Iqrit
Encyclopedia
Iqrit was a Palestinian Christian
village, located 25 kilometers northeast of Acre
. Originally allotted to form part of an Arab
state under the 1947 UN Partition Plan
, it was captured and depopulated by the Israel Defence Force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
. All of its Christian inhabitants were forced to flee to Lebanon
and neighboring Palestinian villages after they were expelled by Jewish troops in 1948-1951.
of Tyre in the village. When the Crusaders occupied Iqrit, they called it Acref. Açref is a name still commonly used for the village among surrounding Bedouin
tribes. After the Crusaders left, Iqrit remained devastated, until it was re-built, joining the county of Tibnin, district of Safad by 1596. At this time, its population numbered 374 people with an economy dependent largely on goat
s, beehive
s and agriculture
. There was a press used for both olive
and grape
production. The population dropped to about 100 people by the late nineteenth century. The villagers were Christians, and had a modern church and houses build of stone. The village area contained numerous archaeological sites
.
to Ras an-Naqura via a secondary road leading to Tarbikha
. There were 339 people living in 50 houses in 1931 and that number rose to 490 by 1945. At the moment of their eviction in November 1948, there were 491 citizens in Iqrit, 432 of them Greek Catholics, inhabiting the entire area of the village. Some of the 59 Muslim
s of the village rented their homes in Iqrit, while others built their houses in esh-Shafaya.
Only part of the village land was cultivated and the rest was covered with woods of oak
, laurel
and carob trees. By 1948, the village owned about 600 dunam
s (600,000 m²) of private property with groves of fig
trees that served all inhabitants of Iqrit and the surroundings. The groves covered the hill of al-Bayad, and the remaining cultivated land was used for crops of lentil
s, as well as tobacco
and other fruit trees.
There were a private elementary school which was administrated by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, two natural water springs, and many other water-wells for collected rainwater within the village area, including a large pool for rainwater. There were many threshing floors mainly located between the built-up village lands and the cemetery.
The big Greek Orthodox church remains standing.
According to Morris
, the villagers of Iqrit were outright expelled by the Israeli Army
in November 1948, (together with the villagers of Kafr Bir'im
, Nabi Rubin
and Tarbikha
) "without Cabinet knowledge, debate, or approval - though, almost inevitably, they received post facto Cabinet endorsement." While some of the former inhabitants of Iqrit became refugees in Lebanon
, most are now internally displaced Palestinians
who are also citizens of Israel
.
Iqrit was captured on October 31, 1948 by the Haganah
's Oded Brigade
during Operation Hiram
, an Israeli offensive which advanced on the coastal road towards Lebanon
.
Iqrit and Tarbikha surrendered and the villagers stayed in their homes. That situation did not last for long. Iqrit and a number of other villages in the region were affected by a policy known as "an Arabless border strip".
and the Israeli Army trucked the majority to Rame, a town between Acre
and Safad.
In July 1951, the villagers of Iqrit pleaded their case before Israel's Supreme Court
, and the court ruled in favour of the right to return to their village. After this judgement, the Military Government found another justification to prevent them from returning. The villagers appealed to the Supreme Court again and were scheduled to have their case considered on 6 February 1952. However, on Christmas Day in 1951, Israeli Defense Forces
destroyed the village. According to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
Israeli soldiers took the mukhtar
of Iqrit to the top of a nearby hill to force him to watch as Israeli troops blew up every house in the village.
In his book Blood Brothers, Father Elias Chacour
, who was a child away at school at the time, records the story of what happened, as told to him by his brothers:
In its third verdict (Feb. 1952), the court blamed the villagers for depending on promises from the military ruler of Galilee
, instead of benefiting from the legal remedy which was given to them by the court in its first relevant verdict.
(1949 on Tarbikha ruins), Even Menachem (1960) and Gornot HaGalil
(1980).
Today, only the building of Greek Catholic Church still stands. There is rubble from the destroyed houses and some fig, grape, almond, olive and other orchards. On the shoulder looking at the road passing by from the north, the cemetery of Iqrit is still located, fenced and annually maintained. There is a cowshed that belongs to the settlement of Shomera, on the western entrance of the village, as well.
The first legal action against the state of Israel was brought in 1951 by 5 men of Iqrit when Muhammad Nimr al-Hawari
acting as their lawyer was instrumental in gaining the right of return for the men of Iqrit. On 31 July 1951 the Israeli courts recognised the rights of the villagers to their land and their right to return to it. The court said the land was not abandoned and therefore could not be placed under the custodian of enemy property.
