Al-Tira, Ramle

See Tira for other sites with similar names.
Al-Tira

Remains of the mosque of Al-Tira
Al-Tira
Arabic طيرة دندن
Name meaning "The Fort"[1]
Subdistrict Ramle
Coordinates 32°01′02″N 34°56′35″E / 32.01722°N 34.94306°E / 32.01722; 34.94306Coordinates: 32°01′02″N 34°56′35″E / 32.01722°N 34.94306°E / 32.01722; 34.94306
Palestine grid 144/158
Population 1,290[2][3] (1945)
Area 6,956[3] dunams
Date of depopulation July 10, 1948[4]
Cause(s) of depopulation Military assault by Yishuv forces
Current localities Tirat Yehuda,[5] Giv'at Ko'ah,[5] Bareket[5]

Al-Tira was a Palestinian village in the Ramle Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on July 10, 1948 by the Alexandroni and Armored (Eighth) brigades under Operation Dani. It was located 12 km northeast of Ramla. al-Tira was mostly destroyed with the exception of a few houses survived destruction.

History

Archeological remains from Early Bronze Age,[6] Iron Age II,[6] Hellenistic[6][7] and Roman era have been found.[6]

A wine-press, dating to late Roman or early Byzantine era have been excavated,[8] together with a cistern, dating from the pre-Byzantine era.[9]

Crusader era remains have been found,[10] together with remains from the Mamluk era.[6][10]

Ottoman era

In 1517, Tira was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire along with the rest of Palestine, and by 1596 it was a part of the nahiya ("subdistrict") of Ramla, which was under the administration of the liwa ("district") of Gaza. A village of 26 households and 3 bachelors, an estimated 160 persons, Muslims. They paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, vineyards, fruit trees, beehives, and goats, a total of 6,800 akçe.[11][12]

In 1870, Victor Guérin found it to be a “village of seven hundred inhabitants, with gardens planted with fig trees and pomegranates, separated from each other by hedges of cactus.”[13] Guérin also found here caves and a tomb cut in the rock; also, still standing, the door of an ancient house, its two jambs formed of great cut stones covered by a splendid block forming the lintel, and formerly decorated by mouldings, now effaced.[14] An Ottoman village list from about the same year (1870) indicated 54 houses and a population of 385, though the population count included men, only.[15][16]

In 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described it as: "A mud village of moderate size, with cactus hedges, situated at the edge of the plain, the hills rising behind; on the west, by the high road, is a good well, with remains of masonry."[17]

In 1896 the population of Et-tire was estimated to be about 210 persons.[18]

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Tireh had a population of 705, all Muslims,[19] increasing in the 1931 census to 892, still all Muslims, in a total of 225 houses.[20]

An elementary school was founded in 1922, and by 1947-48, it had an enrollment of 110 boys and 22 girls.[12]

In 1945 the population was 1,290, all Muslims,[2] while the total land area was 6,956 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[3] Of this, 78 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 5,551 for cereals,[21] while 45 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[22]

al-'Umari Mosque was one of the notable landmarks.[12]

1948, and aftermath

The village became depopulated on July 10, 1948, after a military assault by the Israeli army.[4] On the same day, Operation Danny headquarter ordered the Yiftach Brigade to blow up most of Innaba and Al-Tira, leaving only houses enough for a small garrison.[23][24]

The Israeli settlements of Tirat Yehuda, Giv'at Ko'ah and Bareket are all on the land of Al-Tira.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Palmer, 1881, p.246
  2. 1 2 Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 30
  3. 1 2 3 Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 68
  4. 1 2 Morris, 2004, p. xviii village #216. Also gives cause of depopulation.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Khalidi, 1992, p. 418
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Masarwa, 2012, Khirbat et-Tira
  7. ↑ Zelinger, 2005, Khirbet et-Tira (Bareket)
  8. ↑ Hillel, 2009, Khirbat et-Tira
  9. ↑ Romano, 2004, Khirbat et-Tira
  10. 1 2 Itach and Zuckerman-Cooper, 2016, Khirbat et-Tira (Bareket)
  11. ↑ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 153
  12. 1 2 3 Khalidi, 1992, p. 417
  13. ↑ Guérin, 1875, p. 355
  14. ↑ Guérin, 1875, p. 391; as given by Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 378
  15. ↑ Socin, 1879, p. 162
  16. ↑ Hartmann, 1883, p. 138, also noted 54 houses
  17. ↑ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 298
  18. ↑ Schick, 1896, p. 126 Schick also notes he thinks the Socin-number too high
  19. ↑ Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramleh, p. 22
  20. ↑ Mills, 1932, p. 23.
  21. ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 117
  22. ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 167
  23. ↑ Morris, 2004, p. 355, note #86
  24. ↑ Morris, 2004, p. 400, note #86

Bibliography

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