Golani Brigade

The Golani Brigade was one of the brigades of the Zionist Haganah organization during the Nakba and the occupation of Palestine in 1948. It operated primarily in the Galilee, the Baysan Valley, and the areas of Tiberias, Nazareth, and Jenin. The brigade participated in a number of military operations that resulted in the occupation of Palestinian villages and the displacement of their inhabitants. Among the most notable was Operation Gideon, carried out by the brigade between 10 and 15 May 1948 with the aim of occupying the Baysan Valley. The brigade later participated in Operation Dekel in Lower Galilee and also operated as part of the forces involved in Operation Hiram in the Galilee in late October 1948.

Among the most prominent Palestinian villages whose occupation or the displacement of their inhabitants was directly and reliably associated with the Golani Brigade were:

Nasir al-Din, Tiberias District; al-Shajara, Tiberias District; al-Ashrafiyya, Baysan District; Farruna, Baysan District; Sirin, Baysan District; Ulam, Tiberias District; Hadatha, Tiberias District; Ma'dhar, Tiberias District; Umm al-Zinat, Haifa District; Kawkab al-Hawa, Baysan District; Nuris, Jenin District; al-Mazar, Jenin District; al-Lajjun, Jenin District; Ma'lul, Nazareth District; and al-Mujaydil.

The Golani Brigade was also associated with the displacement of a larger number of villages in the Baysan Valley during Operation Gideon. PalQuest identifies al-Ashrafiyya, al-Fatur, al-Sakhina, Khirbat al-Taqa, and Khirbat Umm Sabuna among the villages affected by the operation, and describes Operation Gideon itself as a campaign carried out by the Golani Brigade that resulted in the occupation of the Baysan Valley and the displacement of its inhabitants.

There were also other villages that the brigade was likely responsible for occupying, or whose displacement appears to have resulted from its military advance, including Khirbat al-Zawiya, Khirbat al-Jawfa, al-Samiriyya, and Indur.