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District of Hebron
Ethnically cleansed days ago |
العربية Google Earth |
Gallery (106) |
Statistic & Fact | Value | ||||||||||||||
Occupation Date | October 21, 1948 | ||||||||||||||
Distance From District | 21 (km) Northwest of Hebron | ||||||||||||||
Elevation | 425 (meters) | ||||||||||||||
Before & After Nakba, Click Map For Details![]() |
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Map Location | See location #4 on the map View from satellite |
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Military Operation | Operation ha-Har | ||||||||||||||
Attacking Units | Fourth Battalion of the Har'el Brigade | ||||||||||||||
Defenders | Egyptian Muslim Brotherhoods, local Palestinian militias and some Arab Liberation Army volunteers. | ||||||||||||||
Refugees' Migration Routes | Many of Bayt Natiff's inhabitants headed for the Hebron hills, and some stayed in the nearby caves for some time. | ||||||||||||||
Exodus Cause | Military assault by Zionist troops | ||||||||||||||
Village Temains | Bayt Natiff was completely destroyed, and only house rubble left behind. | ||||||||||||||
Ethnically Cleansing | Bayt Nattif inhabitants were completely ethnically cleansed. | ||||||||||||||
Terminating Refugee Camps | Villagers mostly live in Deheishe, 'Aida, and 'Azza Refugee Camps (in the occupied Bethlehem District) | ||||||||||||||
Pre-Nakba Land Ownership |
**Town Lands' Demarcation Maps |
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Land Usage As of 1945 |
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Population |
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Number of Houses | In (1931): 329 (includes Khirbat Umm al-Rus) | ||||||||||||||
Near By Towns![]() |
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Town's Name Through History | The Old Testament referred to Bayt Nattif by Tappuach, and the Romans called it Beyt Letepha. | ||||||||||||||
Schools | The village had an elementary school for boys. | ||||||||||||||
Places of Warship | One mosque | ||||||||||||||
Shrines / Maqams | Bayt Nattif contained several shrines, the most prominent among of these shrines was dedicated to al-Shaykh Ibrahim. | ||||||||||||||
Water Supply | Bayt Natif had three wells which supplied it with its water needs. | ||||||||||||||
Archeological Sites | The village has about a dozen khirbas lay nearby in its vicinity. | ||||||||||||||
Exculsive Jewish Colonies Who Usurped Village Lands |
Neliv ha-Lamed-He, Avi'ezer, Roglit, and Newe Mikha'el. | ||||||||||||||
Featured Video | |||||||||||||||
Village Before NakbaThe village stood on a mountain top in the western zone of the Hebron Mountains, overlooking a coastal expanse in the west and facing a broad mountain range in the east. Bayt Nattif was 1 km north of the Bayt Jibrin-Bethlehem highway and was linked by secondary roads to several of the area's other villages. The site has been identified with Tappuach in the Old Testament (Joshua 15:34). The modern name, however, was a rendering of Beyt Letepha, the site's name under the Romans. In 1596, Bayt Nattif was a village in the nahiya of Jerusalem (liwa' of Jerusalem), with a population of 572. It paid taxes on a number of crops, including wheat, barley, olives, and fruit, as well as on other types of produce, such as goats and beehives. In the late nineteenth century, Bayt Nattif stood