Zarnuqa ( Arabic : زرنوقة ), also Zarnuga , was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict . It was depopulated on 27–28 May 1948 during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War .
71-633: Zarnuqa was located 10 km southwest of Ramla . Ceramics from the Late Bronze Age and the Persian period have been found here. A building, a winepress and ceramics from the Byzantine period have been found, as have Early Islamic remains. Tombs, from the Late Ottoman period (16th–19th centuries CE) have been excavated, as has a building with a kiln and pottery dating to
142-416: A Crusader state established by Godfrey of Bouillon . Ramla had an Arab -majority population before most were expelled during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . The town was subsequently repopulated by Jewish immigrants. Today, Ramla is one of Israel's mixed cities , with a population 76% Jewish and 24% Arab. The Umayyad prince and governor of Palestine , Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik , founded Ramla as
213-721: A Gath (believed to be Tell es-Safi ) and Gath-rimmon or Gittaim (in or near Ramla). Archaeological excavations in Ramla conducted in 1992–1995 unearthed the remains of a dyeing industry ( Dar al-Sabbaghin , House of the Dyers) near the White Mosque; hydraulic installations such as pools, subterranean reservoirs and cisterns; and abundant ceramic finds that include glass, coins and jar handles stamped with Arabic inscriptions. Excavations in Ramla continued into 2010, led by Eli Haddad, Orit Segal, Vered Eshed, and Ron Toueg, on behalf of
284-615: A decade later, the population had increased nearly 25%; the 1931 census recorded 10,347 people (8,157 Muslims, 2,194 Christians, five Jews, and two Druze ), in a total of 2,339 houses. Ramla was connected to wired electricity (supplied by the Zionist-owned Palestine Electric Company ) towards the end of the 1920s. Economist Basim Faris noted this fact as proof of Ramla's higher standard of living than neighbouring Lydda. In Ramla, he wrote, "economic demands triumph over nationalism" while Lydda, "which
355-540: A dispute erupted between the shepherds of Zarnuqa and the Jewish farmers of the newly established moshava of Rehovot , which was finally resolved in the courts. In 1913, a violent clash, which according to the Jewish side was sparked by the theft of grapes from a Rishon LeZion vineyard, resulted in the deaths of two Jews from Rehovot and an Arab of Zarnuqa. However, documents recently discovered in Istanbul archives gives
426-644: A lasting reputation as a great builder following the example of his father and al-Walid, the respective founders of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the Great Mosque of Damascus . The construction of Ramla was Sulayman's "way to immortality" and "his personal stamp on the landscape of Palestine", according to Luz. The first structure Sulayman erected in Ramla was his palatial residence, which dually served as
497-518: A mixed Jewish–Arab town within the state of Israel. Arab homes of those who left in Ramla were given by the Israeli government to Jews, first Holocaust refugees from Europe and then immigrants from Arab and Muslim countries. In February 1949, the Jewish population was over 6,000. Ramla remained economically depressed over the next two decades, although the population steadily mounted, reaching 34,000 by 1972. A 2013 Israeli police report documented that
568-402: A more ancient city, visited " Rama , or Ramleh, where there are remains of the walls from the days of our ancestors, for thus it was found written upon the stones. About 300 Jews dwell there. It was formerly a very great city; at a distance of two miles (3 km) there is a large Jewish cemetery." In the 1480s, in the late Mamluk era, Felix Fabri visited Ramla and described (among other things)
639-583: A new city at a superior, adjacent site. In choosing the site, Sulayman utilized the strategic advantages of Lydda's vicinity while avoiding the physical constraints of an already-established urban center. Historian Moshe Sharon holds that Lydda was "too Christian in ethos for the taste of the Umayyad rulers", particularly following the Arabization and Islamization reforms instituted by Abd al-Malik. According to al-Jahshiyari (died 942), Sulayman sought
710-402: A population of 15,160 (11,900 Muslims and 3,260 Christians). Ramla was part of the territory allotted to a proposed Arab state under the 1947 UN Partition Plan . However, Ramla's geographic location and its strategic position on the main supply route to Jerusalem made it a point of contention during the 1947–1948 civil war , followed by the internationalised 1948 Arab–Israeli War . A bomb by
781-537: A small government of their own in the country." In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities , Zarnuqa' had a population of 967 inhabitants, all Muslims , increasing in the 1931 census to 1,952; still all Muslims, in a total of 414 houses. In 1926, the Jewish National Fund purchased land from residents of Zarnuqa, and by 1931 had established on that land
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#1732782722085852-450: Is an inscription stating that on the 15th of Muharram , of the year 425 (=10th of December, 1033 CE), there came an earthquake of great violence, which threw down a large number of buildings, but that no single person sustained an injury. In the city of Ramla there is marble in plenty, and most of the buildings and private houses are of this material; and, further, the surface thereof they do most beautifully sculpture and ornament. They cut
