Ghuwayr Abu Shusha
غُويّر أبو شوشة
Maqam Sheikh Abu Shusha
Maqam Sheikh Abu Shusha
Etymology: from personal name; meaning the “father of” wearing “a top knot”[1]
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
A series of historical maps of the area around Ghuwayr Abu Shusha (click the buttons)
Ghuwayr Abu Shusha is located in Mandatory Palestine
Ghuwayr Abu Shusha
Ghuwayr Abu Shusha
Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 32°51′13″N 35°30′26″E / 32.85361°N 35.50722°E / 32.85361; 35.50722
Palestine grid197/251
Geopolitical entityMandatory Palestine
SubdistrictTiberias
Date of depopulation21 and 28 April 1948[2]
Area
[3]
 • Total8,609 dunams (8.609 km2 or 3.324 sq mi)
Population
 (1945)
 • Total1,240[4][3]
Cause(s) of depopulationMilitary assault by Yishuv forces
Secondary causeInfluence of nearby town's fall
Current LocalitiesGinosar,[5] Livnim[5]

Ghuwayr Abu Shusha was a Palestinian Arab village in the Tiberias Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on April 21, 1948. It was located 8 km north of Tiberias, nearby Wadi Rubadiyya.

History

In 1838 Edward Robinson found on the remains of a few dwellings, built of rough volcanic stones, some of which were still used as magazines by the Arabs of the plain. A wely with a white dome marked the spot. He found no traces of antiquity.[6]

In 1850-1851 de Saulcy saw the village, which he described as ruined. Of the village, all which remained was a few portions of wall of modern appearance, "but in the midst of these is still standing a square vaulted tower, constructed in fine blocks of Herodian workmanship, or Roman of the early empire. This tower rests against a wall of more recent character."[7]

In 1875 Victor Guérin visited and noted the little wely dedicated to Abou-Choutheh.[8]

In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as containing 20 Moslems, with housed built of basalt, located round a mill.[9] There were modern ruins in the village, and a number of ruined mills in the valley below.[10]

British mandate era

In the 1945 statistics it had a population of 1,240 Muslims,[4] with 8,609 dunams of land.[3] Of this, 21 dunams were used for citrus and bananas, 1,377 for plantations and irrigable land, 1,848 dunams for cereals,[11] while 6 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) area.[12]

Ruins of watermills could be seen at the nearby Khirbat Abu Shusha.[13]

1948, and aftermath

The village was depopulated after a military assault on 21 and 28 April 1948.[2]

Ginosar presently occupy part of what was village land, so does Livnim, established in 1982 ca. 1 km northwest of the Ghuwayr Abu Shusha site.[5]

In 1992 the village site was described: "The village site is covered with thorns and wild vegetation, including Christ's-thorn trees and cactuses. The shrine of Shaykh Muhammad and the remains of a mill can be seen among piles of stones and a few olive trees. The lower-lying lands are planted in bananas and citrus, while the highlands are used as grazing areas by the Israelis."[5]

References

  1. ↑ Palmer, 1881, p. 128
  2. 1 2 Morris, 2004, p. xvii, village #93. Also gives cause of depopulation.
  3. 1 2 3 Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 72
  4. 1 2 Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 12
  5. 1 2 3 4 Khalidi, 1992, p. 517
  6. ↑ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, pp. 285-286; cited in Khalidi, 1992, p. 516
  7. ↑ Saucy, 1854, pp. 423-424
  8. ↑ Guérin, 1880, pp. 209-212
  9. ↑ Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 360
  10. ↑ Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 396
  11. ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 122
  12. ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 172
  13. ↑ Khalidi, 1992, p. 516

Bibliography

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