Qastina

{{For|the road junction|Malakhi Junction}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Infobox settlement |name = Qastina |native_name = قسطينة |native_name_lang = ar |other_name = Kastina<ref name=Census1922/> |settlement_type = Village  |image_skyline = Qastina12.png |image_caption = Shepherd with sheep in Qastina, before 1948 |etymology = El Kustîneh, Kŭstîleh, i.e., Castellum<ref>Palmer, 1881, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/272/mode/1up 272]</ref>  | pushpin_map = Mandatory Palestine | pushpin_map_caption = Location within Mandatory Palestine | image_map = {{Historical map series|default=2|date1=1870s|date2=1940s|date3=modern|date4=1940s with modern overlay|width=225}} | map_caption = A series of historical maps of the area around Qastina (click the buttons) |pushpin_mapsize = 200 |coordinates = {{coord|31|44|21|N|34|45|44|E|type:city_region:PS|display=inline,title}} |grid_name = Palestine grid |grid_position = 127/127  |subdivision_type = Geopolitical entity |subdivision_name = Mandatory Palestine |subdivision_type1 = Subdistrict |subdivision_name1 = Gaza  |established_title1= Date of depopulation |established_date1 = 9 July 1948<ref>Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PR19 xix], village #275. Also gives causes of depopulation.</ref> |established_title2= Repopulated dates  |area_footnotes = <ref name=Hadawi46/> |unit_pref = dunam |area_total_dunam = 12,019  |population_as_of = 1945 |population_total = 890<ref name=DoS1945>Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p32.jpg 32]</ref><ref name=Hadawi46>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Gaza/Page-046.jpg 46]</ref>  |blank_name_sec1 = Cause(s) of depopulation |blank_info_sec1 = Military assault by Yishuv forces |blank1_name_sec1 = Secondary cause |blank1_info_sec1 = Influence of nearby town's fall |blank3_name_sec1 = Current Localities |blank3_info_sec1 = Kfar Warburg,<ref name=Khalidi131>Khalidi, 1992, p. 131</ref> Arugot,<ref name=Khalidi131/> Kfar Ahim,<ref name=Khalidi131/> Avigdor,<ref name=Khalidi131/> Kiryat Malakhi<ref name=Khalidi131/> }}

'''Qastina''' ({{langx|ar|قسطينة}}) was a Palestinian village, located 38 kilometers northeast of Gaza City. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.<ref name="Khalidi, 1992, p. 130"/>

==Location== Qastina was situated on an elevated spot in a generally flat area on the coastal plain, on the highway between al-Majdal and the Jerusalem-Jaffa highway. A British military camp, Beer Tuvia, was 3 km. southwest of the village.<ref name="Khalidi, 1992, p. 130">Khalidi, 1992, pp. 130-131</ref>

==History== ===Ottoman period=== Qastina was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with the rest of Palestine, and by the 1596 tax records, it was a village in the ''nahiya'' (subdistrict) of Gaza under the ''liwa''' (district) of Gaza, with a population of 55 households and 15 bachelors, an estimated 385 persons. All the villagers were Muslim. They paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on a number of crops, including wheat, barley and sesame, and fruits, as well as goats, beehives and vineyards; a total of 13,100 akçe. 5/6 of the revenue went to a Muslim charitable endowment.<ref>Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 149; cited in Khalidi, 1992, p. 130</ref>

The Syrian Sufi teacher and traveller Mustafa al-Bakri al-Siddiqi (1688-1748/9) reported travelling through the village in the first half of the eighteenth century,{{dubious|Mistake? Not Mustafa al-Bakri al-Siddiqi in mid-C18, a Sufi of this name died already in 1709, but maybe Mustafa ibn Kamal al-Din al-Bakri (d. 1748), Syrian Sufi teacher active in Jerusalem, short stay in Cairo; then likely time: "first third C18" – see Khalidi p. XXII!|date=July 2015}} on his way to al-Masmiyya al-Kabira.<ref>"Al-Rihla", cited in Khalidi, 1992, p. 130</ref>

In 1838, Edward Robinson saw ''el-Kustineh'' located northwest of Tell es-Safi, where he was staying,<ref>Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearc00smitgoog#page/n386/mode/1up 364]</ref> and noted it as a Muslim village located in the Gaza district.<ref>Robinson and Smith, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/118/mode/1up 118]</ref>

