Abu Shusha

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Abu Shusha
Arabic ابو شوشة
District Ramla
Population 720 (1945)
Jurisdiction 8,960 dunams (9.0 km²)
Date of depopulation April-May 1948
Cause(s) of depopulation Military assault by Jewish forces
Current localities Ameilim

Abu Shusha (Arabic: ابو شوشة‎) was an Arab village in Palestine, 8 km southeast of Ramle. It was depopulated in 1948 and later demolished by Israeli 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 Arab village was built at the beginning of the 19th century.[1] The population, consisting of Muslim Arabs, was 627 in 1931 and 870 in 1944. The village produced cereals and olives.[2]

In April-May 1948, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Abu Shusha was attacked several times. The final assault began on May 13, one day prior to Israel's declaration of 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.[3] With their descendants, they numbered about 6198 as of 1998.

The Israeli town of Ameilim was founded nearby later in 1948.

[edit] Allegations of a massacre

According to Benny Morris, 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.[4] 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. [5] More recently, research conducted by Birzeit University, mostly on the basis of interviews with former residents, suggests that between 60-70 residents were killed or massacred during the attack.[6] In 1995 a mass grave with 52 skeletons was discovered, but their cause of death is undetermined.[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ruth Kark, Changing patterns of landownership in nineteenth-century Palestine: the European influence, Journal of Historical Geography, vol 14, no 4 (1984) 357-384.
  2. ^ W. Khalidi, "All That Remains", p. 357-358.
  3. ^ B. Morris, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisted. Cambridge University Press, 2004, p. 256-257
  4. ^ Morris, p. 205
  5. ^ Morris, loc cit.
  6. ^ Birzeit University series on Palestinian destroyed villages, 276 page report on Abu Shusha; some information here: [1]
  7. ^ M. Benvenisti, City of Stone, p. 248

[edit] See also