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Welcome To al-Faluja - الفالوجة (אל-פאלוג'ה)

District of Gaza
Ethnically cleansed days ago
العربية

Google Earth
Picture for al-Faluja Village - Palestine: : Some al-Faluja Inhabitants Just Before Being Ethnically Cleansed (#4), 1949
 Gallery (1211)
Statistic & Fact Value
Occupation Date March 1, 1949
Distance From District 30 (km) North East of Gaza
Elevation 100 (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 #33 on the map

View from satellite
Defenders Egyptian Army
Exodus Cause Expulsion by Zionist troops
Village Temains

The village was mostly destroyed with the exception of its mosque foundation. It should be noted that Intel Corporation (the semiconductor giant) maintains & operates one of its biggest manufacturing plants outside the US (FAB 18) on a looted land. We demand restitution for the dispossessed Palestinian refugees who happens to be just few miles to the East in the slums of the Gaza Strip. Such right has been granted to these refugees base on United Nation resolution 194, which it clearly stated that the Palestinian refugees should have The Right Of Return, & the right to be compensated for any lose of properties.
Ethnically Cleansing al-Faluja inhabitants were completely ethnically cleansed. Please see the Stories & Memories section for detail account of the village cleansing.
Pre-Nakba
Land Ownership
Ethnic Group Land Ownership (Dunums)*
Arab 37,252
Jewish 0
Public 786
**Total 38,038
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
**Town Lands' Demarcation Maps
Land Usage
As of 1945
Land Usage Arab (Dunum)*
Irrigated & Plantation 87
Planted W/ Cereal 36,590
Built up 517
Arable 36,677
Non-Arable 844
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
Population
Year Population*
1596 413
1922 2,482
1931 3,161
1945 4,670
1948 5,417
Est. Refugees 1998 33,267
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
Number of Houses
Year Number of Houses
1931 685
1948 1,173
Near By Townswhat's new
Karatiyya
          ↖
Hatta
↑
(N)
Jusayr
↗        
Kawkaba  ←
al-Faluja
→   'Iraq al-Manshiyya
            ↙
Beersheba Bedouins
↓
Beersheba Bedouins
↘           
Beersheba Bedouins
Town's Name Through History At one time, al-Faluja was known by Zurayq al-Khandaq, later, the village was named after the Iraqi Sufi master al-Shahab al-Din al-Faluji, whose shrine remain standing.
Schools al-Faluja had two schools:- the 1st was an elementary school for boys founded in 1919, and in 1947 it had an enrollment of 520 boys; the 2nd school was for girls founded in 1940, and in 1943 it had an enrollment of 83 girls.
Local Council The village had a local village council founded in 1922, which administrate the village's social and economic affairs.
Places of Warship One mosque located next to the shrine
Shrines / Maqams A shrine for the Iraqi Sufi al-Shaykh al-Faluji
Archeological Sites One large mosque with three domed halls.
Exculsive Jewish Colonies
Who Usurped Village Lands		 Qiryat Gat (founded in 1954 on a looted land and it's the current location of Intel's FAB 18 semiconductor manufacturing plant), Shahar, & Nehora
Featured Video

Village Before Nakba

The village was situated on hilly terrain on the coastal plain and was initially bordered by Wadi al-Faluja on the east, north, and west. The wadi was deep and gave the village a defensive advantage. Al-Faluja was the hub of a network of highways leading to Hebron, Jerusalem, Jaffa, Gaza, and other sub-disctricts. According to the villagers, al-Faluja was founded on a site that had been known as Zurayq al-Khandaq. 'Zurayq' means blue in Arabic and is the vernacular name for a leguminous plant with blue flowers, turmus (lupine), which grew around the site. The name was changed to al-Faluja to commemorate a Sufi master, Shahab al-Din al-Faluji, who came to Palestine from Iraq early in the fourteenth century, settled near the site, and was buried there (see also Bayt Affa, Gaza subistrict). The Arab geographer al-Bakri al-Siddiqi, who journeyed through Palestine in the mid-eighteenth century, visited the tomb of Shaykh al-Faluji after passing through Bayt Jibrin.

