Abu Shusha
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Until 1948, Abu Shusha was an Arab village in Palestine, 8 km southeast of Ramle. It was depopulated in 1948, and later demolished by Israeli armed forces.
Abu Shusha was located on the slope of Tel Jazar, which is commonly identified with the ancient city of Gezer. The Crusaders won a battle against Saladin there in 1177. The time of founding of the Arab village is unknown, though it existed in 1800. The population, consisting of Muslim Arabs, was 627 in 1931 and 870 in 1944. An archaeological site was later located nearby. The village produced cereals and olives.[1]
In April-May 1948, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Abu Shusha was attacked several times. The final assault began on May 13 (the day before the state of Israel declared its independence). Abu Shusha residents attempted to defend the village, but the village was occupied on May 14. Those residents who had not already died or fled were expelled by May 21.[2] With their descendants, they numbered about 6198 as of 1998.
The Israeli town of Ameilim was founded nearby later in 1948.
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[edit] Allegations of a massacre
The village was attacked and largely destroyed by the Giv'ati Brigade on May 13-14, 1948 during Operation Maccabi. Some inhabitants fled and houses were blown up. The conquering troops were immediately replaced by militia men from Kibbutz Gezer, who were later replaced by troops from Kiryati Brigade.[3] On May 19, Arab Legion sources claimed that villagers were being killed. On May 21, Arab authorities appealed to the Red Cross to stop "barbaric acts" they said were being committed in Abu Shusha. [4] More recently, research conducted by Birzeit University in Palestine, mostly on the basis of interviews with former residents, suggests that between 60-70 residents were killed or massacred during the attack.[5] In 1995 a mass grave with 52 skeletons was discovered, but their cause of death is undetermined.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ W. Khalidi, "All That Remains", p. 357-358.
- ^ B. Morris, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisted. Cambridge University Press, 2004, p. 256-257
- ^ Morris, p. 205
- ^ Morris, loc cit.
- ^ Birzeit University series on Palestinian destroyed villages, 276 page report on Abu Shusha; some information here: [1]
- ^ M. Benvenisti, City of Stone, p. 248
[edit] See also
[edit] External link
[edit] Disambiguation
A different Arab village called Abu Shusha was situated 26 km south-east of Haifa. It was also depopulated and destroyed in May 1948.