high on a flat-topped ridge between two broad valleys. The village was surrounded by olive groves and the valleys below were planted in corn.The village layout was star-shaped, with discrete quarters and wide streets. The residents of Bayt Nattif were Muslim, and the village had a mosque and a number of shrines, the most prominent among them the one dedicated to a Shaykh Ibrahim. It also had an elementary school. Shops were spread throughout all of the quarters. The residents obtained drinking water from three wells located on the village peripheries. They depended for their livelihood chiefly on rainfed agriculture and animal husbandry. They cultivated grain, vegetables, and fruits, such as grapes and olives. In 1944 a total of 20,149 dunums was allocated to cereals; 688 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards. The village was an archaeological site that contained caves, cisterns, mosaic floors, columns, and the vestiges of a Roman road. In 1934 Dimitri Baramki of the Mandate Department of Antiquities directed the excavation of two cisterns in the village of Bayt Nattif which produced mostly ceramic materials dating from between the first and third centuries A.D. Moreover, about a dozen khirbas were found in the vicinity of Bayt Nattif. Village Occupation and Ethnic CleaningBayt Nattif was captured during Operation Ha-Har by the Fourth Battalion of the Har'el Brigade. But some discrepancies exist in the Israeli accounts of the occupation of the village. While a Palmach report states that the 'inhabitants fled for their lives' as Israeli forces advanced, the Haganah version states that Bayt Nattif was occupied 'after some light resistance.' The latter gives the date of the occupation as 22 October 1948, while the former puts the attack on the previous day. According to the History of the War of Independence, 'in Bayt Nattif, the inhabitants' bundles were found, indicating that they apparently wanted to leave the village previously, but that they did not have enough time to take along their belongings.'The village was strategically located, and with its occupation, Israeli forces succeeded in blocking the Bethlehem-Ajjur-Bayt Jibrin road, 'the transportation artery which was important for Egyptian troops in this sector.' Israeli raids continued in the area of Bayt Nattif in the months between its capture and the signing of the Armistice Agreement in April 1949. Israeli historian Benny Morris states that the aim was to drive out refugees from nearby villages who were encamped in the area south of Bayt Nattif. Bayt Nattif is identified by the History of the Haganah as 'the village of the murderers of the 35,' a reference to a PaImach column of thirty-five soldiers that was wiped out when it was sent in January 1948 to participate in a battle around a number of settlements in the area. But reports in the New York Times from that period indicate that the Palmach unit, part of a shock force sent to participate in the battle of Kfar Etziyon, apparently made a wrong turn and was ambushed at nearby Surif. However, the Arab version was that the Zionist force deliberately attacked Surif, holding it for more than an hour before being driven out. As a result of the clash at Surif, Haganah forces encircled the three nearby villages of Bayt Nattif, Dayr Aban, and Zakariyya in a 'punitive' attack which lasted over twenty-four hours. No casualty