Statistic/Fact	Value
Israeli occupation date	May 18, 1948
Distance from district center	33(km) North East of Gaza
Elevation from the sea	50 (meters)
Map location	See location number #15 on the map
Israeli military operation	Second stage of Operation Barak
Israeli attacking brigade	Possibly Giva'ti Brigade
Exodus Cause	Feer of Jewish attack, or of being caught in the fighting
Village remains after destruction by Israelis	The village has been mostly destroyed with the exception of few deserted houses
Ethnically cleansing by Israelis	al-Sawafir al-Shamaliyya inhabitants were completely ethnically cleansed.
Land ownership before occupation	Ethnic Group Land Ownership (Dunums) Arab 5,166 Jewish 450 Public 245 Total 5,861
Land usage in 1945	Land Usage Type Arab (Dunum) Jewish (Dunum) Area planted w/ citrus 481 189 Irrigated & Plantation 10 0 Planted W/ Cereal 4,633 261 Built up 21 0 Cultivable 5,124 450 Non-Cultivable 266 0
Population before occupation	Year Population 1596 616 1922 334 1931 454 1945 680 1948 789 Est. Refugees 1998 4,844
Number of houses	Year Number of houses 1931 77 1948 133
Town's name through history	The Crusades called the village Zeophir, and the Ottomans records referred to it by Sawafir al-Halil.
Schools	The village shared a school with the other two Sawafir villages, and in 1945 it had an enrollment of about 280.
Religious institutions	One mosque
Archeological sites	The village contained pieces of marble and the shafts and capitals of ancient columns.
Exculsive jewish colonies on town's lands	No settlements on village lands.
Related Maps	خرائط تفصيلية للمحافظة View from satellite Help us map this town at WikiMapia
More Information	Language External Links Arabic PalGates Hebrew Nakba-Online

Bibliography and References

Town Today

According to the Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi, the village remaining structures on the village land are:
"A few vacant houses and segments of houses, standing amidst wild vegetation, mark the site. One of them has a covered porch supported on two columns. An old village road is also identifiable"

• Nakba Oral History interview with Shukri Ismail
• Video Nakba Oral History Podcast: Interview with Muhammad and Mariam Rabbah