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Welcome To al-Kunayyisa - الكنيسة (אל-כוניסה)

District of al-Ramla
Ethnically cleansed days ago

العربية

Google Earth
Picture for al-Kunayyisa Village - Palestine: : That is how the
Gallery (86)
Statistic & Fact Value
Occupation Date July 10, 1948
Distance From District 12 (km) Southeast of al-Ramla
Elevation 175 (meters)
Before & After Nakba, Click Map For Detailswhat's new
Pre-Nakba Map showing before and after destruction
Map Location See location #26 on the map

View from satellite
Military Operation First stage of Operation Dani
Attacking Units Possibly Giva'ti Brigade
Exodus Cause Military assault by Zionist troops
Village Temains Soon after occupation, ak-Kunayyisa was completely obliterated, and only house walls and rubble left behind.
Ethnically Cleansing al-Kunayyisa inhabitants were completely ethnically cleansed.
Pre-Nakba
Land Ownership
Ethnic Group Land Ownership (Dunums)*
Arab 3,804
Jewish 0
Public 68
**Total 3,872
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
**Town Lands' Demarcation Maps
Land Usage
As of 1945
Land Usage Arab (Dunum)*
Irrigated & Plantation 64
Planted W/ Cereal 2,432
Built up 20
Arable 2,496
Non-Arable 1,356
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
Population
Year Population*
1931 1,135
1945 40
1948 46
Est. Refugees 1998 285
*Sourced from British Mandate's Village Statisitics
Number of Houses In (1931): 288 (includes 'Innaba)
Near By Townswhat's new
'Innaba
         
Kharruba

(N)
Barfiliya
       
al-Barriyya  
   Bir Ma'in
           
Abu Shusha

al-Qubab
           
Bayt Shanna
Inhabitants Place of Origin Originally, the village was founded by people from the nearby villages of 'lnnaba and al-Qubab.
Archeological Sites A khirba to the east contains rough stone walls, building foundations, and rock-hewn cisterns.
Exculsive Jewish Colonies
Who Usurped Village Lands
No Israeli settlements on village lands.
Featured Video

Village Before Nakba

The village stood on a hill that sloped gently to the north, on the eastern edge of the coastal plain. Hills surrounded it on all sides except the south, where it overlooked a wadi. AI-Kunayyisa lay less than 2 km to the northeast of the Ramla-Jerusalem highway, and was linked to it-and to neighboring villages as well-by dirt paths. The village was established over an earlier settlement whose ruins contained building foundations, fallen masonry, cisterns, and rock-cut tombs. Most of its inhabitants came from the adjacent villages of 'Innaba and al-Qubab to farm the land, and gradually they settled there. All of the villagers were Muslims; their adobe brick houses were clustered together, separated only by narrow alleys. Rainfed agriculture constituted the backbone of their economy and was based on grain cultivation. The villagers also cultivated citrus and olives in the northern and southern parts of their lands, which they irrigated from nearby wells. In 1944/45 a total of 2,432 dunums was planted in cereals; 64 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards. To the east of al-Kunayyisa lay a khirba which contained rough stone walls, building foundations, and rock-hewn cisterns.

Village Occupation and Ethnic Cleaning

Israeli units entered the village on 10 July 1948, at the beginning of Operation Dani (see Abu al-Fadl, Ramla sub-district) and as a prelude to the occupation of Lydda and Ramla. Afterwards, the Yiftach Brigade reported on al-Kunayyisa and the neighboring village of Kharruba as follows: 'After blowing up the houses and cleaning up the village-our troops occupied strongpoints overlooking the village.' The fate of the villagers is not recorded.

Zionists Colonies on Village Lands

There are no Israeli settlements on village lands; Kibbutz Mishmar Ayyalon (144142) is close by, to the south, on the lands of al-Qubab.

Village Today

From a distance, the site looks like a big stone pile overgrown with a thicket of thorns (see photos). More than thirty partially destroyed buildings, including houses, still stand. The remains of arched doors and windows are visible. Fig, almond, olive, and pomegranate trees and cactuses grow among the buildings. The lands in the vicinity are cultivated by the nearby kibbutz; some are planted in cotton.

Source

Dr. Walid al-Khalidi, 1992: All That Remains.

Related Maps Town Lands' Demarcation Maps
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