figures are given in the account of the siege filed by the New York Times correspondent. Zionists Colonies on Village LandsFour settlements were established on village land: Netiv haLamed-He, built in 1949, and Avi'ezer, Roglit, and Newe Mikha'el, all built in 1958.Village TodayPiles of rubble that have been cleared by bulldozers are scattered over a wide area. Six steel beams stand in the midst of the debris at the site's center. In the rubble one can also see the remnants of arched house entrances. There are two large, open graves on the northeast side the bones in the graves are visible. An area east of the site is thinly covered by cactuses and carob and olive trees.SourceDr. Walid al-Khalidi, 1992: All That Remains. |
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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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Related Links | Wikipedia's Page Facebook Page Google Search Google For Images Google For Videos |
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More Information | في كتاب كي لا ننسى في كتاب بلادنا فلسطين المزيد من موقع هوية |
Display Name | Clan/Hamolah | Country of Residence |
ليسا المشايخ | المشايخ | ابو ظبي, الامارات العربية |
obaida karamh | - | مخيم العروب شمال الخليل |
يحيى زكريا سلامة الغروز | الغروز | عمان |
Hassan Hamdo Mahmoud Jaber | Sawaqiq | - |
ابو حميدة | - | عمان |
وليد الدبس | بيت نتيف - الدبس | الخبر, الخبر |
ابوجواد | - | ابوظبي, ابوظبي |
ابو اشرف | المشايخ | سوريا, سوريا |
Imad Abu Srour | abu srour | abu dhabi |
abu roobbe | ikhmayes | NY, United States |
saedbasheer | بشير | الضفة الغربية, بيت نتيف |
montaha rajab | مشايخ | - |
عيد | اخميس | الاردن, الاردن |
ابن فلسطين | اخميس | - |
Abu Abdulla | - | Amman, Jordan |
محمد ابو ريالة | ابو ريالة | بيت لحم |
ابوالبراء | بيت نتيف | البقعة, البقعة |
عمر جميل المشايخ | المشايخ | ابو ظبي |
سيما جمال المشايخ | المشايخ | عمان |
جمال جميل المشايخ | المشايخ | ابو ظبي |
abo qasswal | قصول | الاردن, الاردن |
ابواحمد | ابوعياش | الزرقاء, الزرقاء |
yousef bassam omar | a3mar | jordan, jordan |
سماعنه | أعمر | عمان الاردن |
lozan ikhmayees | ikhmayees | - |
هاني اخميس | - | - |
ربيع عبدالحافظ احمد حمدالله | حمدالله | الزرقاء, الاردن |
محمد حمدالله | حمدالله | الزرقاء, الاردن |
رائد محمد عقل | المشايخ | - |
احمد دندن | - | الزرقاء, الاردن |
احمد علي احمد السيد احمد | السيد احمد | amman, jordan |
يوسف فتحي ابو حميدة | السماعنة | الاردن, الاردن |
بنت الخليل | السماعنة | الاردن, المقابلين |
Mohamad A D Alsayedahmad | - | - |
هيثم كعوش | كعوش | الزرقاء, الاردن |
أم أسامة | المشايخ | الزرقاء, الأردن |
محمد يحيى كعوش | كعوش | الزرقاء, الاردن |
جمعية السماعنة | بيت نتيف | عمان, الاردن |
YAHIA -ALMASHAIEKH | المشايخ | عمان, الاردن |
eng.zakariya | المشايخ | عمان, الاردن |
نانسي ياسر ذيب الدبس | الدبس | بيت لحم |
BEBO | - | - |
osama al asmar | - | amman |
abushaireh | abu shaireh | veneto, Italy |
fayez nasralla | nasralla | bayern, germany |
أبو ياسين الغروز | أبو عيسى | - |
ابو عمر نانوس | نانوس | zarka, zarka |
محمد احمد ابوحلاوه | - | عمان, الاردن |
Omar Ekhmies | Ekhmies | jordan, jordan |
Abu Mohammad | - | Jordan-Zarqa |
ديمة | - | - |
يحيى | ابو جاجة المشايخ | jordan, jordan |
حازم عبد الحميد ابو حميده | ابو حميده | عمان |
رزق ابو جاجة | ابو جاجة | jordan, jordan |
Bayan Ramadan Mohammad Nasralla | Shawakek-NASRALLA | Amman, jordan |
ibrahim issa abu srour | abu srour | bethlehem, palestine |
ابو علاء | ابو سرور | - |
