Al-Ghazzawiyya

Ghazzawiyya

الغزاويه
al-Ghazawiya, Arab al Ghazawiya tribe^[1],
Arab Abu Hashiya (Frantzman)
Ghazzawiyya الغزاويه al-Ghazawiya, Arab al Ghazawiya tribe,; Arab Abu Hashiya (Frantzman)
	1870s map 1940s map modern map 1940s with modern overlay map A series of historical maps of the area around Al-Ghazzawiyya (click the buttons)
	Ghazzawiyya Location within Mandatory Palestine
	Coordinates: 32°30′08″N 35°32′30″E / 32.50222°N 35.54167°E
Palestine grid	200/212
Geopolitical entity	Mandatory Palestine
Subdistrict	Baysan
Date of depopulation	May 20, 1948
Area
• Total	18,408 dunams (18.4 km2 or 7.1 sq mi)
Population (1945)
• Total	1,020
Cause(s) of depopulation	Influence of nearby town's fall
Current Localities	Neve Eitan, Maoz Haim

Al-Ghazzawiyya (Arabic: الغزاويه), was a Palestinian village located 2 kilometers east of the city of Bet Shean (Bisan). In 1945, the population was 1,640, 1,020 Arab and 620 Jewish.^[5]

History

Several archeological sites in the area testify to a long history of human occupancy. The village was surrounded by the archeological sites of Tall-al Barta to the north, Tall al-Husn to the west, and Tall al-Maliha to the southwest. Excavations of Tall al-Husn showed an occupational history extending from the third millennium BC to the eighth century CE, when the site was occupied by an Arab village.^[6]

British Mandate era

In modern times, the village spread over a wide area of the Baysan valley. The villagers were members of the al-Ghazzawiyya Beduin tribe, who constituted the bulk of the valley's population together with members of the al-Bashatiwa and the al-Suqur.^[5] In the 1931 census, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, 'Arab Abu Hashiya had 156 Muslim inhabitants, and a total of 29 houses.^[7]

In the 1945 statistics, Al-Ghazzawiyya had 1,020, all Muslim inhabitants^[2] with a total of 18,408 dunams of land.^[3] Of this, a total of 13 dunams were used for citrus and bananas, 5,185 dunums for cereals, 34 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,^[4]^[8] while 91 dunams were classified as non-cultivable land.^[9]

1948 and aftermath

It was occupied by Israel's Golani Brigade on May 20, 1948, during Operation Gideon, an Israeli offensive during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The Arab population was forced to flee to nearby Syria or the present-day West Bank.^[10]

The Jewish localities of Maoz Haim and Neve Eitan are built on the lands of the former village, though a large percentage of it is used as agricultural land, in particular the wheat crop. According to Walid Khalidi, the village contained an archaeological site, Tell al-Ru'yan which was transformed into waste dump.^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b Morris, 2004, p. xvii, village #134. Gives depopulation cause as (?) (C)
^ ^a ^b Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 6
^ ^a ^b ^c Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 43
^ ^a ^b ^c Khalidi, 1992, p. 49
^ ^a ^b Khalidi, 1992, p. 48
^ Khalidi, 1992, pp. 48–49
^ Mills, 1932, p. 77
^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.84
^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 134
^ ^a ^b Al-Ghazzawiyya: Town Statistics and Facts