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Welcome To Shilta - شلتة (שילתא)

District of al-Ramla
Ethnically cleansed days ago
العربية

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Picture for Shilta Village - Palestine: : Let us tour the Palestinian homes that were looted by the
Gallery (21)
Statistic & Fact Value
Occupation Date July 18, 1948
Distance From District 15 (km) East of al-Ramla
Elevation 300 (meters)
Before & After Nakba, Click Map For Detailswhat's new
Pre-Nakba Map showing before and after destruction
Map Location See location #19 on the map

View from satellite
Military Operation Operation Dani
Attacking Units First Battalion of the Yiftach Brigade
Defenders Jordanian Army & Local militia
Exodus Cause Military assault by Zionist troops
Village Temains Shilta was completely obliterated and defaced.
Ethnically Cleansing Shilta inhabitants were completely ethnically cleansed.
Pre-Nakba
Land Ownership
Ethnic Group Land Ownership (Dunums)*
Arab 5,379
Jewish 0
Public 1
**Total 5,380
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
**Town Lands' Demarcation Maps
Land Usage
As of 1945
Land Usage Arab (Dunum)*
Irrigated & Plantation 27
Planted W/ Cereal 2,159
Built up 6
Arable 2,186
Non-Arable 3,188
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
Population
Year Population*
1931 22
1945 100
1948 116
Est. Refugees 1998 712
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
Number of Houses
Year Number of Houses
1931 7
1948 36
Near By Townswhat's new
al-Midya
          ↖
Ni'lin
↑
(N)
Kharbata
↗        
Zakariyya, Khirbat  ←
Shilta
→   Saffa
            ↙
Barfiliya
↓
al-Burj
↘           
Bayt Sira
Town's Name Through History The Crusades referred to Shilta by Capharscylta.
Places of Warship One mosque
Shrines / Maqams A shrine for a local sage known by al-Shaykh Ahmad al-Shiltawi.
Exculsive Jewish Colonies
Who Usurped Village Lands		 Shilat and Kefar Rut.
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Village Before Nakba

Shilta was situated on a hill of hard limestone on the easternmost edge of the central coastal plain. Several trails connected it to neighboring villages. The village site has been identified with the Crusader locality of Capharscylta. The French traveler Guérin, who visited Palestine several times, noted in 1874 that Shilta consisted of several houses, some of which were the remains of older buildings that had been supplemented with new enclosures to make them habitable. He also saw the remains of the Crusader structure. The stone-and-mud houses of Shilta were built very close to each other, separated by narrow alleys. Shilta was referred to as a hamlet in the Palestine Index Gazetteer. The population was predominantly Muslim. The shrine of a Shaykh Ahmad al-Shiltawi was located near the mosque at the north end. Rainfed agriculture and animal husbandry were the principal occupations of the residents, who cultivated a variety of crops, including grain, vegetables, grapes, figs, almonds, and olives. In 1944/45 a total of 2,159 dunums was allotted to cereals; 27 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.

Village Occupation and Ethnic Cleaning

At the end of Operation Dani (see Abu al-Fadl, Ramla sub-disctrict), just as the second truce was about to take effect, Israeli forces turned their attention from the Lydda-Ramla plain towards al-Latrun. On the night of 17-18 July 1948, they made an attempt to cut the al-Latrun-Ramallah road. After midnight on 18 July, a company of the First Battalion of the Yiftach Brigade occupied Shilta. By morning, however, the unit discovered that its position, dominated as it was by an elevated position occupied by the Arab Legion, was indefensible. It decided to withdraw from Shilta, but came under heavy fire, losing forty-four men in the process. The History of the War of Independence states: 'Thus, in the few hours before the truce took effect, we experienced the most severe blow of Operation Dani, which had been full of triumphs.'

Israeli historian Benny Morris claims that this attack occurred a couple of days earlier. At any rate, Shilta was probably depopulated as a result of this attack. It is not clear when the village was reoccupied, but it may have been ceded to Israel as a result of the armistice agreement.

Zionists Colonies on Village Lands

Israel established the agricultural settlements of Shilat (152147) and Kefar Rut (153146) in 1977 on village lands.

Village Today

The site is overgrown with mountain flora, including long grasses and pomegranate, almond, and carob trees. Some of the cactus hedges survive, and several wells also are visible. Israelis have built greenhouses for growing flowers, as well as full-scale models of Arab houses and other structures on the site. One shows a shed, perhaps a watchman's, built of casually-stacked stones, topped with a wooden frame. Israeli settlement houses have been built on village land.

Source

Dr. Walid al-Khalidi, 1992: All That Remains.
Related Maps Town Lands' Demarcation Maps
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Town's map on MapQuest
View from satellite
Help us map this town at WikiMapia
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