The depopulated village of Al-Jaladiyya / District of Gaza

Subdistrict: Gaza

Estimated population of al-Jaladiyya in 1948: 418

Date of occupation and depopulation: Probably 9–10 July 1948

Israeli settlements established on al-Jaladiyya’s lands before 1948: None

Israeli settlements established on the built-up site of al-Jaladiyya after 1948: None

Al-Jaladiyya was a Palestinian village in the Gaza Subdistrict. It stood on a slightly elevated site in the southern coastal plain, approximately 34 km northeast of Gaza and about 75 metres above sea level. Wadi Suqrir bordered the village on its southeastern side. Secondary roads connected al-Jaladiyya with al-Faluja, the main road leading southwest to al-Majdal, and several neighbouring villages.

• The village lands covered 4,329 dunums. Rainfed agriculture formed the principal basis of its economy, with cereal cultivation occupying most of its cultivable land.
• Al-Jaladiyya had a mosque built in 1890 on the orders of the Ottoman sultan Abd al-Hamid II. It consisted of two sections: one used for prayer and another for instruction.
• The village’s economy depended primarily on rainfed agriculture, especially the cultivation of cereals.

Boundaries of al-Jaladiyya

Al-Jaladiyya was surrounded by the following Palestinian villages:

• North: Qastina.
• Northwest: al-Sawafir al-Shamaliyya.
• West: al-Sawafir al-Sharqiyya.
• Southwest: Bayt ‘Affa.
• South: Hatta.
• Southeast: Jusayr.
• East: Bi‘lin.
• Northeast: Tall al-Turmus.

Population of al-Jaladiyya

The village had a population of 360 in 1945, all of whom were Muslim. The population immediately before the village’s depopulation in 1948 has been estimated at approximately 418; unlike the 1945 figure, this is a demographic projection rather than an official census count.

The inhabitants were displaced when Israeli forces occupied the village in July 1948. Some fled eastward toward the Hebron region, while others sought refuge farther south in the Gaza Strip. The village was subsequently destroyed. No Israeli settlement was established on al-Jaladiyya’s lands.

Population of al-Jaladiyya

*The figures for 1948 and 1998 are later demographic estimates, not contemporary census counts.

Number of Houses in al-Jaladiyya

*The 1931 figure is recorded in the census, whereas the 1948 figure is a later estimate.

Education in al-Jaladiyya

Education in al-Jaladiyya was provided in the teaching section of the village mosque. By the mid-1940s, 43 pupils were enrolled in this mosque school. Available academic accounts do not establish that a separate boys’ school was founded in 1945.

Land Ownership in al-Jaladiyya

*One dunum is equivalent to approximately 1,000 square metres. The designation “public land” follows the land classification used in the 1944/45 village statistics and should not be interpreted as private Palestinian or Jewish ownership.

Land Use in 1944/45

*One dunum is equivalent to approximately 1,000 square metres. The cultivable-land total and the cereal figure are identical because the available statistics classify all recorded cultivable land in the village as cereal-growing land.

Occupation and Depopulation of al-Jaladiyya

During the interval between the first and second truces, commonly known as the “Ten Days” of 8–18 July 1948, Israeli forces launched an offensive on the southern front intended to extend Israeli control toward the Negev. More than sixteen villages between the Mediterranean coast and the Hebron foothills were occupied during this period, displacing at least 20,000 Palestinians, according to figures cited by historian Benny Morris.

Al-Jaladiyya was probably occupied on 9–10 July 1948 during the opening phase of Operation An-Far, by units of the Giv‘ati Brigade. Some accounts indicate that al-Jaladiyya and nearby villages were seized as the operation began, although the available evidence does not establish a single precise day of occupation. The date should therefore be presented as an informed historical estimate rather than an uncontested fact.

The villagers fled or were expelled eastward toward the Hebron region or southward toward the Gaza Strip. Giv‘ati accounts later maintained that residents had departed before Israeli columns entered the villages; however, the brigade’s operational orders called for the expulsion of civilians. These differing accounts should be understood within the broader documented context of the military operation and the mass displacement it produced.

Israeli Settlements near al-Jaladiyya

No Israeli settlement was established on the lands of al-Jaladiyya. Shafir, founded in 1949, lies southeast of the village site, while Zerachya, founded in 1950, lies to its southwest. Both were established on the lands of the neighbouring Palestinian village of al-Sawafir al-Sharqiyya, not on al-Jaladiyya’s lands.

According to research cited by Walid Khalidi, a Jewish National Fund plan submitted on 20 August 1948 had considered locating these settlements on al-Jaladiyya’s lands, but this proposal was not implemented there.

Al-Jaladiyya Today

Only a small number of date-palm, carob, and fig trees remain at the village site. The surrounding lands are cultivated by Israeli farmers.

Sources

• Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question: al-Jaladiyya.
• Walid Khalidi, ed., All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948, Institute for Palestine Studies, 1992.
• Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area Ownership in Palestine.
• PalQuest chronology: End of the First Truce and Operations An-Far, Dani, and Qedem.