Raml Zayta
| Raml Zayta | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Raml Zayta | |
| Arabic | رمل زيتة |
| Also spelled | Raml Zeita (Khirbat Qazaza) |
| Subdistrict | Tulkarm |
| Coordinates | 32°26′6″N 34°56′12″E / 32.43500°N 34.93667°ECoordinates: 32°26′6″N 34°56′12″E / 32.43500°N 34.93667°E |
| Palestine grid | 145/203 |
| Population | 140 (1945) |
| Date of depopulation | 15 March 1948 |
| Current localities | Sde Yitzhak,[1] Chadera[1] |
Raml Zayta (Arabic: رمل زيتة, Raml Zeitâ), also Khirbet Qazaza, was a Palestinian Arab village located 15 km northwest of Tulkarm.[2] In 1945, the village had a population of 140.[3] According to Rosemarie Esber, the village was depopulated on 15 March 1948 during the 1948 Palestine war.[4] Benny Morris lists it as one of the villages for which the causes and date of depopulation are unknown.[5]
Esber, in an interview with a refugee from Raml Zaita, Zakiya Abu Hammad, writes that according to his memories, Yishuv forces had besieged the village for about two weeks, causing a lack of food: "[The Jews] started going into people's homes and forcing them out. They told us, "You either leave or we'll kill you." Some people were killed on the roads, as they abandoned their homes... They followed us. Those who were lucky, escaped with their lives, others did not." The villages were then forced out of their town and the surrounding villagers.[6]
According to Walid Khalidi writing in 1992, an Arab family is still living in the village in one of the original houses.[1]
References
Bibliography
- Esber, Rosemarie M. (2008). Under the Cover of War, The Zionist Expulsions of the Palestinians. Arabicus Books & Media. ISBN 978-0-9815131-7-1.
- 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: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948. 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.
External links
- SWP map 8
- Welcome To Raml Zayta, Palestine Remembered
- Raml Zayta, from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center