Al-Dirdara (), also known as Mazari ed Daraja, 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 depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 1, 1948, under

Operation Yiftach Operation Yiftach (, ''Mivtza Yiftah'') was a Palmach offensive carried out between 28 April and 23 May 1948. The objectives were to capture Safed and to secure the eastern Galilee before the British Mandate ended on 14 May 1948. It was carried ...

. It was located 13 km east 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 ...

. In 1945 it had a population of 100.

History

The village was located in the middle of a flat plain overlooking the

Hula Valley The Hula Valley () is a valley and fertile agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water that used to be Lake Hula before it was drained. It is a major stopover for birds migrating along the Great Rift Valley between Africa ...

Plain to the north and south. The villagers cultivated grain, vegetables, citrus, almonds, and figs.Khalidi, 1992, pp. 447-448 In 1944/5 it had a population of 100

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 ...

s, with a total of 6,361 dunums of land. Of this, 1,623 were used for

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

, 795 were irrigated or used for orchards,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945''. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p
120
/ref> while 2,025 dunams were classified as non-cultivable land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p
170
/ref> The Jewish settlement of ''Eyal'' was founded on village land in 1947, but was destroyed in the 1948 war.

1948, aftermath

The precise date is not clear when al-Dirdara was occupied by Israeli forces but is believed to have been late April or early May. By July 1948 Israeli forces controlled the villages, although Syrian forces had tried to recapture the village but were forced to withdraw, losing over fifty men. They signed an armistice agreement in July 1949, creating a demilitarized zone. After the Al-Dirdara Palestinian inhabitants had been expelled, Israel tried to resettle ''Eyal'', this time calling it ''ha-Goeverim''. In 1953, they changed the name to ''Ashmura''. Pr. 1992 it was not inhabited. In 1992 the village site was described: "The site is a mound of stones and earth, overgrown with trees. There is a canal at the northern edge through which water flows in a north-south direction. The area around the site is cultivated."

References

Bibliography

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External links

al-Dirdara

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-Dirdara
at

Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center () is a leading Palestinian arts and culture organization that aims to create a pluralistic, critical liberating culture through research, query, and participation, and that provides an open space for the communit ...

al-Dirdara
Dr. Khalil Rizk. {{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War District of Safad