Qatra
Encyclopedia
Qatra was a Palestinian Arab
village located 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) southwest of the city of Ramla
and 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) west of Jerusalem, some 50 metres (164 ft) above sea level.
ite center of political and economic authority that along with 30 other urban sites in regions bordering the Mediterranean sea
, entered a period of decline in the Late Bronze Age
between 1250 and 1150 BCE. Qatra is also tentatively identified with the Hellenistic city of Kidron (Cidron, Gedrus) mentioned in the first Book of the Maccabees
, and it has been postulated that its name derives from the Hebrew
name for Kidron, Qiṭrôn.
In 1596, Qatra was part of the Ottoman Empire
, nahiya (subdistrict) of Gaza
under the liwa'
(district) of Gaza
with a population of 336. It paid taxes on a nomber of crops, including wheat
, barley
, sesame
, and fruit, as well as goats and beehives.
Edward Robinson
visited the village in 1852 and described it as being of considerable size, while in the late 19th century the village was described as being built of adobe
brick and surrounded by gardens.
During its existence as a village in the British Mandate of Palestine it was referred to as Qatrat Islam to distinguish it from the Jewish settlement
of Qatrat Yahud or Gedera
, as it is called in Hebrew, established in the late 19th century.
's Giv'ati Brigade in May, 1948. The operation was according to Plan Dalet
. Plan Dalets guidelines to the Giv'ati Brigade gave its leader, Lt. Col. Shimon Avidan
, wide discretion. In order to "stabilise" his lines, the plan stated that ´you will determine alone, in consultations with your Arab affairs advisers and Intelligence Service officers, [which] villages in your zone should be occupied, cleansed or destroyed.´ During May -early June Avidan moved to expand his area of control westwards and southwards as part of Operation Barak
.
It was during these operations that they encountered the village of Qatra. The village offered no resistance. The Giv'ati troops entered and conducted an arms collection operation on 5-6 May. About 60 weapons were handed over - but a Jewish officer was shot and killed (either by an Arab or by friendly fire
while searching (or looting) one of the houses. Three Arabs were then taken hostage and Giv'ati demanded the name of the killer, and the handover of any foreign irregulars and additional weapons. The Haganah
reoccupied the village and its entire population were either intimidated into flight or expelled on 17 May. The IDF trucked about 200 refugees from Qatra inland, towards Ramla
, in the following period.
The operation in Qatra (and a similar operation in the nearby village of Aqir
) was characterised by looting and brutal behaviour. The HIS officer who accompanied the troops later highlighted several problems, including the lack of clear orders regarding behaviour, the absence of POW camp for detainees, and looting. The Giv'ati Brigade's official history states that after these operations, the brigade HQ acted to ´curtail the instinct to loot and maltreat prisoners [hit´alelut beshvuyim]´.
In 1949 the Israeli moshav
of Kidron
was established on Qatra's land
The current Israeli towns built on Qatra's land are Gedera
and Kidron
.
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
village located 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) southwest of the city of Ramla
Ramla
Ramla , is a city in central Israel. The city is predominantly Jewish with a significant Arab minority. Ramla was founded circa 705–715 AD by the Umayyad Caliph Suleiman ibn Abed al-Malik after the Arab conquest of the region...
and 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) west of Jerusalem, some 50 metres (164 ft) above sea level.
History
Qatra was a CanaanCanaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
ite center of political and economic authority that along with 30 other urban sites in regions bordering the Mediterranean sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, entered a period of decline in the Late Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
between 1250 and 1150 BCE. Qatra is also tentatively identified with the Hellenistic city of Kidron (Cidron, Gedrus) mentioned in the first Book of the Maccabees
Books of the Maccabees
The Books of the Maccabees are books concerned with the Maccabees, the leaders of the Jewish rebellion against the Seleucid dynasty, or related subjects.The term mostly refers to two deuterocanonical books contained in some canons of the Bible:...
, and it has been postulated that its name derives from the Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
name for Kidron, Qiṭrôn.
In 1596, Qatra was part of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, nahiya (subdistrict) of Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
under the liwa'
Liwa (arabic)
Liwa or Liwa is an Arabic term meaning district, banner, or flag, a type of administrative division. It was interchangeable with the Turkish term "Sanjak" in the time of the Ottoman Empire. After the fall of the empire, the term was used in the Arab countries formerly under Ottoman rule...
