Kudna
| Kudna | |
  Kudna |
|
| Arabic | كُدنة |
| Name Meaning | Kudna (personal name)[1] |
| Also Spelled | Kidna |
| Subdistrict | Hebron |
| Coordinates | 31°38′42″N 34°53′40″E / 31.64500°N 34.89444°ECoordinates: 31°38′42″N 34°53′40″E / 31.64500°N 34.89444°E |
| Population | 450[2] (1945) |
| Area | 15,744[2] dunams |
| Date of depopulation | 22-23 October, 1948[3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
| Current localities | Beit Nir |
Kudna (Arabic: كُدنة, also known to the Crusaders as Kidna) was a Palestinian Arab village, located 25 kilometers northwest of Hebron.
History
Kudna was known to the Crusaders as Kidna. An archaeological site in Kudna contained remnants of a fort, the foundations of buildings, previously inhabited caves, and cisterns. About half a dozen khirbas lay in the vicinity.[4]
During the rule of the Ottoman empire, Edward Robinson passed by in 1838, and noted that Kudna was a small village, with the remains of a large ancient building. The western wall was still standing, some 150 ft long (46 m), built of large stones.[5] In the late 19th century, Kudna was described as a small village situated on a low hill and surrounded by olive trees. The walls of a Crusader Castle rose from the middle of the village.[6]
In a 1931 census conducted by the British Mandatory authorities, there were 353 registered inhabitants living there.[7]
1948, and aftermath
During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the Israeli forces of the Giv'ati Brigade, commanded by Yigal Allon in Operation Yo'av assaulted the village on 22 October 1948.[7] Though the village was defended by volunteers from the Arab Liberation Army, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, and local militia men, it was overtaken by the Israeli forces and the village inhabitants fled.[7] Benny Morris reports that Kudna was one of a number of villages, including Zikrin, Ra'na, Deir ad Dabbun and Ajjur, where most of the people fled before the arrival of the Givati Brigade; however those that did remain were expelled eastwards.[8]
The area today is inhabited by the Israeli kibbutz Beit Nir, established to the west of the village site, on village land.[4]
The Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi described the village remaining structures in 1992: "The houses have been reduced to levelled debris hidden beneath an overgrowth of wild vegetation. One can see the stones that served as fences for home gardens. Cactuses and carob, fig, and olive trees grow on the site."[4]
See also
- List of Arab towns and villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
References
- ↑ Palmer, 1881, p. 376
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hadawi, 1970, p.50
- ↑ Morris, 2004, p. xix, village #321. Also gives cause of depopulation
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Khalidi, 1992, p.218
- ↑ Robinson, 1841, vol. II, p. 354.
- ↑ Conder, Claude Reignier and H.H. Kitchener: The Survey of Western Palestine. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, 1883, III, p.258. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p.218
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Welcome to Kudna". Palestine Remembered. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ↑ Morris, 2004, p. 466.
Bibliography
- Conder, Claude Reignier and H.H. Kitchener (1883): The Survey of Western Palestine: memoirs of the topography, orography, hydrography, and archaeology. London:Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. vol 3
- Hadawi, Sami (1970), Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine, Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center
- Khalidi, Walid (1992), All That Remains, Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies, ISBN 0-88728-224-5
- Morris, Benny (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-00967-6.
- Robinson, Edward (1841): Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the Year 1838. Volume II.
- Palmer, E. H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.