In the late nineteenth century, the village of al-Faluja was surrounded on three sides by a wadi; it had two wells and a pool to the east, a small garden patch to the west, and adobe brick houses. The nucleus of the village was centered around the shrine of Shaykh al-Faluji. Its residential area began to expand in the 1930s and eventually crossed over to the other side of the wadi, which henceforth bisected the village into northern and southern sections. Bridges were constructed across the wadi to facilitate movement between the two sides, especially in winter when the watercourse often flooded and caused damage. The center of al-Faluja shifted to the north, where modern houses, stores, a clinic, and coffee shops were erected. It also had two schools, one for boys and another for girls; the first was opened in 1919 and the second in 1940. The boys' school had a plot of land for agricultural training and a hostel with accommodations for 25 students; it became a junior high school in 1947, when its enrollment reached 520. Eighty-three students were enrolled in the girl's school in 1943.

The residents of al-Faluja were Muslims. They worshipped in a large mosque with three domed halls, one containing the tomb of Shaykh al-Faluji. The village also had several other minor shrines. The local council of the village was established in 1922. The council's revenues consistently exceeded its expenditures [which totaled 473 Palestinian pounds (£P) in 1929 and £PI0,076 in 1944], resulting in a steadily increasing budget. The four wells that had supplied the villagers' domestic needs became insufficient after the village started to expand. On the eve of the war, the local council inaugurated a project for drawing water from a well near the village of Julis.

The inhabitants of al-Faluja were mainly employed in rainfed agriculture, growing grain, vegetables, and fruits. In 1944/45 a total of 36,590 dunums was allocated to cereals; 87 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards. Commerce represented the second most important economic activity. A weekly market, attended by merchants and shoppers from the region's villages and towns, was held between Wednesday noon and Thursday noon on a special site which the local council had equipped with the necessary facilities. In addition to agriculture and commerce, the villagers engaged in animal husbandry, poultry raising, grain milling, embroidery, weaving, and pottery. Al-Faluja had a renowned dyehouse that attracted customers from all over the region.

Village Occupation and Ethnic Cleaning

An early attack on al-Faluja was reported on 14 March 1948. Quoting Jewish sources, the New York Times said that a 'Jewish supply convoy' had engaged in a battle with villagers, as a result of which 37 Arabs and 7 Jews were killed, and 'scores' of Arabs and 3 Jews were wounded. The convoy, which was escorted by Haganah armored cars, reportedly had to fight its way through the village. But another Jewish group returned that same day with a Haganah demolition squad and blew up ten houses in al-Faluja, including the three-storey town hall. Two days later, the Associated Press confirmed that the buildings blasted included the municipal building and the post office. An earlier attack had been mentioned by the Palestinian newspaper Filastin the previous month, on 24 February; no details were given.

By late October, Jewish forces beseiged an Egyptian army brigade―that of the future Egyptian president Gamal Abd al-Nasir―in al-Faluja and the neighboring village of Iraq al-Manshiyya. There the brigade held out until February 1949 when the 'Faluja pocket' was handed over to Israel as a result of the Israeli-Egyptian armistice agreement. However, Israel violated the terms of the agreement almost immediately, intimidating the population into leaving by 21 April 1949. 

At the end of the war, an Egyptian brigade and some 3,140 Palestinian civilians were trapped in the 'Faluja pocket,' according to Israeli sources. When the enclave was handed over, Egyptian forces left, but only a small proportion of civilians chose to go. Within days, the local Israeli garrison engaged in beatings, robbings, and attempted rapes, according to United Nations observers at the scene.

Foreign Minister Moshe Sharrett personally reprimanded the Israeli army's chief of staff for the acts committed by the Israeli soldiers against the population. Sharrett said that in addition to overt violence, the Israeli army was busy conducting

a 'whispering propaganda' campaign among the Arabs, threatening them with attacks and acts of vengeance by the army, which the civilian authorities will be powerless to prevent. There is no doubt that there is a calculated action aimed at increasing the number of those going to the Hebron Hills as if of their own free will, and if possible, to bring about the evacuation of the whole civilian population of [the pocket].

Israeli historian Benny Morris writes that the decision to cause the exodus of the 'Faluja pocket' population was probably approved by Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion. Subsequently, Israeli officials feigned outrage at what had happened and misled the international community about Israeli actions. The director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Walter Eytan, told U.S. Ambassador James McDonald that Israel had broadcast 'repeated reassuring notices' to the inhabitants to stay put; however, they acted 'as if they smelled a rat' and abandoned their homes. Eytan said the Arab population was 'primitive [and] rumour-ridden.'

Later, al-Faluja served as a cautionary example for populations in other areas of Palestine (mainly Galilee) where the Israeli authorities hoped to achieve the same result during 1949, but had less success.

