Welcome To Barqa - برقة (ברקה)

District of Gaza Ethnically cleansed days ago	العربية Google Earth
	Gallery (18)

Statistic & Fact

Value

Occupation Date

May 13, 1948

Distance From District

37 (km) North East of Gaza

Elevation

25 (meters)

Before & After Nakba, Click Map For Details

Pre-Nakba Map showing before and after destruction

Pre-Nakba Aerial View

Map Location

See location #2 on the map

View from satellite

Military Operation

Operation Barak (lightening)

Attacking Units

Giv'ati Brigade

Exodus Cause

Military assault by Zionist troops

Village Temains

The village was completely destroyed with the exception of two houses remain standing.

Ethnically Cleansing

Barqa inhabitants were completely ethnically cleansed.

Pre-Nakba
Land Ownership

Ethnic Group	Land Ownership (Dunums)*
Arab	4,841
Jewish	226
Public	139
**Total	5,206

*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
**Town Lands' Demarcation Maps

Land Usage
As of 1945

Land Usage	Arab (Dunum)*	Jewish (Dunum)*
Citrus Groves	667	0
Irrigated & Plantation	47	0
Planted W/ Cereal	3,898	133
Built up	26	8
Arable	4,612	133
Non-Arable	342	85

*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics

Population

Year	Population*
1922	448
1931	600
1945	890
1948	1,032
Est. Refugees 1998	6,340

*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics

Number of Houses

Year	Number of Houses
1931	123
1948	211

Near By Towns

'Arab Suqrir ↖		Bashshit ↗
	Barqa	→ Yasur
↙ Isdud	↓ al-Batani al-Gharbi	↘ al-Batani al-Sharqi

Town's Name Through History

The Greeks referred to Barqa by Barka, and the Romans called it Bareca.

Schools

Baraqa had no schools, however, its students attended school in the nearby village of the al-Batani al-Gharbi.

Shrines / Maqams

Barqa had three shrines: the 1st for al-Shaykh Muhammad, the 2nd for al-Shaykh Zarruq, and the 3rd for al-Nabi Barq.

Archeological Sites

Barqa contained Greek relics, an old well, stone carvings, and fragments of pottery.

Exculsive Jewish Colonies
Who Usurped Village Lands

No settlements on village lands.

Village Before Nakba

The village was situated on level ground in the coastal plain area, some 7 km from the Mediterranean. A secondary road linked it to the coastal highway, which gave it access to Gaza as well as to the urban centers in the north. It is likely that Barqa was built on the site of the Greek town of Barka, which the Romans called Bareca. Barqa was irregular in outline. Its houses―made, for the most part, of adobe brick―were close together, separated only by narrow alleys. The villagers were Muslim, and around the village mosque were a number of tombs that they referred to as the tombs of Shaykh Muhammad, Shaykh Zarruq, and the prophet (al-nabi) Barq. Small shops were located at the village center. The children attended school in the adjacent village of al-Batani al-Gharbi . Agriculture constituted the mainstay of the economy, which combined basic staples such as grain and vegetables with fruits, especially citrus. In 1944/45 a total of 667 dunums was devoted to citrus and bananas and 3,898 dunums were allotted to grain; 47 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards. The village residents drilled several wells for irrigation, although agriculture remained largely rainfed. Barqa contained Greek relics, including a well, stone carvings, and fragments of pottery.

Village Occupation and Ethnic Cleaning

The village is said to have been evacuated by its inhabitants at the beginning of an attack by the Haganah's Giv'ati Brigade between 10 and 13 May 1948. Giv'ati was expanding its area of control southwards and westwards in the course of Operation Barak.

Zionists Colonies on Village Lands

There are no Israeli settlements on village lands. Gan Yavn, established in 1931, is close to the village site, to the north. The settlement of Shetulim , built in 1950, is near the village, on the lands of Isdud.

Village Today

Two houses remain standing on the site. One serves as a warehouse; it is made of concrete and has a covered portico on two sides. The other, a stone house with rectangular doors and windows and a flat roof, stands deserted in the midst of wild vegetation. The site is overgrown with weeds interspersed with cactuses and eucalyptus and palm trees. Israelis cultivate the land around the site.

Source

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

Want to browse more? 80,000 pictures were grouped in these gallaries:

Pre-Nakba Aerial view of the village / صورة من الجو للقرية اخذت قبل النكبة

Display Name	Clan/Hamolah	Country of Residence
ربيع الدين كمال	-	النصيرات, برقة
عبدالله حسن ابو الخير	أبو الخير	رفح, فلسطين
ahmad el suradi	-	-
خالد ابو الخير	ابو الخير	gaza
bahaa hamalawi	-	dir al balah, palestine
أبو عمر	أبو الخير	Gaza, فلسطين
ياسر ابو على	-	مكة
ابو خالد	الخراز	مخيم الرشيدية, لبنان
sohaeb	-	-
د.أمجد الدواهيدي	الدواهيدي	غزة
محمد الدواهيدي	-	غزة, فلسطين
ابو حسن	ابو الخير	رفح
realahmed8	أبو الخير	Gaza, Palestine
ألتاغراسيا	أبو شاويش	-
رامىابو شاويش	ابو شاويش	غزة, فلسطين
أبو أحمد	البلبيسي	السعودية
bahaa	abu shawish	-
احمد	العامودي	غزة
Karam	العامودي	Doha
EMAD AbuShawiSh	abushawish	middle, middle
Attea Abu-khadra	-	Buriej
zead m ABOU SHAWISH	abou shawish	syria, syria damascus
Kahina-Said	-	algeria

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