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Welcome To al-Bira - البيرة (אל-בירה)

District of Baysan
Ethnically cleansed days ago

العربية

Google Earth
Picture for al-Bira Village - Palestine: : Village Site in 1930
Gallery (26)
Statistic & Fact Value
Occupation Date May 16, 1948
Distance From District 7.5 (km) North of Baysan
Elevation 150 (meters)
Before & After Nakba, Click Map For Detailswhat's new
Pre-Nakba Map showing before and after destruction
Pre-Nakba Aerial Viewwhat's new
Pre-Nakba Aerial View
Map Location See location #5 on the map

View from satellite
Military Operation Operation Gideon
Attacking Units Most likely by Golani Brigades
Exodus Cause Influence of fall of, or exoduce from, neighboring town
Village Temains al-Bira was completely destroyed, and only house walls and rubble left behind.
Ethnically Cleansing al-Bira inhabitants were completely ethnically cleansed.
Pre-Nakba
Land Ownership
Ethnic Group Land Ownership (Dunums)*
Arab 4,853
Jewish 0
Public 2,013
**Total 6,866
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
**Town Lands' Demarcation Maps
Land Usage
As of 1945
Land Usage Arab (Dunum)*
Irrigated & Plantation 48
Olive Groves 120
Planted W/ Cereal 4,681
Built up 52
Arable 4,729
Non-Arable 2,085
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
Population
Year Population*
1596 297
1922 200
1931 220
1945 260
1948 302
Est. Refugees 1998 1,852
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
Number of Houses
Year Number of Houses
1931 53
1948 72
Near By Townswhat's new
Sirin

(N)
Danna  
           
Kafra
           
Kawkab al-Hawa
Town's Name Through History al-Bira was known by Beer in the Old Testament, and the Crusaders referred to it by Loberium.
Exculsive Jewish Colonies
Who Usurped Village Lands
No Israeli settlements on village lands.
Featured Video

Village Before Nakba

The village stood on the edge of the high hill of al-Shafa, on the east side of a wadi that ran in a north-south direction until it met Wadi al-Bira, to the north. Secondary roads linked it to several surrounding villages; one of the roads passed through the village of al-Murassas and led south to a highway going to Baysan. The Iraq Petroleum Company pipeline, which carried oil to a refinery in Haifa, passed south of the village.

It has been suggested that al-Bira is the site mentioned in the record of Thutmose III's military campaign in Palestine in 1468 B.C. Some biblical scholars have identified the site with a place named Beer in the Old Testament (Judges 9:21). The name suggests that there may once have been a fortress at the site. Little is known about it in the early Islamic period. The Arab geographers Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 1228) and Abu al-Fida' (d. 1321) mentioned aI-Bira's strong fortress and vast lands. The Crusaders referred to it as Loberium. In 1596, al-Bira was a village in the nahiya of Shafa (liwa' of Lajjun), with a population of 297. It paid taxes on a number of crops, including wheat, barley, and olives, as well as on other types of produce such as goats and beehives.

The village was rectangular in shape and most of its houses were built of stone. The entire population of al-Bira was Muslim. The village had only a few shops, and so the villagers depended on the neighboring town of Baysan, which served as a commercial outlet and administrative center. The village economy was based on agriculture, mainly rainfed grain. In 1944/45 a total of 4,667 dunums was allocated to cereals; 48 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards. AI-Bira was also known for the grazing lands in the grassy mountainous areas around the village.

Zionists Colonies on Village Lands

There are no Israeli settlements on village lands.

Village Today

The only remains of the village are the walls of houses. The fenced-in site is covered with weeds, cactuses, and thorns. Fig and mulberry trees grow near a spring in the valley at the bottom of the site. The surrounding lands are used for grazing.

Source

Dr. Walid al-Khalidi, 1992: All That Remains.

Related Maps Town Lands' Demarcation Maps
خرائط للقضاء توضح حدود القرى والاودية
Town's map on MapQuest
View from satellite
Help us map this town at WikiMapia
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Bibliography and References

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