Zionists Colonies on Village Lands

The Israeli town of Qiryat Gat was established in 1954 on the lands of Iraq al-Manshiyya between that village and al-Faluja; it has now spread onto the lands of al-Faluja as well. Shahar, Noga, and Nir Chen were established in 1955 on village lands; and Nehora was founded in 1956, also on village lands.

Village Today

The foundations of the village mosque and insubstantial fragments of its walls are all that remain of al-Faluja; debris is piled or scattered at the mosque's location. A dilapidated well and a cistern are visible. A stand of eucalyptus trees, cactuses, and Christ's-thorn and olive trees also grow on the site. Israeli government offices and an airport have been built on the surrounding land, much of which has been cultivated.

Source

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

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ayman ziadeh ziadeh -
جلال قنديل قنديل -
رسمي الصوري الرياض , السعوديه
هبه طباشة المطري عمان, الاردن
rula abu -baker - gaza, palestine
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YASSER زيادة DUBAI, UAE
ابومحمد رمضان عمان
شادي - جده, السعوديه
amin samara amman, amman
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مأمون سمارة سمارة عمان, الأردن
atef zaidan awlad issa amman
Jamil Zaidan awlad Issa Amman / Wadi Elseer
laith zaidan - -
أبوعبدالله زيادة أبوظبي, الإمارات
بشير ابراهيم خريس خريس ابوظبي
طارق الرومي - -
اسماء طباشة المطرية الدوحة, قطر
Mohammed - UAE, UAE
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محمد رزق اولاد احمد aman
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اسير الوطن البعيد عويضة -
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abuwadda7 Raomeh amman, Jordan
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Samer M. Al Saafein Al Saafein Dubai, U.A.E
ABU ESAM - AMMAN - JORDAN
Mathkour Abu-Mathkour OH, USA
Mwafaq Abu Faris - New York, USA
samih alnatour alnatour NY, USA
MOHAMMED AHMAD AWAD AWLAD AHMAD ABU DHABI, UAE
hani jaabo awlad ahmad riyadh, saudi arabia
Salem Jaabo - Saudi Arabia
Raed Jaabo Awlad Ahmad -
Ahmed ALSaafin - ONT, Canada
Fuzan Al-Saafein Al-Saafein USA
Mohammed Saleh - Dmamm Aramco, Saudi Arabia
Emad Shahin Ziyadeh Ziyadeh , Emirates
DR.Hisham Khaled Jaabo JAABO Moscow, Russia
silent tear - riyadh, saudi arabia
Ahmad Al Najjar Al Najjar California, USA
FADEL SALEM ABU-KHATER RAOMA ABU-DHABI, U.A.E
Mohammed Al-Saafein Al-Saafein Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Suhair Al Jabali - -
IYAD AL JABALI - TX, USA
Dr-Q Al-Rawameh IRBID, Jordan
MAHMOUD SALIM ABU KHATER RAOMA-ABU KHATER UAE
Kamal AL HUSSAN AL HUSSAN Damascus, SYRIA
shadi Abu Muthkour Abu Muthkour -
Fuad Mohd AL-najjar AL-Najjar -
Salah Mohd al-najjar AL-NAJJAR -
qandil al raomeh irbid, jordan
Ahmad ALSaafin ALSaafin Chicago, USA
Ayman AbuBaker AbuBaker Jordan, Jordan
Naim ALSaafin ALSaafin USA
Khalid Abu Shamleh al nashash Dubai, UAE
mohd abu shamleh Al nashash baqa, jordan
Ahmed Al-Nashash Al-Nashash -
hasan abu shamleh - -
Abdul-Karim Ayyoub Ayyoub United Kingdom, UK
KHALIL MOHAMMAD RADWAN ABU RADWAN ABU RADWAN AMMAN, JORDAN
Thul Noon Al-Saafin ALSaafin Texas, USA
AHMAD AL-AQAILEH AL-AQAILEH Riyadh - Saudi Arabia
DR. EYAD AYYOUB AYYOUB Amman, JORDAN
Muhammed Abdul-kareem Al-haj Hasan AYYOUB Jordan , JORDAN
latif - ap, india
ala' jaabo Awlad Ahmad amman, jordan
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Dr. Ghassan Moh'd Alnajjar Awlad Hussien Alnajjar Dearborn,MI, USA
Hala Wael Salem JAABO Awlad AHMAD Vienna, Austria
Wael Salem JAABO Awlad AHMAD Vienna, Austria
Wael Ali Al-Nashash Al Nashash Amman, JORDAN
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khalil zaidan Awlad Issa UAE, UAE
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