Sabbarin

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Sabbarin
Arabic	صبارين
Also Spelled	Sabarin Sabbarim
District	Haifa
Population	1,108 (1931)
Jurisdiction	25,307 dunams (25.3 km²)
Date of depopulation	May 12, 1948
Cause(s) of depopulation	Military assault by Jewish forces
Current localities	Ramot Menashe

Sabbarin was a former Palestinian Arab village located 28 kilometers south of Haifa. According to a 1931 census, the village had a population of 1,108 inhabitants and the village's lands spanned 25,307 dunams.^[1]

Sabbarin was captured by Israeli forces on May 12, 1948 during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War in Operation Coastal Clearing. It was defended by a local militia and possibly the Arab Liberation Army.^[1] According to Benny Morris, the IZL (Irgun) encountered resistance there and the majority of the villagers fled after 20 of them were killed in a firefight, with an IZL armoured car firing on the villagers as they fled. More than one hundred people, including the eldery, women, and children, who had not fled were held behind barbed wire for a few days before being expelled to nearby Umm al-Fahm.^[2] Others who had fled earlier ended up in refugee camps in the Jenin area.^[1]

An IZL officer recounted how during a search of the column of refugees, a pistol and a rifle were found. Seven men were detained and were asked who the weapons belonged to. After they refused to answer, the IZL men threatened them with death. After still refusing to answer, the IZL men carried out a "field court martial," sentenced the seven to death, and thereafter executed them on the spot.^[2]