PalestineRemembered About Us Oral History العربية
Menu Pictures Zionist FAQs Haavara Maps
PalestineRemembered.com Satellite View Search Donate Contact Us Looting 101 The Home of Palestinians العربية
About Us Zionist FAQs Conflict 101 Pictures Maps Oral History Haavara Facts Not Lies Zionism 101 Zionist Quotes

Welcome To al-Maliha - المالحة (אל-מאלחה)

District of Jerusalem
Ethnically cleansed days ago
العربية

Google Earth
Picture for al-Maliha Village - Palestine: : Rare pictures of our village al-Maliha taken two years after the Jews replaced and dispossessed, 1950 -- مجموعة صور نادرة للمالحة..اخذت سنتين بعد إغتصابها #2
 Gallery (182)
Statistic & Fact Value
Occupation Date July 15, 1948
Distance From District 5.5 (km) West of Jerusalem
Elevation 750 (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 #26 on the map

View from satellite
Attacking Units Irgun Zvai Leumi (IZL or ETZEL) and Yonathan Company of the Gadna (Palmach Youth Battalions).
Defenders Egyptian Muslim Brotherhoods operating south of Jerusalem alongside Palestinian guerrillas.
Exodus Cause Military assault by Zionist troops
Village Temains Many houses remain standing and occupied by Israeli Jewish settlers, although few houses, on the south side, were demolished. al-Maliha's mosque remain standing, but it is CLOSED for worshipers, unless you have an idea on how to open it!
Ethnically Cleansing al-Maliha inhabitants were completely ethnically cleansed.
Clans In 1850, the village was the home of one of the most influential families in the Jerusalem Mountains, the al-Shaykha family.
Pre-Nakba
Land Ownership
Ethnic Group Land Ownership (Dunums)*
Arab 5,798
Jewish 922
Public 18
**Total 6,828
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
**Town Lands' Demarcation Maps
Land Usage
As of 1945
Land Usage Arab (Dunum)* Jewish (Dunum)*
Irrigated & Plantation 2,613 5
Olive Groves 1,370 0
Planted W/ Cereal 1,013 246
Built up 86 242
Arable 3,626 251
Non-Arable 2,194 429
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
Population
Year Population*
1596 286
1922 1,038
1931 1,410
1945 1,940
1948 2,250
Est. Refugees 1998 13,820
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
Number of Houses In (1931): 299 (includes 'Ayn Yalu)
Near By Townswhat's new
'Ayn Karim
          ↖
Dayr Yasin
↑
(N)
Jerusalem
↗        
al-Jura  ←
al-Maliha
→   Jerusalem
            ↙
al-Walaja
↓
Bayt Jala
↘           
Bayt Safafa
Town's Name Through History At one point al-Maliha was known also by Maliha al-Sughra.
Schools One public elementary school for boys which remains standing.
Places of Warship One large mosque known by 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and until this date it's still standing.
Exculsive Jewish Colonies
Who Usurped Village Lands		 Manachat and Israeli Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Daniya
Featured Video

Village Before Nakba

The village stood on a plateau, overlooking a wide area on all sides but the north. A newer part of the village was built on the southeastern slope of a neighboring hill. A short secondary road linked al-Maliha to a highway leading to Jerusalem, and other secondary roads and dirt paths connected it to neighboring villages. Biblical scholars have identified this village with Manahath (Joshua 15:59). In 1596 al-Maliha was a village in the nahiya of Jerusalem (liwa' of Jerusalem). It was known as Maliha al-Sughra and had a population of 286. It paid taxes on wheat, barley, and olive and fruit trees. Taxes were also paid on goats and beehives. Mary Rogers (the sister of Edward Thomas Rogers, British vice-consul in Haifa in the 1850s), passed by the village in 1855 and reported that it was on the summit of a steep hill, with large kilns for preparing charcoal on the terraces below it. At that time it was the home of one of the most influential families in the Jerusalem Mountains, the al-Shaykha. As Jerusalem expanded, al-Maliha became one of its suburbs. The British surveyors who authored the Survey of Western Palestine saw al-Maliha in the 1870s and described it as a village of moderate size, standing high on a flat ridge. To the south of it, in a valley, was 'Ayn Yalu. The village plan was rectangular, and most of its houses were built of stone. Its population was predominantly Muslim, with only about 10 Christians out of an estimated total of 1,940 in 1945. It had a public elementary school, a medical clinic, a few shops, and a village council. It also had a large mosque named after 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim caliph.

Most of the villagers worked in rainfed agriculture and livestock breeding, but some worked in crafts, commerce, and services. Their lands were planted in grain, vegetables, and fruit. In 1944/45 a total of 1,013 dunums was allocated to cereals; 2,613 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards, of which 1,370 dunums for olives. Wild vegetation covered the slopes of the neighboring mountains, which were used for grazing. There were many rock-cut tombs in and around the village, and a ruined tower stood near the mosque. This and the artifactual evidence on the site all suggested the great antiquity of the village.

Village Occupation and Ethnic Cleaning

The earliest attack against al-Maliha occurred on 6 March 1948, according to a report in the Jaffa-based Palestinian daily Filastin. The report said merely that a Jewish unit infiltrated into the outskirts of al-Maliha and clashed with the village's defenders; it made no mention of casualties. Israeli historian Benny Morris implies that the village was evacuated in two waves; the first occurred in April, as a result of the massacre in nearby Deir Yasin on 9 April.

But the village was not completely emptied until mid-July, when it was directly attacked after the first truce of the war. The New York Times indicates that the Haganah began to encroach on al-Maliha on the night of 1−2 May when it extended its positions southwards from the Qatamon sub-disctrict of Jerusalem. But the History of the War of Independence relates that the village was occupied about ten weeks later, during operations conducted around Jerusalem in conjunction with Operation Dani (see Abu al-Fadl, Ramla sub-disctrict).