In the 1970s, villagers from Iqrit conducted a series of sit-ins in the town's former church over a period of six years, and the case of Iqrit (and of Kafr Biri'm
) was frequently covered by the Israeli media. Several prominent Israeli cultural and artistic figures supported the movement to repatriate the Iqrit villagers and public empathy for their plight was widespread. While the Israeli authorities recognized the right to return of the villagers in principle, officials resisted implementing this right. Said Golda Meir
in 1972:
notes how it has been argued that the villagers of Iqrit and Bi'rim are not the only present-absentees
in Israel, and therefore recognizing their right of return
is perceived as setting a "dangerous precedent" that would be followed by other similar demands. However, Benvenisti himself has argued that it could be a positive precedent if the Iqrit villagers were to be allocated the small amount of empty land they need to establish a community settlement on their own land.
The operational name of the Munich massacre
of Israeli athletes in 1972 was named after this town and Kafr Bir'im
.
In 2003, some of Iqrit's villagers repetitioned the Supreme Court so as to facilitate their return to Iqrit, but the petition was rejected by the court. Villagers continue to hold out hope for their right of return. Recently, four families built their houses opposite the village from west, on a side hill of al-Bayad.
Palestinian Christian
Palestinian Christians are Arabic-speaking Christians descended from the people of the geographical area of Palestine. Within Palestine, there are churches and believers from many Christian denominations, including Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholic , Protestant, and others...
village, located 25 kilometers northeast of Acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
. Originally allotted to form part of an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
state under the 1947 UN Partition Plan
1947 UN Partition Plan
The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was created by the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine in 1947 to replace the British Mandate for Palestine with "Independent Arab and Jewish States" and a "Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem" administered by the United...
, it was captured and depopulated by the Israel Defence Force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
. All of its Christian inhabitants were forced to flee to Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and neighboring Palestinian villages after they were expelled by Jewish troops in 1948-1951.
Archeological sites
Iqrit contains mosaic floors, remains of a wine press, rock-hewn tombs, cisterns, and granite implements. The village also has many other archaeological sites in its vicinity. The Canaanites erected a statue for the god MelqartMelqart
Melqart, properly Phoenician Milk-Qart "King of the City", less accurately Melkart, Melkarth or Melgart , Akkadian Milqartu, was tutelary god of the Phoenician city of Tyre as Eshmun protected Sidon. Melqart was often titled Ba‘l Ṣūr "Lord of Tyre", the ancestral king of the royal line...
of Tyre in the village. When the Crusaders occupied Iqrit, they called it Acref. Açref is a name still commonly used for the village among surrounding Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
tribes. After the Crusaders left, Iqrit remained devastated, until it was re-built, joining the county of Tibnin, district of Safad by 1596. At this time, its population numbered 374 people with an economy dependent largely on goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s, beehive
Beehive
A beehive is a structure in which bees live and raise their young.Beehive may also refer to:Buildings and locations:* Bee Hive, Alabama, a neighborhood in Alabama* Beehive , a wing of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings...
s and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. There was a press used for both olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
and grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
production. The population dropped to about 100 people by the late nineteenth century. The villagers were Christians, and had a modern church and houses build of stone. The village area contained numerous archaeological sites
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
.
Early twentieth century
Like a number of other villages in the neighborhood, Iqrit was linked to the coastal highway from AcreAcre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
to Ras an-Naqura via a secondary road leading to Tarbikha
Tarbikha
Tarbikha is a former Palestinian village. It was located 27 km northeast of Acre in the British Mandate District of Acre that was captured and depopulated by the Israel Defence Force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.-History:...
. There were 339 people living in 50 houses in 1931 and that number rose to 490 by 1945. At the moment of their eviction in November 1948, there were 491 citizens in Iqrit, 432 of them Greek Catholics, inhabiting the entire area of the village. Some of the 59 Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s of the village rented their homes in Iqrit, while others built their houses in esh-Shafaya.
Only part of the village land was cultivated and the rest was covered with woods of oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, laurel
Laurel
-Botany:* Laurel family , a group of flowering plants** Azores laurel ** Bay Laurel , also called True Laurel** California Laurel ** Camphor Laurel...
and carob trees. By 1948, the village owned about 600 dunam
Dunam
A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...
s (600,000 m²) of private property with groves of fig
Ficus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
trees that served all inhabitants of Iqrit and the surroundings. The groves covered the hill of al-Bayad, and the remaining cultivated land was used for crops of lentil
Lentil
The lentil is an edible pulse. It is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds...
s, as well as tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
and other fruit trees.
There were a private elementary school which was administrated by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, two natural water springs, and many other water-wells for collected rainwater within the village area, including a large pool for rainwater. There were many threshing floors mainly located between the built-up village lands and the cemetery.
The big Greek Orthodox church remains standing.
