[8]
In 1870/1871 (1288AH), an Ottoman census listed the village in thenahiya (sub-district) of Shafa al-Shamali.[9]
In 1882, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine described the village of Qumya as located being located on a knoll in the middle of a valley, surrounded by gardens ofprickly pear.[10]
In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by theMandatory Palestine authorities,Qumiyeh had a population of 401, all Muslims,[11] decreasing in the1931 census to 386, still all Muslims, in 88 houses.[12]
The village had one elementary school for boys.[5] In1945 the village had 440 Muslim inhabitants,[2] with 4,898dunums of land.[3] Of this, a total of 4,205 dunums were used for cereals and 33 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,[13] while 15 dunams was built-up land.[14]
In his diary,Weitz wrote of the inhabitants of Qumya andal-Tira in the Bisan valley on the 26 March 1948:
"Not taking upon themselves the responsibility of preventing the infiltration of irregulars ... They must be forced to leave their villages until peace comes.[15][16]
Meron Benvenisti noted that the JNF guided military operations to evacuate and expropriate the land of Palestinian villages in 1948, including that of Qumya. In writing of the capture and evacuation of Qumya and Endur (the biblicalEndor), he wrote that "The Jews were particularly interested in the village of Qumya, which was entirely surrounded by JNF land...".[17][18]
Benny Morris puts 26 March 1948 as depopulation day, and noted "Fear of fighting" as reason.[4]Rosemarie Esber interviewed villager Ayshi Mahmud Khalid who recalled that the villagers left together on the 26th: "Some left for Nazareth and some left for Jordan. We were afraid of Jewish attacks....On our way we passed byMa’oz settlement. Jewish women came to search us and stole our money....the Jews stole even our livestock". The Qumya villagers ended up inBaysan, from where they were expelled in May, 1948, with the rest of the Palestinian inhabitants.[19]
In an Israeli cabinet meeting on June 16, 1948,Aharon Zisling seems to argue that the Palestinian refugees should be allowed to return. However, he made an exception for the villagers Qumya, the lands of which overlooked his own home inEin Harod.[20][21] By July, 1948, Ein Harod formally asked for the land of Qumya to be given them.[22]
Following the war the area was incorporated into theState of Israel.KibbutzBet ha-Shittah and theGush Nuris villages were given thousands of dunams of land from Qumya and the neighbouring villages ofal-Murassas,Kafra,Yubla, andZir'in by theHistadrut's Agicrultural Center in July and October 1948.[23]
TheJewish kibbutz ofEin Harod was built on what traditionally was the village lands in 1921. In the 1950s it split in two;Ein Harod (Ihud) andEin Harod (Meuhad), whereEin Harod (Ihud) is on Qumya land, whileEin Harod (Meuhad) is on land traditionally belonging toTamra.Geva is about 2 km west of the village site, but not on village land.[5]
In 1992,Walid Khalidi described the remaining village structures, noting:
"The whole site is fenced in. Almond, mulberry, and pomegranate trees and cactuses grow around the rubble that dots the village site. Cypress trees grow among the ruins of the village school."[24]
