Umm Kalkha اُم كلخة | |
|---|---|
| Etymology: Khurbet Umm Kelkhah; The ruin ofkelkha (a plant likefennel)[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Umm Kalkha (click the buttons) | |
  Umm Kalkha Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:31°48′51″N34°51′57″E / 31.81417°N 34.86583°E /31.81417; 34.86583 | |
| Palestine grid | 137/135 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Ramle |
| Date of depopulation | April 7, 1948 |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 60[2][3] |
| Current Localities | Yesodot[4][5] |
Umm Kalkha was a smallPalestinian village in theRamle Subdistrict ofMandatory Palestine. It was depopulated during the1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on April 7, 1948, duringOperation Nachshon. It was located 12.5 km south ofRamla, situated on the northern banks of Wadi al-Sarar.
Umm Kalkha was established during the British Mandate era by theNashashibi family. Its workers, settling in an area of orchards, came mostly from places near modernRehovot, includingZarnuqa andal-Qubayba.[6]
In 1838,Um Kelkha was noted as a place "in ruins or deserted."[7]
In 1882, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine (SWP) noted: "There are traces here of an old town, caves,cisterns of rubble, masonry, and pottery fragments."[8]
In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities,Umm Kalka had a population of 1 Muslim,[9] increasing sharply in the1931 census 24 Muslims, in 6 houses.[10]
In the1945 statistics the population was 60, all Muslims,[2] while the total land area was 1,405dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[3] Of this, 21dunums of land were used for citrus and bananas, 93 dunums were plantations or irrigated land, 1,119 were for cereals,[11] while a total of 63 dunams were classified as non-cultivable areas.[12]
The Israeli settlement ofYesodot was established on Umm Khalkha land.[4][5]
