| al-Ghazzawiyya | |
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al-Ghazzawiyya
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| Arabic | الغزاويه |
| Also Spelled | al-Ghazawiya, Arab al Ghazawiya tribe (Morris) |
| District | Baysan |
| Coordinates | |
| Population | 1,640 (1945) |
| Area | 18,408 dunums
18.4 km² |
| Date of depopulation | May 20, 1948[1] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Influence of nearby town's fall |
| Current localities | Neve Eitan, Ma'oz Haim |
Al-Ghazzawiyya (Arabic: الغزاويه) was a former Palestinian village located 2 kilometers east of the city of Bet Shean (Bisan). In 1945, the population was 1,640, 1,020 Arab and 620 Jewish.[2]
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Several archeological sites in the area testify to a long history of human occupancy. The village was surrounded by the archeological sites of Tall-al Barta to the north, Tall al-Husn to the west, and Tall al-Maliha to the southwest. Excavations of Tall al-Husn showed an occupational history extending from the third millennium B.C. to the eight century C.E, when the site was occupied by an Arab village.[3]
In modern times, the village spread over a wide area of the Baysan valley. The villagers were members of the al-Ghazzawiyya Beduin tribe, who constituted the bulk of the valley's population together with members of the al-Bashatiwa and the al-Suqur.[2]
In 1944/45 a total of 13 dunums of village land was used for citrus and bananas, 5,185 dunums were used for cereals, and 34 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.[4][5]
It was captured by Israel's Golani Brigade on May 20, 1948 during Operation Gideon, an Israeli offensive during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The Arab population was forced to flee to nearby Syria or the present-day West Bank.[6]
The Jewish localities of Maoz Haim and Neve Eitan are built on the lands of the former village, though a large percentage of it is used as agricultural land, in particular the wheat crop. According to Walid Khalidi, the village contained an archaeological site, Tell al-Ru'yan which was transformed into waste dump.[6]
