Al-Maghar

{{Other uses|Maghar (disambiguation){{!}}Maghar}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Al-Maghar | native_name = المغار | native_name_lang = ar | settlement_type =  | image_skyline = File:Al-Maghar5.jpg | image_caption = Al-Maghar, 1940 | etymology = The caves<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|name=al-Maghar}} | map_caption = A series of historical maps of the area around Al-Maghar (click the buttons) | pushpin_mapsize = 200 | coordinates = {{coord|31|50|19|N|34|46|56|E|type:city_region:PS|display=inline,title}} | grid_name = Palestine grid | grid_position = 129/138  | subdivision_type = Geopolitical entity | subdivision_name = Mandatory Palestine | subdivision_type1 = Subdistrict | subdivision_name1 = Ramle  | established_title1 = Date of depopulation | established_date1 = 18 May 1948<ref name=Morris>Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PR19 xix] village #256. Also gives cause of depopulation</ref> | established_title2 = Repopulated dates  | unit_pref = dunam | area_total_dunam = 15,390 | area_footnotes = <ref name=Hadawi67/>  | population_as_of = 1945 | population_total = 1,740<ref name=1945p30>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p30.jpg 30]</ref><ref name=Hadawi67>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945''. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/al-Ramla/Page-067.jpg 67]</ref>  | blank_name_sec1 = Cause(s) of depopulation | blank_info_sec1 = Military assault by Yishuv forces | blank3_name_sec1 = Current Localities | blank3_info_sec1 = Beit Elazari<ref name=Khalidi395>Khalidi, 1992, p. 395</ref> }}

'''Al-Maghar''' was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine. It was depopulated by the Givati Brigade during Operation Barak on 18 May 1948. It was located 12 km southwest of Ramla, situated north of Wadi al-Maghar. ==History== An inscription which was in Greek, and dated to a Christian period was found here.<ref>Clermont-Ganneau, 1874, p. [https://archive.org/stream/quarterlystateme05pale#page/275/mode/1up 275]</ref><ref>Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/427/mode/1up 427]</ref>

In the 8th century, the village was the birthplace of the Islamic jurist Abu al-Hasan Muhammad al-Maghari.<ref name=Khalidi394>Khalidi, 1992, p. 394</ref>

===Ottoman era=== In 1517, Al-Maghar, like the rest of Palestine, was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire, and in the 1596 tax registers the village appeared under the name of ''Imgar'', as being in the ''nahiya'' (subdistrict) of Gaza under the Liwa of Gaza, with a population was 22 households, all Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on various agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, summer crops, fruit trees, olive trees, and sesame; a total of 6,400 akçe.<ref>Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 146</ref>

In 1838, ''el Mughar'' was noted by Edward Robinson from Aqir,<ref>Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol. 3, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/n39/mode/1up 22]</ref> he further noted it as a Muslim village in the Gaza district.<ref>Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol. 3, 2nd appendix, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/118/mode/1up 118]</ref>

In 1863 Victor Guérin found a village with about 200 inhabitants living in adobe houses. He further noted "vast fields, of which the extreme fertility delights the sight." The barley was already partially harvested, and elsewhere the plain was seeded with corn and durrah.<ref>Guérin, 1869, p. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongog02gu#page/36/mode/1up 36]</ref>

An Ottoman village list of about 1870 indicated 54 houses and a population of 174, though the population count included men, only.<ref>Socin, 1879, p. [https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde01deut#page/154/mode/1up 154] noted in The Gaza district</ref><ref>Hartmann, 1883, p. [https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ#page/n941/mode/1up 133], noted 56 houses</ref>

In 1882, the PEF's ''Survey of Western Palestine'' (SWP) described it as consisting almost entirely of adobe houses, "occupying the south slope of the hill, and built in front of caves in the rock. There are fig-gardens beneath, and pasture-land round it on the north and east. The village is not larger than most of those in the plain." "It has two wells: one north, one west."<ref>Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/411/mode/1up 411]</ref> Figs were noted here.<ref>Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/418/mode/1up 418]</ref>

The Battle of Mughar Ridge between British and Ottoman forces in the World War I was fought in the environs of Al-Maghar.

===British Mandate era=== In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, ''Mughar'' had a population of 966 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> while in the 1931 census, ''Mughar'' had 255 occupied houses and a population of 1,211 Muslims.<ref name="Census1931">Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 5]</ref>

thumb|El Maghar 1930 1:20,000

In the 1945 statistics, it had a population of 1,740 Muslims,<ref name=1945p30/> and the total land area was 15,390 dunums.<ref name=Hadawi67/> Of this, Arabs used a total of 1,772 dunums for citrus and bananas, 9,075 dunums were used for cereals, 86 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/al-Ramla/Page-116.jpg 116]</ref> while 31 dunams were classified as built-up urban areas.<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/al-Ramla/Page-166.jpg 166]</ref>

It had an elementary school and in 1945, it had an enrollment of 170 students.<ref name=Khalidi395/>

===1948, and aftermath=== The village was attacked, occupied and depopulated on 18 May 1948.<ref name=Morris/><ref>Morris, 2004, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA95 95], [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA255 255], [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA306 306], [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA314 314], [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA350 350],[https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA363 373]</ref> In June 1948, the village was destroyed to prevent the return of the inhabitants.<ref>Morris, 2004, p. 350.</ref> In early 1949, American Quaker relief workers reported that many of those living in tents in what became Maghazi refugee camp had come from Al-Maghar.<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>

The Israeli moshav of Beit Elazari is built on the land of the destroyed Palestinian town of Al-Maghar.<ref name=Khalidi395/>

==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 journal | last = Clermont-Ganneau| first = C.S.| author-link =Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau| title = Letters from M. Clermont-Ganneau|url=https://archive.org/details/quarterlystateme05pale | journal = Palestine Exploration Quarterly | volume = 6 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/quarterlystateme05pale/page/261 261]-280 | year = 1874}} *{{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=Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics|year=1945}} *{{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|access-date=2009-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208215837/http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|archive-date=2018-12-08|url-status=dead}} *{{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/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 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://web.archive.org/web/20100529073448/http://www.palestineremembered.com/al-Ramla/al-Maghar/index.html Welcome To al-Maghar] *[http://www.zochrot.org/en/village/49280 al-Maghar], 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], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.16.jpg Wikimedia commons] *[http://www.alnakba.org/villages/ramla/maghar.htm al-Maghar], from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center

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

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