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Welcome To Ishwa' - إشوع (אישוע)

District of Jerusalem
Ethnically cleansed days ago
العربية

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Picture for Ishwa' Village - Palestine: : Village House 3 Rubble In 1986
 Gallery (74)
Statistic & Fact Value
Occupation Date July 18, 1948
Distance From District 20.5 (km) West of Jerusalem
Elevation 275 (meters)
Before & After Nakba, Click Map For Detailswhat's new
Pre-Nakba Map showing before and after destruction
Map Location See location #16 on the map

View from satellite
Military Operation Operation Dani
Attacking Units Fourth Battalion of the Har'el Brigade
Defenders Egyptian Muslim Brotherhoods, some Arab Liberation Army volunteers, and some local Palestinian militia.
Exodus Cause Military assault by Zionist troops
Village Temains Ishwa' was mostly destroyed with the exception of few houses currently being occupied by Israeli Jewish settlers.
Ethnically Cleansing Ishwa' inhabitants were completely ethnically cleansed.
Pre-Nakba
Land Ownership
Ethnic Group Land Ownership (Dunums)*
Arab 5,456
Jewish 0
Public 66
**Total 5,522
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
**Town Lands' Demarcation Maps
Land Usage
As of 1945
Land Usage Arab (Dunum)*
Irrigated & Plantation 473
Olive Groves 414
Planted W/ Cereal 1,911
Built up 18
Arable 2,384
Non-Arable 3,120
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
Population
Year Population*
1596 450
1922 379
1931 468
1945 620
1948 719
Est. Refugees 1998 4,417
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
Number of Houses
Year Number of Houses
1931 126
1948 193
Near By Townswhat's new
'Islin
          ↖
Dayr Ayyub
↑
(N)
Bayt Mahsir
↗        
Ishwa'
→   Kasla
            ↙
Sar'a
↓
'Artuf
↘           
Dayr al-Hawa
Town's Name Through History The Canaanite and the Romans referred to Ishwa' by Eshta'ol.
Places of Warship Ishwa' had a mosque named after the prophet Joshua (in Hebrew Yeshu').
Water Supply Drinking water was provided by 'Ayn Ishwa', north of the village, and from few other smaller springs and wells.
Archeological Sites Ishwa' contains Khirbat al-Shaykh Ibrahim and Khirbat Hammada.
Exculsive Jewish Colonies
Who Usurped Village Lands		 Eshta'ol
Featured Video

Village Before Nakba

The village stood on a large, low hill on the southeastern slope of a mountain, surrounded by wadis to the east and south. It lay on the highway linking Bayt Jibrin (a major village in Hebron sub-disctrict) to the Jerusalem−Jaffa highway, and was connected by secondary roads to a group of nearby villages. Ishwa' is thought to have been established over the site of the Canaanite city of Eshta'ol. It was known by that name during the Roman period, when it fell within the administrative sub-disctrict of Eleutheropolis (Bayt Jibrin). However, Dayr Abu al-Qabus, 0.5 km to the north, has also been identified with the Eshta'ol of Roman times. During the sixteenth century settlement seems to have shifted 0.5 km to the northwest to the site of the village of 'Islin (see 'Islin, Jerusalem sub-disctrict). When the site of 'Islin went out of use―during the seventeenth or eighteenth century―Ishwa' was probably repopulated; by 1875 it had a population of about 450. In the late nineteenth century, Ishwa' was built near the foot of a hill, and olive trees were planted below the village. Ishwa' had a star-shaped configuration, its (mostly stone) houses extending along the roads leading to other villages. Newer construction extended south and northwest, in the direction of 'Islin.

The residents of Ishwa' were Muslims; they maintained a mosque called Ishwa', after the prophet Joshua (in Hebrew Yeshu'). Their village had a few small shops and an elementary school. Drinking water was provided by 'Ayn Ishwa', north of the village, and from a few other, smaller springs and wells. Agriculture was rainfed; the villagers planted grain, olive trees, vineyards, and fruits on their land. In 1944/45 a total of 1,911 dunums was allocated to cereals; 473 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards. Two khirbas lay near the village to the southeast: Khirbat al-Shaykh Ibrahim (151131) and Khirbat Hammada (151131). One contained the remains of walls, stones from collapsed buildings, and caves that once had been inhabited, and the other contained similar caves, rock-hewn cisterns, and an olive press.

Village Occupation and Ethnic Cleaning

According to the History of the War of Independence, the village was 'cleansed' by the Fourth Battalion of the Har'el Brigade on 16 July 1948. This probably means that any inhabitants who remained after the mortar barrages were summarily expelled by the occupying troops. A string of other villages in the area met the same fate. The maneuver was 'aimed at expanding the Jewish-held corridor to Jerusalem,' according to Israeli historian Benny Morris. The attacks fell under the umbrella of Operation Dani (see Abu al-Fadl, Ramla sub-disctrict).

The village had seen combat earlier, in the course of the battles for the Jerusalem corridor. As early as 18 March, a skirmish was fought on the village outskirts. 'Jewish sources' later told the New York Times that a Haganah armored car was stuck in the mud outside the village and that 250 Arab militiamen had attacked it, killing its crew of 8. The following week, there was an attack by Palestinian militia forces commanded by 'Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni on the neighboring Jewish settlement of Hartuv. British forces intervened on 22 March and ended the firefight by firing 4 high-explosive shells (each weighing 25 pounds) and 16 smoke shells into the village of Ishwa'. The New York Times correspondent wrote that the residents, together with the Arab forces based in the village, were evacuated. The next day, some 600 British troops invaded Ishwa', as well as nearby 'Artuf and Bayt Mahsir. A Times dispatch said that almost all the villagers had already been evacuated before the British assault. It is not mentioned what later transpired at the village, or whether the villagers later returned, although the Haganah's account of its occupation on 16 July implies that they did return, if only briefly.

Zionists Colonies on Village Lands

Israel established the settlement of Eshta'ol (150132) in 1949 on land belonging to Ishwa' and the village of 'Islin.

Village Today

levelled and planted with grass. On the southern edge of the cemetery is a cave that contains the large grindstone of a flour mill. Olive and carob trees grow on the site, among other trees more recently planted by the settlers. At the western edge of the village is a soccer field. The walls and fallen roofs of destroyed houses can be seen at the edge of this field (see the photos section).

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
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Bibliography and References

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Nehaya Deeb Kanaan الضراغمة Chicago, USA
اسامة مناصرة المناصرة رام الله
فيصل عليان - -
انس نضال نمر عواد الضراغمه الامارات
اكرم عرار عرار البقعه, البقعه
علاء عطالله المناصرة عمان, الاردن
عبدالفتاح مفيد الخطيب المناصرة الرياض
محمد عبدالهادي ابزيع - -
white heart القيسي عمان, الاردن
حسام عليان - -
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Abo Wardeh الدراغمة Amman
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MOHAMMAD ASAD - NJ, NJ
فراس عدوان عدوان -
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Dr.Alkhatib alkhatib Amman, Jordan
سلطان سعيد عواد الضراغمة الزرقاء, الأردن
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Ramez Awad Al Daraghma-Awwad -
باسل حديدون دار علي Jerusalem, Palestine
أبوسميح المناصرة -
JOEALE ALL-DARAGMAH .. AL-SHOUANI -
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