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Welcome To al-Hamma - الحمة (אל-חמה)

District of Tiberias
Ethnically cleansed days ago
العربية

Google Earth
Picture for al-Hamma Village - Palestine: : The
Gallery (59)
Statistic & Fact Value
Occupation Date July 20, 1949
Distance From District 12 (km) Southeast of Tiberias
Elevation -150 (meters)
Map Location See location #23 on the map

View from satellite
Exodus Cause Expulsion by Zionist troops
Village Temains al-Hamma has been converted into an Israeli tourist park, with parking facilities, swimming pools, and a small fishing pond. Some of the village structures have been spared destruction such as the train station and the village mosque, see Pictures section for details.
Ethnically Cleansing al-Hamma's population were ethnically cleansed between 1949-1956.
Pre-Nakba
Land Ownership
Ethnic Group Land Ownership (Dunums)*
Arab 1,105
Jewish 0
Public 587
**Total 1,692
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
**Town Lands' Demarcation Maps
Land Usage
As of 1945
Land Usage Arab (Dunum)*
Irrigated & Plantation 1,105
Olive Groves 6
Arable 1,105
Non-Arable 587
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
Population
Year Population*
1931 171
1945 290
1948 336
Est. Refugees 1998 2,066
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
Number of Houses
Year Number of Houses
1931 46
1948 90
Town's Name Through History The Old Testament's referred to al-Hamma by Ammath (or Emmath), during Romans period it was known by Emmatha. After the war, the village was known by al-Humma al-Suryah, sense it fell in the DMZ close to the Syrian borders.
Places of Warship One mosque (still standing)
Water Supply al-hamma is super famous for its hot springs
Archeological Sites The village contained an amphitheater, baths, a synagogue, burial grounds, the shafts and capitals of columns, and a shrine.
Exculsive Jewish Colonies
Who Usurped Village Lands		 No Israeli settlements on villageal-Hamma's lands.
Featured Video

Village Before Nakba

he village was situated on a narrow strip of land in the Yarmuk Valley. Steep slopes rose to the north and south. It was one of the stations on the railway line that linked Haifa to the Hijaz railway through Samakh on the southern tip of Lake Tiberias. The area had attracted settlers since ancient times. Al-Hamma was established on the Hellenistic Ammathous, the Old Testament's Ammath (or Emmath). In the Roman period, the site was called Emmatha and belonged to the sub-disctrict of Gadara (Umm Qays), now located in Jordan. Al-Hamma was renovated in A.D. 663, during the reign of the Ummayyad caliph Mu'awiya, after it had been damaged by an earthquake. It was known for its hot springs, which were thought to have therapeutic qualities because of the high sulfur content of their water. Although the springs attracted many visitors in the days of the Greeks and Romans (as evidenced by modern excavation and by references to the springs in historical works), they were later abandoned and were visited only by Bedouin, who set up seasonal camps at the site. A Lebanese entrepreneur, Sulayman Nasif, was given a concession in 1936 (during the British Mandate) to exploit the springs. Afterwards, Palestinians and other Arabs flocked to the area for relaxation and therapy.

The people of al-Hamma were predominantly Muslim, and the village had a large mosque with marble columns and a fountain in its front courtyard. Agriculture constituted the main source of livelihood for the villagers; a small portion of the village lands was planted with olive trees, and in 1944/45 a total of 1,105 dunums was irrigated or used for orchards. Archaeological remains in al-Hamma included an amphitheater, baths, a synagogue, burial grounds, the shafts and capitals of columns, and a shrine.

Village Occupation and Ethnic Cleaning

Al-Hamma was not captured in combat but was seized well after the fighting had ended. At the end of the war, the village fell within the Demilitarized Zone on the Syrian border, and was protected under the provisions of the Syrian-Israeli armistice agreement (Article V) signed in July 1949. However, as Israeli historian Benny Morris writes, the Israeli authorities nevertheless decided to eject the inhabitants of the cluster of villages covered in the agreement, on grounds that they may have been helping the Syrians, stealing cattle, and trespassing. Over the next seven years (between 1949 and 1956), 'a combination of stick and carrot' was employed in order to drive them out, according to Morris. The methods used were 'police pressure and 'petty persecution,' and economic incentives.' Most of the area residents moved to Syria, but some were relocated to the village of Sha'b in Acre sub-disctrict.

Zionists Colonies on Village Lands

There are no Israeli settlements on village land.

Village Today

The site has been converted into an Israeli tourist park, with parking facilities, swimming pools, and a small fishing pond. The deserted mosque still stands, and its minaret and marble columns are intact. Building foundations that were unearthed by an archaeological excavation can be seen south of the mosque. Five buildings east of the village site are built of black basalt. The railroad station still exists and the name of the village is inscribed on its entrance. There are three more deserted buildings next to the station, as well as the remains of destroyed houses (see 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
View from satellite
Help us map this town at WikiMapia
Related Links Wikipedia's Page
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Bibliography and References

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