(district) of Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
with a population of 336. It paid taxes on a nomber of crops, including wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, sesame
Sesame
Sesame is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods....
, and fruit, as well as goats and beehives.
Edward Robinson
Edward Robinson (scholar)
Edward Robinson was an American biblical scholar, known as the “Father of Biblical Geography.” He has been referred to as the “founder of modern Palestinology.” -Biography:...
visited the village in 1852 and described it as being of considerable size, while in the late 19th century the village was described as being built of adobe
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
brick and surrounded by gardens.
During its existence as a village in the British Mandate of Palestine it was referred to as Qatrat Islam to distinguish it from the Jewish settlement
Jewish settlement
Jewish settlement may refer to :* Israeli settlement : Jewish communities currently established in the West Bank or in the Golan Heights, between 1967 and 2006 in the Gaza strip or between 1967 and 1981 in the Sinai....
of Qatrat Yahud or Gedera
Gedera
-External links:** *...
, as it is called in Hebrew, established in the late 19th century.
1948
Qatra was captured by IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's Giv'ati Brigade in May, 1948. The operation was according to Plan Dalet
Plan Dalet
Plan Dalet, or Plan D, was a plan worked out by the Haganah, a Jewish paramilitary group and the forerunner of the Israel Defense Forces, in Palestine in autumn 1947 to spring 1948. Its purpose is much debated...
. Plan Dalets guidelines to the Giv'ati Brigade gave its leader, Lt. Col. Shimon Avidan
Shimon Avidan
Shimon Avidan , born Shimon Koch , was an Israeli soldier and officer, the commander of the Givati Brigade during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war....
, wide discretion. In order to "stabilise" his lines, the plan stated that ´you will determine alone, in consultations with your Arab affairs advisers and Intelligence Service officers, [which] villages in your zone should be occupied, cleansed or destroyed.´ During May -early June Avidan moved to expand his area of control westwards and southwards as part of Operation Barak
Operation Barak
Operation Barak was a Haganah offensive launched just before the end of the British Mandate in Palestine. It was part of Plan Dalet. Its objective was to capture villages North of Gaza in anticipation of the arrival of the Egyptian army...
.
It was during these operations that they encountered the village of Qatra. The village offered no resistance. The Giv'ati troops entered and conducted an arms collection operation on 5-6 May. About 60 weapons were handed over - but a Jewish officer was shot and killed (either by an Arab or by friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
while searching (or looting) one of the houses. Three Arabs were then taken hostage and Giv'ati demanded the name of the killer, and the handover of any foreign irregulars and additional weapons. 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 :...
reoccupied the village and its entire population were either intimidated into flight or expelled on 17 May. The IDF trucked about 200 refugees from Qatra inland, towards Ramla
Ramla
Ramla , is a city in central Israel. The city is predominantly Jewish with a significant Arab minority. Ramla was founded circa 705–715 AD by the Umayyad Caliph Suleiman ibn Abed al-Malik after the Arab conquest of the region...
, in the following period.
The operation in Qatra (and a similar operation in the nearby village of Aqir
Aqir
Aqir was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Ramle located 9 km southwest of Ramla and 1 km north of Wadi al-Nasufiyya .-History:...
) was characterised by looting and brutal behaviour. The HIS officer who accompanied the troops later highlighted several problems, including the lack of clear orders regarding behaviour, the absence of POW camp for detainees, and looting. The Giv'ati Brigade's official history states that after these operations, the brigade HQ acted to ´curtail the instinct to loot and maltreat prisoners [hit´alelut beshvuyim]´.
In 1949 the Israeli moshav
Moshav
Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
of Kidron
Kidron, Israel
Kidron is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the Shephelah around 2 km east of Gedera near the Tel Nof Airbase, it falls under the jurisdiction of Brenner Regional Council. In 2007 it had a population of 1,300....
was established on Qatra's land
The current Israeli towns built on Qatra's land are Gedera
Gedera
-External links:** *...
and Kidron
Kidron, Israel
Kidron is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the Shephelah around 2 km east of Gedera near the Tel Nof Airbase, it falls under the jurisdiction of Brenner Regional Council. In 2007 it had a population of 1,300....
.
See also
- List of Arab towns and villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
- List of villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
External links
- Welcome To Qatra
- Qatra from 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...