After a fierce battle that lasted for several days, the village fell firmly into Israeli hands. On the night of 13−14 July, a company from the Irgun Zvai Leumi (IZL) and two platoons from the Yonathan Company of the Gadna (Palmach Youth Battalions) entered al-Maliha, taking up positions in the village. Arab forces launched a counterattack on 15 July, forcing the IZL unit to withdraw from the furthest position in the village. That same day, the Egyptian irregulars operating south of Jerusalem alongside Palestinian guerrillas announced taking al-Maliha in a communiqué quoted by the New York Times, but it was soon reoccupied after the arrival of IZL reinforcements. The Times reported that the Israelis were using medium artillery and mortar fire to mount diversionary attacks on the Jerusalem front on 14 July. The objective was to take the 'important supply base and assembly center' of al-Maliha, according to the paper's correspondent. By 16 July, the Times reported that the village was in Israeli hands and that an Arab counterattack on that day, which resulted in the deaths of fifteen Irgun men and left twenty others wounded, did not succeed in recapturing it. (The IZL said it had been 'let down' by the Haganah, which withdrew from a flanking height and failed to give covering fire during the Arab assault, but the Haganah denied the charges.) A few days later, on 22 July, the Israeli commander of the Jerusalem area, David Shaltiel, told the Times correspondent that the 'strategic' villages of al-Maliha and 'Ayn Karim had been occupied between the truces, thus ending a 'threatened Egyptian invasion' of Jerusalem.

Zionists Colonies on Village Lands

Zionists established the suburb of Manachat (167129) on the village site in 1949.

Village Today

Many houses are still standing and are occupied by Jewish families, although a few houses on the southern side of the village have been demolished. The inhabited houses are generally two-storey structures built of limestone, with arched windows and doors. Some houses have balconies with roofs that are supported by columns and circular arches. The school building is abandoned and its classrooms are filled with refuse. Some of the village streets are wide and paved while others are narrow alleys that are interrupted at points by limestone steps. The village mosque, with its tall, round minaret, still stands in the center of the village (see photos). It is closed and in a state of neglect. The village cemetery is on the southern edge of the site. Five large tombs stand out among the smaller ones. One of the graves is open, and human bones are visible. Orchards grow on the southern and southeastern slopes and in the valleys. Parts of the Israeli Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Daniya surround the village site on the west and north.

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
View from satellite
Help us map this town at WikiMapia
Related Links Wikipedia's Page
Facebook Page
Google Search
Google For Images
Google For Videos
More Information مخطط البلد
في كتاب كي لا ننسى
في كتاب بلادنا فلسطين
المزيد من موقع هوية

Bibliography and References

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

Display Name Clan/Hamolah Country of Residence
R. J. - Germantown, United States of America
Maryam Shahin Alkalla CA, CA
abo daniel hasan abo kamel athense, greece
عندليب ابو قمل Jordan, Jordan
ghada abu-kamel - amman, jordan
حسن عودة عودة القدس
مؤيد الجواريش الجواريش بيت لحم , بيت لحم
moussa - Amman
Alaa Marouf - saudi arabia, el riyadh
علاءكو داوود -
عبدالرحمن قطامش - -
AMAL abu qamel JORDAN, JORDAN
ayman ammar ammar ca, ca
الحج - مخيم شعفاط, القدس
علاء Jawareesh/ Mawaleh Palestine, Palestine
Ghadeer Abu Kamel Abu Kamel Amman, Jordan
maisa'a alkhars عمار amman, jordan
حقنا للعوده - القدس, المالحه
SAMEER MOUALLA MOUALLA UAE, UAE
omar moulla moulla jordan, jordan
Sameeh Moualla Moualla , UAE
Emad Abu Qamel Abu Qamel Amman - Jordan
Ghadeer Abu Ali Ammar Amman, Jordan
محمد درويش أبوزهيرة أبو ززهيرة -
Abu Ahmed الحنش القدس
asem jawaresh amman
أبو خالد - -
Isra Odeh - Ramallah, Palestine
أبوثائر الفسيسي AMMAN
قريه المالحه - -
Najwan Odeh Odeh Ramallah, Palestine
محمد عودة رامالله
EMAD AYUOB JADO AYUOB AMMAN, JORDAN
abu mohammed abu qamel Amman ju
ahmad moh'ed alsheekh ahmad abu kamel abu qamel -
abu murad darwish -
Rasim Ramadan Jawareesh Capital, Jordan
gigi - boston, united states
AL-BASHA Jawareesh WestBank, Palestain
shahaberko al-hanash student, palestine
Rafat Odeh Odeh Kansas, USA
romantic-devil Hanash amman, jordan
nobler -
Ribhi Faraj Darweesh -
sarhan sarhan -------------, jordan
sarhan - -------------, jordan
Haifa Faraj Faraj Washington State
adel khatib - AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND
mai odeh odeh UAE, Abu Dhabi
raed awwad Fawaksa JORDAN
mona odeh fawaksa -
maiss odeh fawaksa -
Islam Saleh Alkam Alkam (Jawareesh) Amman, jordan
Raed Fessesi Amman, Jordan
Amjad Saleh Alkam Alkam (Jawareesh) Amman, Jordan
yasin al_shouk (dawoad) France, France
Ayman ayman tripoly, باريس
Medhat Odeh MO, USA
david داوود - -
mohamud odah odah dubai, U.A.E
mahmoud abu kamal abu alkamil bethlehem, palestine
nasser tachta Jawareesh california, usa
lana saleh abu-alkamil Amman, jordan
All Registered Members
Fake Valor: Why Did Zionist Jews Hoist Nazis Flag on Their Ships in the 1930s?

What is new?