نضال دندن | الشواقيق | الزرقاء, الاردن |
ابراهيم المشايخ | المشايخ | عمان, الاردن |
moodisaied | assayed ahmad | UAE, UAE |
IBRAHIM ABDULKHALEQ SALEM | ABU MOHAMMAD | JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA |
issa.yusuf.issa.ikhmayis | ikhmayis | amman-jordan |
yusuf.muad.yusuf.issa.ikhmayis | ikhmayis | amman-jordan |
MUAD YUSUF IKMAYIS | ikmayis | amman-jordan |
OBEI YUSUF IKMAYIS | ikmayis | amman-jordan |
waled obei yusuf issa ikhmayis | ikmayis | amman, jordan |
muhamed yusuf issa ikhmaies | - | amman-jordan |
هاني حمدو محمود عايش | ابو حميدة | amman-al-zohour, jordan |
Dr.Ibrahim h.Abu Srour | ABU SROUR | SPAIN, SPAIN |
banan barakat | Barakat | Amman |
Mohamed Sadi Barakat | Abo Rashed | Amman, Jordan |
Majd Abu Halaweh | Abu halaweh | Palestine, Ramallah |
وليد الدبس | الدبس | الاردن, الاردن |
ahmad_sunris | - | - |
حسام ابوزنيد ابوزنيد الشرحة | الشرحة | - |
abdelkarim abusrour | abusrour | ontario, canada |
Tarek Abu Halawa | - | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
Abu Aljuj | Ikhmayes | New york, New york |
ابو كبر | - | - |
abu baraa | ikhmies | estearn, saudia arabia |
mutasim | - | incheon, s korea |
ahmad | hamdan | - |
zahra ikhmaies | ikhmaies | New York, U.S.A |
Osama-Hamdan | Abu Mohammed | Abu Dhabi, UAE |
Ruba Al-Ghrouz | Al-Ghroz | Farwaniya, Kuwait |
samy ikhmayis | IKHMAYIS | SAN PAULO, brazil |
BRUNO | IKHMAYIS | sao paulo, brazil |
akram karama | karama | hebron, palestine |
Ziyad Muslat | - | Ottawa, Canada |
Emad Abu Nahle | Abu Nahle | - |
Jihad Hafez Yousef Ikhmayes | Ikhmayes | Jordan, Jordan |
Mohammad Hamdi Yacoub Ikhmais | Ikhmais | Jordan, Jordan |
Bassel Nemer Yousef Ikhmies | Ikhmies | JORDAN, jordan |
NEDAL IKHMAIS | Ikhmais | Jordan, Jordan |
Prof. Ibrahim Alghrouz | Alghrouz | Jerusalem, Palestine |
Yahia Zakareia Salameh Al Groze | Al Groze | Nuzha Amman, Jordan |
Fatima Zakaria Salameh Al Groze | Al Groze | Jordan, Jordan |
Mohammed Zakareia Salameh Al Groze | Al Groze | Jordan, Jordan |
Mustafa Al Groze | Al Groze | riyadh, saudi arabia |
Ayman Abu Reyaleh | Abu Reyaleh / أبوريالة | Amman, Jordan |
waleed issa ahmad ikhmayis | ikhmayis | brazil |
Muthana Nihad Hafez Yousf Ahmad Ikhmayes | Ikhmayes | New York, U.S.A. |
Mohamed Kifah Hafez Yosef Ahmad Ikhmayes | Ikhmayes | NY, USA |
Ismael ABUAYYASH | ABUAYYASH | Amman, Jordan |
anees | Abu Odeh | Jordan |
امـــجــد كيلاني | كيلاني | الخبر, الخبر |
ishaq | Nahleh | - |
KHALID AL ASMAR | - | AMMAN, JORDAN |
A Muslet | Muslet | USA |
Ziad Abdel Razaq | Sayed Ahmad | Amman, Jordan |
Ziad Fathi Al-Asmar | - | Amman, Jordan |
Nada Al-Asmar | Kawash | Amman, Jordan |
Hanan Fathi Al-Asmar | Kawash | Amman, Jordan |
Tareq Al-Asmar | - | Amman, Jordan |
Jamal Abdul Razzak | Sayyed Ahmad | Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia |
Fayez Abdel Razaq | Al sayyed Ahmad | TX, USA |
Saleh Abdel Razaq | Alsayyed Ahmad | Texas, USA |
mohammad turki | الشواقيق - تركي | jordan, jordan |
said al-sayyed ahmed | - | amman |
Ahaj Tawfeek | Tawfeek abdelrahman | Texas, Texas |
shady | abu halawa | damascus, syria |
mohammed A.Rahman | hammad al-sayd Ahmad | amman, Jordan |
Osama Yousef Al Sayyed Ahmad | Al Sayyed Ahmad | - |
Dr.sa'adi abdalhamed abu-halawah | abu-halawah | amman, jordan |
Tamer sa'adi abu-halawah | abu-halawah | amman, jordan |
Abu mozn | Sayed Ahmad | - |
طه بن الشيخ ابراهيم ابوحميدة | أبوحميدة | عسير, السعودية |