| Deir al-Dubban | |
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Deir al-Dubban
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| Arabic | دير الدبان |
| Name Meaning | "Monastery of the Flies" |
| Also Spelled | Dayr ad-Dhubban |
| District | Hebron |
| Coordinates | |
| Population | 730[1] (1945) |
| Area | 7,784[1] dunums
7.7 km² |
| Date of depopulation | October 23-24, 1948[2] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
| Current localities | Luzit |
Deir al Dubban (Arabic: دير الدبان, Dayr ad-Dhubban, literally, the "Monastery of the Flies") was a small Palestinian village 26 kilometers (16 mi) northwest of Hebron, near the modern village of Luzit, between Jerusalem, and Ashqelon (Ascalon 'Asqalan).[3] The village is now completely disappeared.
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A possible reason behind Deir al-Dubban's name is that its ancient inhabitants worshiped Ba'l Zabub ("Lord of the Flies"), a chief Canaanite deity in the region. In 1596, while under Ottoman rule, the village was administered by the nahiya of Jerusalem, part of Sanjak Jerusalem. Its population of 396 paid taxes on wheat, barley, olive trees, fruit trees, vineyards, goats and beehives.[4]
The American Biblical scholar E. Robinson reports passing Deir al-Dubban in 1838, on his way to examine caverns nearby.[4][5]
During the British Mandate period, Deir al-Dubban's main economic activities were rainfed agriculture and animal husbandry. As a customary practice, farmland was divided into eastern and western sections; one section was planted on during a particular season, while the other remained a fallow. Adjacent to the farmland were fig orchards and grape vineyards. In 1945, Deir al-Dubban had a population of 730 and a land area of 5,358 dunams.[4]
During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, on October 24, Israeli forces belonging to the Givati Brigade captured Deir ad-Dubban in a northward push in Operation Yoav. Most of the inhabitants fled the village before the arrival of Israeli forces. The Jewish settlement of Luzit was established on the village's northeastern lands in 1955. According to Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi, "the village's old roads are easily identifiable. There are also remnants of stone terraces and a cave."[4]