Capture and expulsion
Benny Morris
Benny Morris is professor of History in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Be'er Sheva, Israel...
, the villagers of Iqrit were outright expelled by the Israeli Army
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
in November 1948, (together with the villagers of Kafr Bir'im
Kafr Bir'im
Kafr Bir'im, also Kefr Berem , was an Arab Christian village in Palestine located south of the Lebanese border and northwest of Safed. The village was situated above sea level, with a church overlooking it at an elevation of . The church was built on the ruins of an older church destroyed in an...
, Nabi Rubin
Al-Nabi Rubin
Al-Nabi Rubin was a Palestinian village located 28 kilometers northeast of Acre.Al-Nabi Rubin students used to attend school in the nearby village of Tarbikha.-History:...
and Tarbikha
Tarbikha
Tarbikha is a former Palestinian village. It was located 27 km northeast of Acre in the British Mandate District of Acre that was captured and depopulated by the Israel Defence Force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.-History:...
) "without Cabinet knowledge, debate, or approval - though, almost inevitably, they received post facto Cabinet endorsement." While some of the former inhabitants of Iqrit became refugees in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, most are now internally displaced Palestinians
Internally displaced Palestinians
A present absentee is a Palestinian who fled or was expelled from his home in Palestine by Jewish or Israeli forces, before and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, but who remained within the area that became the state of Israel. Present absentees are also referred to as internally displaced...
who are also citizens of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Iqrit was captured on October 31, 1948 by the Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
's Oded Brigade
Oded Brigade
The Oded Brigade was an Israeli infantry brigade, one of ten brigades fielded by the Haganah . It was headquartered in Jerusalem...
during Operation Hiram
Operation Hiram
Operation Hiram was a military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was led by General Moshe Carmel, and aimed at capturing the upper Galilee region from the Arab Liberation Army forces led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji and a Syrian battalion...
, an Israeli offensive which advanced on the coastal road towards Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
.
Iqrit and Tarbikha surrendered and the villagers stayed in their homes. That situation did not last for long. Iqrit and a number of other villages in the region were affected by a policy known as "an Arabless border strip".
Evacuation
Six days after its surrender, on 5 November 1948, the Israeli Army ordered the villagers to evacuate the village, and that they would be returned in two weeks' time when the military operations are over. Some went to LebanonLebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and the Israeli Army trucked the majority to Rame, a town between Acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
and Safad.
In July 1951, the villagers of Iqrit pleaded their case before Israel's Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Israel
The Supreme Court is at the head of the court system and highest judicial instance in Israel. The Supreme Court sits in Jerusalem.The area of its jurisdiction is all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. A ruling of the Supreme Court is binding upon every court, other than the Supreme...
, and the court ruled in favour of the right to return to their village. After this judgement, the Military Government found another justification to prevent them from returning. The villagers appealed to the Supreme Court again and were scheduled to have their case considered on 6 February 1952. However, on Christmas Day in 1951, Israeli Defense Forces
destroyed the village. According to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs magazine, published nine times per year in Washington, D.C., focuses on "news and analysis from and about the Middle East and U.S...
Israeli soldiers took the mukhtar
Mukhtar
Mukhtar meaning "chosen" in Arabic, refers to the head of a village or mahalle in many Arab countries as well as in Turkey and Cyprus. The name refers to the fact that mukhtars are usually selected by some consensual or participatory method, often involving an election. Mukhtar is also a common...
of Iqrit to the top of a nearby hill to force him to watch as Israeli troops blew up every house in the village.
In his book Blood Brothers, Father Elias Chacour
Elias Chacour
Elias Chacour is the Archbishop of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and All Galilee of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. Noted for his efforts to promote reconciliation between Arabs and Israelis, he is the author of two books about the experience of Palestinian people living in present-day Israel...
, who was a child away at school at the time, records the story of what happened, as told to him by his brothers:
In its third verdict (Feb. 1952), the court blamed the villagers for depending on promises from the military ruler of Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
, instead of benefiting from the legal remedy which was given to them by the court in its first relevant verdict.
Aftermath to the present-day
A number of Jewish settlements were built near or on the village's land. They are ShomeraShomera
Shomera is a moshav in northern Israel. Located near the Lebanese border, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 322....
(1949 on Tarbikha ruins), Even Menachem (1960) and Gornot HaGalil
Gornot HaGalil
Gornot HaGalil is a communal settlement in northern Israel. Located near Ma'alot-Tarshiha, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council. In 2006, it had a population of 166....
(1980).
Today, only the building of Greek Catholic Church still stands. There is rubble from the destroyed houses and some fig, grape, almond, olive and other orchards. On the shoulder looking at the road passing by from the north, the cemetery of Iqrit is still located, fenced and annually maintained. There is a cowshed that belongs to the settlement of Shomera, on the western entrance of the village, as well.