In 1863, the French explorer Victor Guérin visited the village, called ''Kasthineh''. He found it had four hundred inhabitants. Near the mouth of a well were the remains of an antique gray-white marble column, while two palm trees and three acacia mimosas shaded the cemetery.<ref>Guérin, 1869, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongog02gu#page/87/mode/1up 87] -88</ref>

An Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed that Qastina had 152 houses and a population of 469, though the population count included men only.<ref name=Socin>Socin, 1879, p. [https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde01deut#page/156/mode/1up 156] Also noted it in the Gaza district</ref><ref>Hartmann, 1883, p. [https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ#page/n941/mode/1up 133], noted 157 houses</ref> In 1882, the PEF's ''Survey of Western Palestine'' described Qastina as a village laid out in a northwest–southeast direction on flat ground. It had adobe brick structures, a well, and gardens.<ref>Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/410/mode/1up 410]; cited in Khalidi, 1992, p.130</ref>

===British Mandate period=== In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, the village had a population of 406 inhabitants, all Muslims,<ref name=Census1922>Barron, 1923, Table V, Sub-district of Gaza, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n11/mode/1up 9]</ref> increasing in the 1931 census when it had an all-Muslim population of 593 in 147 houses.<ref name=Census1931>Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 5]</ref>

The villagers had a mosque, and in 1936 an elementary school was started, which was shared with the neighbouring village of Tall al-Turmus. By the mid-1940s the school had 161 students.<ref name="Khalidi, 1992, p. 130"/>

In 1939 Kfar Warburg was established on what was traditionally village land, 3 km southwest of the village site.<ref name=Khalidi131>Khalidi, 1992, p. 131</ref> During the Second World War, the village played host to many elements of the Allied forces, including the HQ for the Australian 6th Division.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2/3rd Pioneer Battalion |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U56187 |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=www.awm.gov.au |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=QASTINA. 6TH DIVISION H.Q.'S FLAG. (NEGATIVE BY D. PARER). |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C23579 |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=www.awm.gov.au |language=en}}</ref>

By the 1945 statistics the population was 890, all Muslims,<ref name=DoS1945/> with a total of 12,019 dunams of land.<ref name=Hadawi46/> The villagers lived mostly of agriculture. In addition, villagers raised animals and poultry, and worked in the British military camp (Beer Tuvia) nearby.<ref name="Khalidi, 1992, p. 130"/> In 1944–45 a total of 235 dunums was used for citrus and bananas, 7,317 dunums used for cereals, 770 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,<ref name=Hadawi88>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Gaza/Page-088.jpg 88]</ref> while 37 dunams were built-up, urban, land.<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Gaza/Page-138.jpg 138]</ref>

thumb|Qastina 1945 1:250,000

===1948 war=== Qastina was in the territory allotted to the Arab state under the 1947 UN Partition Plan.<ref name="UN">{{Cite web|title=Map of UN Partition Plan |publisher=United Nations |access-date=2009-02-09 |url=http://domino.un.org/maps/m0103_1b.gif |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124212115/http://domino.un.org/maps/m0103_1b.gif |archive-date=January 24, 2009 }}</ref> Upon Israel's declaration of independence on 15 May 1948, the armies of neighbouring Arab states invaded, prompting fresh evacuations of civilians fearful of being caught up in the fighting. The women and children of Qastina were sent away to the village of Tell es-Safi by the menfolk at this time, but they returned after discovering there was insufficient water in the host village to meet the newcomers' needs.<ref name=Morrisp176>Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA176 176]</ref>

A preparatory order for the conquest of Qastina and other neighbouring villages (Masmiya al Kabira, Masmiya al Saghira, al Tina and Tall al Turmus) was drafted by the Giv'ati Brigade's 51st Battalion and produced on 29 June 1948. According to Benny Morris, the document recommended "the 'liquidation' (''hisul'') of the two Masmiya villages and 'burning' (''bi'ur'') the rest."<ref name=Morrisp436>Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA436 436]</ref>

On 9 July 1948, the village and its over 147 houses were completely destroyed by Israeli forces after its inhabitants fled an assault by the Givati Brigade in Operation An-Far. Qastina was used as a rallying point by the IDF seventh Battalion of the 8th Armored Brigade after the failed attack on Iraq al-Manshiyya in part of the Israeli drive to open a route to the Negev during Operation Yoav.<ref>Shapira, 2008, p. 243</ref>

===Israel after 1948 war=== In early 1949 Quaker relief workers reported that many those living in tents in what became Maghazi refugee camp had come from Qastina.<ref>Gallagher, Nancy (2007) ‘’Quakers in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The Dilemmas of NGO Humanitarian Activism’’ The American University in Cairo Press. {{ISBN|977-416-105-X}} p 75</ref>

Following the war the area was incorporated into the State of Israel and four villages were later established on the lands of Qastina; Arugot and Kfar Ahim were founded in 1949 after the village had been destroyed. They were followed by Avigdor in 1950 and Kiryat Malakhi in 1951.<ref name=Khalidi131/> Be'er Tuvia, which was also known by the name Qastina after its establishment in 1887, lies adjacent.

