| al-Masmiyya al-Saghira | |
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al-Masmiyya al-Saghira
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| Arabic | المسمية الصغيرة |
| Also Spelled | Masmiyyat al-Hurani al-Huraniyya |
| District | Gaza |
| Coordinates | |
| Population | 530 (1945) |
| Area | 6,478 dunums
6.5 km² |
| Date of depopulation | July 8–9, 1948[1] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
| Current localities | Masmiya Bet,[2]Kfar HaRif |
Al-Masmiyya al-Saghira (Arabic: المسمية الصغيرة, also known as Mamsiyyat al-Hurani) was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Gaza, located 42 kilometers (26 mi) northeast of Gaza. Established in the 19th century[3], it was situated at an elevation of 60 meters (200 ft) in the southern coastal plain of Ottoman Syria. Al-Masmiyya al-Saghira was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, but prior to that, in 1945, it had a population of 530 inhabitants.[3]
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Al-Masmiyya al-Saghira was established in the second half of the 19th century by al-Hurani clan who had lived in the adjacent al-Masmiyya al-Kabira, but left because of feuds with other residents. Thus, the village was also known as "Masmiyyat al-Hurani". The adjectival Saghira means "minor" in Arabic and was used to differentiate it from al-Mamsiyya al-Kabira, the latter word meaning "major".[3]
The entire population was Muslim. Seven small shops provided the village with its basic needs and children attended school in al-Masmiyya al-Kabira. Agriculture was the mainstay of the economy, grain being the dominant crop. In addition to cultivation, the inhabitants raised livestock which numbered approximately 4,000 animals, including sheep, goats, cattle, camels, mules. Farmers participated in the weekly market of al-Faluja, and also sold their products in the cities of Gaza, al-Majdal (Ashkelon), and Jaffa.[3]
The circumstances of al-Masmiyya al-Saghira's capture by Israel was identical to those of its sister village, al-Masmiyya al-Saghira which was occupied by the Givati Brigade on July 8–9, 1948. Israeli historian Benny Morris writes that the military operation was undertaken occurred in the ten days between the first two truces of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and that it "precipitated the evacuation of the village". The Jewish moshav of Kfar HaRif was established on al-Masmiyya al-Saghira's lands in 1956. According to Walid Khalidi: "Virtually no trace of the village remains, and the site is overgrown with weeds, tall grasses, and a scattering of eucalyptus trees".[3]