Al-Khalisa
| al-Khalisa | |
|---|---|
The mosque of al-Khalisa, currently a museum for the history of Kiryat Shemona
|
|
 al-Khalisa
|
|
| Arabic | الخالصة |
| Name meaning | Pure, sincere |
| Also spelled | al-Khalsa |
| Subdistrict | Safad |
| Coordinates | 33°12′52.47″N 35°34′02.26″E / 33.2145750°N 35.5672944°ECoordinates: 33°12′52.47″N 35°34′02.26″E / 33.2145750°N 35.5672944°E |
| Palestine grid | 203/290 |
| Population | 1,840 (1945) |
| Area | 11,280 dunams 11.3 km² |
| Date of depopulation | May 11, 1948 |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Influence of nearby town's fall |
| Secondary cause | Whispering campaign |
| Current localities | Kiryat Shemona |
Al-Khalisa was a Palestinian Arab village situated on a low hill on the northwestern edge of the Hula Valley of over 1,800 located 28 kilometers (17 mi) north of Safad. It was depopulated in the 1948 Palestine war.
Al-Khalisa was founded by the Bedouin from the 'Arab al-Ghawarina clan, who constituted the bulk the village's population. Under the Ottoman Empire, in 1596, it had a population of 160 and was under the administration of the nahiya ("subdistrict") of Jira, part of Sanjak Safad. It paid taxes on wheat, barley, orchards, beehives, water buffalo, and a water-powered mill.
In 1881, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described al-Khalisa as a village built of stone, surrounded by streams, with a population of 50.
The houses of the village were built of bricks and basalt stones cut from the hillside. Al-Khalisa had a boys' elementary school which also admitted students from neighboring villages. The residents drew their drinking water from several springs. It was one of five villages in the Galilee to be governed by a village council that administered in local affairs.
The leader of 'Arab al-Ghawarina clan was Sheikh Kamal Hussein, resident of Al-Khalisa, and, according to Meron Benvenisti, he led the raid on Tel Hai in 1920. However, in the years preceding 1948, Sheikh Kamal established close relationships with the Jewish settlers, but, according to Benvenisti, the veterans of Kfar Giladi did not forget or forgive, and cultivated Sheikh Kamal's enemy Emir Faour.
In the 1931 census of Palestine, the population of El Khalisa was 1,369; 1,340 Muslims, 3 Jews and 26 Christians, in a total of 259 houses.
In 1945, its population was 1,840, of which 20 were Christians, and the total land area were 11,280 dunams. Of this, 5,586 dunams were irrigated or used for plantations, 3,775 for cereals, while 20 dunams were classified as urban land.
...
Wikipedia