In 1992, Walid Khalidi notes of Qastina that: <blockquote>"All that remains is the debris of houses strewn across the site. The research team investigating the current status of the depopulated villages visited the site and found it overgrown with bushes and tall grasses that were about 2m high."<ref name="Khalidi, 1992, p. 130"/></blockquote>

Nowadays, ''Qastina'' is the popular name for Malakhi Junction.

==References== {{reflist|25em}}

==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} *{{cite book |editor= Barron, J. B. |title= Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922 |url=https://archive.org/details/PalestineCensus1922 |publisher= Government of Palestine |year= 1923}} *{{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H. H.|author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1882|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp02conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund|volume=2}} *{{cite book|title=Village Statistics, April, 1945 |url=http://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/Hebrew/library/Pages/BookReader.aspx?pid=856390|author=Department of Statistics|year=1945|publisher=Government of Palestine}} *{{cite book|last=Guérin|first=V.|author-link=Victor Guérin|title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptiongog02gu|volume=1: Judee, pt. 2|year=1869|publisher= L'Imprimerie Nationale|location=Paris|language=fr}} *{{cite book|title=Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine|url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|first=S.|last=Hadawi|author-link=Sami Hadawi|year=1970|publisher=Palestine Liberation Organization Research Centre}} *{{cite journal | last = Hartmann | first =M.| author-link = Martin Hartmann | title = Die Ortschaftenliste des Liwa Jerusalem in dem türkischen Staatskalender für Syrien auf das Jahr 1288 der Flucht (1871) | journal = Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins | volume = 6 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ/page/n131 102]–149 | url =https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ | year = 1883}} *{{cite book |last1= Hütteroth |first1=W.-D.|author-link1=Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth |first2=K. | last2=Abdulfattah |author-link2=Kamal Abdulfattah |title= Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wqULAAAAIAAJ |year= 1977 |publisher= Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft |isbn= 3-920405-41-2}} *{{cite book|title=All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_By7AAAAIAAJ |first=W.|last=Khalidi|author-link=Walid Khalidi|year=1992|location=Washington D.C.|publisher=Institute for Palestine Studies|isbn=0-88728-224-5}} *{{cite book|editor = Mills, E.|title = Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas |url=https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas | publisher = Government of Palestine | location = Jerusalem | year = 1932}} *{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C |first=B.|last=Morris |author-link=Benny Morris |year=2004 |title=The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited|isbn=978-0-521-00967-6 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}} *{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=E. H.|author-link=Edward Henry Palmer|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund}} *{{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearc00smitgoog |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838| location=Boston|publisher=Crocker & Brewster|volume=2}} *{{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838| location=Boston|publisher=Crocker & Brewster|volume=3}} *{{cite book|last=Shapira|first=A.|author-link=Anita Shapira|title=Yigal Allon; Native Son; A Biography|year=2008|translator= Evelyn Abel|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press | isbn= 978-0-8122-4028-3 }} *{{cite journal | last = Socin | first =A.| author-link = Albert Socin | title = Alphabetisches Verzeichniss von Ortschaften des Paschalik Jerusalem | journal = Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins | volume = 2 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/zeitschriftdesde01deut/page/135 135]–163 | url = https://archive.org/details/zeitschriftdesde01deut | year = 1879}} {{refend}}

==External links== *[https://www.palestineremembered.com/Gaza/Qastina/ Welcome To Qastina] *[http://www.zochrot.org/village/view?id=49453 Qastina], Zochrot *Survey of Western Palestine, Map 16: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8378 IAA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402072741/http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8378 |date=2019-04-02 }}, [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.16.jpg Wikimedia commons] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20081205081506/http://www.alnakba.org/villages/gaza/qastina.htm Qastina] from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center

{{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War}} {{Authority control}}

Category:District of Gaza Category:Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War