The first legal action against the state of Israel was brought in 1951 by 5 men of Iqrit when Muhammad Nimr al-Hawari
Muhammad Nimr al-Hawari
Muhammad Nimr al-Hawari was a Nazareth-born Bedouin who studied law in Jerusalem, graduating in 1939. al-Hawari served in the British Mandate administration as chief interpreter in the district court of Jaffa and chairman of the Association of Government second-division officers...
acting as their lawyer was instrumental in gaining the right of return for the men of Iqrit. On 31 July 1951 the Israeli courts recognised the rights of the villagers to their land and their right to return to it. The court said the land was not abandoned and therefore could not be placed under the custodian of enemy property.
In the 1970s, villagers from Iqrit conducted a series of sit-ins in the town's former church over a period of six years, and the case of Iqrit (and of Kafr Biri'm
Kafr Bir'im
Kafr Bir'im, also Kefr Berem , was an Arab Christian village in Palestine located south of the Lebanese border and northwest of Safed. The village was situated above sea level, with a church overlooking it at an elevation of . The church was built on the ruins of an older church destroyed in an...
) was frequently covered by the Israeli media. Several prominent Israeli cultural and artistic figures supported the movement to repatriate the Iqrit villagers and public empathy for their plight was widespread. While the Israeli authorities recognized the right to return of the villagers in principle, officials resisted implementing this right. Said Golda Meir
Golda Meir
Golda Meir ; May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was a teacher, kibbutznik and politician who became the fourth Prime Minister of the State of Israel....
in 1972:
It is not only consideration of security [that prevent] an official decision regarding Bi'rim and Iqrit, but the desire to avoid [setting] a precedent. We cannot allow ourselves to become more and more entangled and to reach a point from which we are unable to extricate ourselves."Meron Benvenisti
Meron Benvenisti
Meron Benvenisti is an Israeli political scientist who was Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem under Teddy Kollek from 1971 to 1978, during which he administered East Jerusalem and served as Jerusalem's Chief Planning Officer. He is a medieval scholar and published books and maps on the Crusader period in...
notes how it has been argued that the villagers of Iqrit and Bi'rim are not the only present-absentees
Internally displaced Palestinians
A present absentee is a Palestinian who fled or was expelled from his home in Palestine by Jewish or Israeli forces, before and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, but who remained within the area that became the state of Israel. Present absentees are also referred to as internally displaced...
in Israel, and therefore recognizing their right of return
Palestinian right of return
The Palestinian right of return is a political position or principle asserting that Palestinian refugees, both first-generation refugees and their descendants, have a right to return, and a right to the property they or their forebears left or which they were forced to leave in what is now Israel...
is perceived as setting a "dangerous precedent" that would be followed by other similar demands. However, Benvenisti himself has argued that it could be a positive precedent if the Iqrit villagers were to be allocated the small amount of empty land they need to establish a community settlement on their own land.
The operational name of the Munich massacre
Munich massacre
The Munich massacre is an informal name for events that occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Bavaria in southern West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by the Palestinian group Black September. Members of Black September...
of Israeli athletes in 1972 was named after this town and Kafr Bir'im
Kafr Bir'im
Kafr Bir'im, also Kefr Berem , was an Arab Christian village in Palestine located south of the Lebanese border and northwest of Safed. The village was situated above sea level, with a church overlooking it at an elevation of . The church was built on the ruins of an older church destroyed in an...
.
In 2003, some of Iqrit's villagers repetitioned the Supreme Court so as to facilitate their return to Iqrit, but the petition was rejected by the court. Villagers continue to hold out hope for their right of return. Recently, four families built their houses opposite the village from west, on a side hill of al-Bayad.
External links
- Iqrit Heritage Society
- Iqrit Palestine Remembered
- Iqrit, from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural CenterKhalil Sakakini Cultural CenterKhalil Sakakini Cultural Center is an organization established in 1996. It is located at 4 Raja Street, Ramallah in the West Bank. The traditional manor that houses the centre was the former family home of Khalil Salem Salah, the mayor of Ramallah between 1947/1951, is now owned by the Palestinian...
- Iqrith, from Dr. Moslih Kanaaneh
- Justice for Ikrit and Biram Haaretz, 10 October 2001
- Clinging to dream of Palestine village BBC News, 23 April 2008
- Tour to Iqrit 2.10.2010, from ZochrotZochrotZochrot is an Israeli-Jewish non-profit organization founded in 2002. Based in Tel Aviv, its aim is to promote awareness of the Palestinian Nakba , the 1948 Palestinian exodus. The group's director is Eitan Bronstein...