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Welcome To Sar'a - صرعة (צרעה)

District of Jerusalem
Ethnically cleansed days ago
العربية

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Picture for Sar'a Village - Palestine: : That is how the
Gallery (69)
Statistic & Fact Value
Occupation Date July 18, 1948
Distance From District 25 (km) West of Jerusalem
Elevation 350 (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 #14 on the map

View from satellite
Military Operation Operation Dani
Attacking Units Har'el's Fourth Battalion
Defenders Egyptian Muslim Brotherhoods, some Arab Liberation Army volunteers, and some local Palestinian militia.
Exodus Cause Military assault by Zionist troops
Village Temains Sar'a was destroyed some time in 1949 to make room for the settlement of Tzor'a. Currently, the village site has been completely defaced.
Ethnically Cleansing Sar'a inhabitants were completely ethnically cleansed.
Pre-Nakba
Land Ownership
Ethnic Group Land Ownership (Dunums)*
Arab 4,964
Jewish 0
Public 3
**Total 4,967
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
**Town Lands' Demarcation Maps
Land Usage
As of 1945
Land Usage Arab (Dunum)*
Irrigated & Plantation 194
Olive Groves 115
Planted W/ Cereal 2,979
Built up 16
Arable 3,173
Non-Arable 1,778
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
Population
Year Population*
1596 94
19th century 400
1922 205
1931 271
1945 340
1948 394
Est. Refugees 1998 2,422
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
Number of Houses
Year Number of Houses
1931 65
1948 94
Town's Name Through History The Canaanites referred to Sar'a by the city of Sur'a or Zorah, subsequently it was known by Danite, then the Romans called it Sarea.
Shrines / Maqams Sar'a had two shrines one of which is still standing. The first belongs belongs to al-Nabi Samat, and the other for an unnown individuals.
Archeological Sites The village has several Khirbas including Khirbat al-Tahuna, where the ruins of a building constructed of ashlars (squared stone masonry) and the foundations of other buildings.
Exculsive Jewish Colonies
Who Usurped Village Lands		 Tarum and Tzor'a
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Village Before Nakba

The village was located on a prominent hill on the western slope of a mountain. A short (2 km) side road linked the village to a highway that ran northeast from Bayt Jibrin (a main village in the Hebron sub-disctrict) and intersected with the Jerusalem−Jaffa highway. Sar'a may have been built on the site of the Canaanite city of Sur'a, or Zorah, subsequently a Danite town (Joshua 15:33). It was known as Sarea during the Roman period. In 1596, Sar'a was a village in the nahiya of Ramla (liwa' of Gaza) with a population of ninety-four. 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 biblical scholar Edward Robinson mentioned passing by the village in 1841, shortly after leaving al-Latrun, a village on the Jerusalem−Jaffa highway. In 1875 the village was said to have a population of approximately 400. The British surveyors who authored the Survey of Western Palestine in the late nineteenth century described Sar'a as a village on a low, bare hill that consisted of white eocene chalk. To the south lay the maqam of al-Nabi Samat, sometimes identified with the biblical Samson (who according to tradition lived here).

Sar'a was divided into three quarters. The mud and stone houses in each quarter were clustered together, divided by narrow, winding alleys. In the southern quarter, construction extended up the slope to the hilltop, while in the northern section construction extended along the northeastern foot of the hill. There were a few shops in the middle of each of the three quarters. The village population was Muslim. Their primary occupation was agriculture, which was based on rainfall and irrigation from springs in the valley floors. Their main crops were grain, olives, and fruit, including figs, apricots, and grapes. Olive groves covered 115 dunms and were concentrated in the eastern part of the land, while fruit trees were planted in the northern fields. In 1944/45 a total of 2,979 dunums was allocated to cereals; 194 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards. Forests and natural herbs grew on the western and eastern slopes. Sar'a was an archaeological site that contained caves, tombs, rock-hewn cisterns, and a press. Southeast of the site, also, was Khirbat al-Tahuna (147130), where the ruins of a building constructed of ashlars (squared stone masonry) and the foundations of other buildings betray its antiquity.

Village Occupation and Ethnic Cleaning

In mid-July 1948, a number of villages were occupied in the approaches to Jerusalem during Operation Dani (see Abu al-Fadl, Ramla sub-district). The History of the War of Independence states that the 'important role' in the operation was assigned to the Har'el Brigade which was active in the eastern sector of Dani. Sar'a, which was defended by Egyptian forces, was occupied on 13−14 July, during the invasion of the Lydda−al-Ramla plain to the west. It was taken by the Har'el's Fourth Battalion in preparation for the attack on nearby 'Artuf, which was defended by 'irregular forces' (perhaps Palestinian militia units) under the command of the Egyptian army.

Zionists Colonies on Village Lands

The settlement of Tarum (148132) was built on the northeastern edge of the site, on village land, in 1950. Tzor'a (147129) was established about 2 km southwest of the site in 1949 , following the destruction of the village. It stands on land belonging to Dayr Aban.

Village Today

Stone rubble and iron girders are strewn among the trees on the site. A flat stone, surrounded by debris and inscribed with Arabic verses from the Qur'an, bears the date A.H. 1355 (1936). On the western edge of the site stands a shrine containing the tombs of two local religious teachers. A valley to the northeast is covered with fig, almond, and cypress trees.

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

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

Display Name Clan/Hamolah Country of Residence
د.محمود محمد عزت محمود حماد حماد أبو لطيفة عمّان
علاء صلاح صلاح ANKARA, 00905545953876
بلال صلاح سجدية عمان
Ahmad Hammad ابو لطيفة -
ابو عدي - مخيم الدهيشة
محمد زهران ابو عدي - مخيم الدهيشة
محمدين - بيت لحم مخيم الدهيشة
شرف - عمان, الاردن
يوسف ابولطيفة عبدالله محمود عمان
صرعاوية الصرعاوي -
احمد ابو لطيفة ابو لطيفة palestine, sar3a
ياسر زهران - -
omar abulatife ابو لطيفه -
اشرف دار زهران القدس, رام الله
ابو محمد ..زهران nablus
العائد ابو لطيفة -
احمد صالح - جنين
aziz Salah il, U.S.A
AshrafHamad abo lateefa -
nader Abu Latifeh Palestine, Palestine
abu ahmad modallal Abu Dhabi, UAE
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