Qula

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Qula

The remains of the Crusader tower at Qula. The village mosque was located about 10m to the east of it.
Qula
Arabic قولة
Also Spelled Kouleh[1] Cola, Chola
Subdistrict Ramle
Coordinates 32°02′14.57″N 34°57′11.83″E / 32.0373806°N 34.9532861°E / 32.0373806; 34.9532861Coordinates: 32°02′14.57″N 34°57′11.83″E / 32.0373806°N 34.9532861°E / 32.0373806; 34.9532861
Population 1,010[2] (1945)
Area 4,347 dunams
Date of depopulation 10 July 1948[3]
Cause(s) of depopulation Military assault by Yishuv forces

Qula (Arabic: قولة) was a Palestinian village in the British Mandate District of Ramla 15 km northeast of Ramla, depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.[4]

Hasan Salama and his son Ali Hassan Salameh (1940 - 1979) were from Qula.

History

During the twelfth century the Hospitallers established an administrative and collection centre in the village, comprising a tower and a vaulted structure.[5]

In 1596, Qula was part of the Ottoman Empire, nahiya (subdistrict) of al-Ramla under the Liwa of Gaza, with a population of 380. It paid taxes on goats and beehives, and a press that was used for processing either olives or grapes.[6]

In the late nineteenth century, the village of Qula was described as being situated on a slope at the edge of a plain; its historical relics dating back to medieval times.[7] The village mosque stood approximately 10m east of the Crusader tower. It comprised a large vaulted iwan and a smaller room with an inscription above the entrance.[8]

During the British mandate period the village expanded along the Ramle-Tulkarm highway. In the village center was the mosque, several small shops, and a school which had been founded in 1919. By the mid-1940s the school had 134 students.[9] In 1944/45 the villagers used a total of 2,842 dunums of land for cereals, while 105 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.[10]

1948 War and aftermath

Most of the villagers fled in 1948, leaving only a few, primarily elderly behind. The villagers from Qula report that those left behind (six women and one man) were all shot or burned to death in their homes.[11]

A Jewish War Memorial, Givat Koach, now occupies the land where Qula once was.[1]

The Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi described the village site in 1992: "A forest covers much of the village site. The rubble of crumbled houses and terraces lies among the trees, and cactuses and fig, mulberry, and eucalyptus trees grow there as well. The only remaining landmark is the school, on the west side of the site. The hilly parts of the surrounding land are used for grazing animals; the rest of the land is cultivated.[12]

See also

  • List of Arab towns and villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
  • List of villages depopulated during the Arab-Israeli conflict

References

  1. Guérin, 1875, p. 390
  2. Hadawi, 1970, p.68
  3. Morris, 2004 p xviii village 211. Also gives cause of depopulation.
  4. "Welcome to Qula". Palestine Remembered. Retrieved 2007-12-09. 
  5. Pringle 1986, p.21-22, Pringle 1997, p.87. Cited in Petersen, 2002, p. 254
  6. Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 151. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p.408
  7. Conder and Kitchener, 1882, p. 297. Also quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p.408.
  8. Petersen, 2001, p. 254
  9. Khalidi, 1992, p.408
  10. Hadawi, 1970, p. 116. Also cited in Khalidi 1992, p409
  11. Susan Slyomovics: The Rape of Qula.p.34 in Sa'di, Abu-Lughod, 2007.
  12. Khalidi, 1992, p. 409

Bibliography

External links

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