Al-Shuna () was a
Palestinian
Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine.
*: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
Arab
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
village in the
Safad Subdistrict. It was ethnically cleansed and depopulated during the
1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on April 30, 1948, by the Palmach's First Battalion of
Operation Yiftach. It was located 6 km south of
Safad
Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel.
Safed has been identified with (), a fortified town in the Upper Gal ...
, overlooking the deep gorge of Wadi al-'Amud.
History
Victor Guérin
Victor Guérin (; 15 September 1821 – 21 September 1890) was a French people, French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included ...
describes this place in 1875 as "built of white limestone mixed with stones of black
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
in alternate courses. We think that although this custom is common in modern Arab building, it can be shown to have been an ancient usage, so that the building may be old. Round it are the vestiges of a ruined
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
."
In 1881 the
PEF's ''
Survey of Western Palestine
The PEF Survey of Palestine was a series of surveys carried out by the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) between 1872 and 1877 for the completed Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) and in 1880 for the soon abandoned Survey of Eastern Palestine. The ...
'' found at ''Kŭlảt esh Shûneh'': "A modern Arab building of basaltic stone; used probably as a barn, as the name implies".
British Mandate era
In the
1922 census of Palestine
The 1922 census of Palestine was the first census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine, on 23 October 1922.
The reported population was 757,182, including the military and persons of foreign nationality. The divis ...
''Shuneh'' had a population of 83; all
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
,
[Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Safad, p]
41
/ref> increasing in the 1931 census to 337, still all Muslims, in a total of 65 houses.[Mills, 1932, p]
111
/ref>
In the 1945 statistics the population was 170 Muslims,[ with a total of 3,660 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.][ Of this, 995 dunums were used for cereals, while 2,481 dunams was non-cultivable area.][Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p]
171
The village had a school and a mosque.
1948, aftermath
Today, a wildlife sanctuary known as the Nachal 'Amud Reserve is located in the vicinity.
References
Bibliography
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External links
Welcome To al-Shunaal-Shuna
Zochrot
Zochrot (; "Remembering"; ; "Memories") is an Israeli nonprofit organization founded in 2002. Based in Tel Aviv, its aim is to promote awareness of the Nakba, including the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight. The group was co-founded by Eitan ...
al-Shuna
Villages of Palestine
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 6
IAAWikimedia commons
{{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War
Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
District of Safad