923-609: Is one of Israel's mixed cities , with significant numbers of both Jews and Arabs. The city was founded in the early 8th century CE by the Umayyad caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik as the capital of Jund Filastin , the district he governed in Bilad al-Sham before becoming caliph in 715. The city's strategic and economic value derived from its location at the intersection of the Via Maris , connecting Cairo with Damascus , and
994-464: Is ten minutes' walk from Ramleh, is still averse to such a convenience as electric current, and so is not as yet served; perhaps the low standard of living of the poor population prevents the use of the service at the present rates, which cannot compete with petroleum for lighting". Sheikh Mustafa al-Khairi was mayor of Ramla from 1920 to 1947. The 1938 village statistics list the population ("Ramle, Er") as 11,950. The 1945/46 survey gives 'Ramle'
1065-754: Is the center of Karaite Judaism in Israel. Village Statistics, 1945 Village Statistics, 1945 was a joint survey work prepared by the Government Office of Statistics and the Department of Lands of the British Mandate Government for the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry on Palestine which acted in early 1946. The data were calculated as of April 1, 1945, and was later published and also served
1136-554: The Fatimid period (10th–11th centuries). Its role as the principal city and district capital came to an end shortly before the arrival of the First Crusaders in 1099. It received its name, the singular form of raml (sand), from the sandy area in which it sat. Sulayman's motives for founding Ramla were personal ambition and practical considerations. The location of Ramla near Lydda, a long-established and prosperous city,
1207-620: The Franciscan church. Napoleon used the hospice as his headquarters during his Palestine campaign in 1799. The Ramla Museum is housed in the former municipal headquarters of the British Mandatory authorities. The building, from 1922, incorporates elements of Arab architecture such as arched windows and patterned tiled floors. After 1948, it was the central district office of the Israeli Ministry of Finance . In 2001,
1278-675: The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). In January 2021, archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Haifa University announced the discovery of six engravings on 120,000-year-old aurochs bone near the city of Ramla in the open-air Middle Paleolithic site of Nesher Ramla. According to archaeologist Yossi Zaidner, this finding was definitely the oldest in the Levant . Three-dimensional imaging and microscopic analysis were used to examine
1349-544: The Muslim conquest in the 630s that, at least formally, precluded him from confiscating desirable property within Lydda. In a tradition recorded by the historian Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari (died 1347), a determined local Christian cleric refused Sulayman's requests for plots in the middle of Lydda. Infuriated, he attempted to have the cleric executed, but his local adviser Raja ibn Haywa dissuaded him and instead proposed building
1420-638: The UNSCOP committee that operated in 1947. The survey encompasses data on land ownership, its uses, population statistics, and tax payment records. The land data was derived from the work conducted for the Peel Commission and subsequently updated by the Mandate Government’s Lands Department. The population data was based on the 1931 census of Palestine , updated with information from various partial censuses primarily conducted in
1491-518: The hammam there; "built in a wonderous and clever fashion". In the early days of the Ottoman period, in 1548, a census was taken recording 528 Muslim families and 82 Christian families living in Ramla. On 2 March 1799 , Napoleon Bonaparte occupied Ramla during his unsuccessful bid to conquer Palestine, using the Franciscan hospice as his headquarters. The village appeared as 'Ramleh' on
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#17327827220851562-409: The 10th-century Jerusalemite geographer al-Muqaddasi described Ramla as "a fine city, and well built; its water is good and plentiful; it fruits are abundant". He noted that it "combines manifold advantages, situated as it is in the midst of beautiful villages and lordly towns, near to holy places and pleasant hamlets", as well as bountiful fields, walled towns and hospices. The geographer further noted
1633-581: The 10th–11th centuries, when the city was ruled by the Fatimids and Seljuks . It lost its role as a provincial capital shortly before the arrival of the First Crusaders ( c. 1099 ), after which it became the scene of various battles between the Crusaders and Fatimids in the first years of the 12th century. Later that century, it became the centre of a lordship in the Kingdom of Jerusalem ,
1704-482: The 18th–19th centuries. The mosque of the village was built by Shaykh Ahmad al-Rahhal. A two-line poem inscribed in nashki script, dated the construction of the mosque to 1207 H. (1792/93 CE). The village appeared as an unnamed village on the map of Pierre Jacotin , compiled in 1799. Some of the inhabitants of Zarnuqa were Egyptians who arrived in Palestine with the army of Ibrahim Pasha . In 1838, Zernukah
1775-614: The Arab version: they said that the Jews "wanted to strip the camel owner[s] of their clothes, money and camels, but these men refused to give their camels and escaped from Lun Kara with their camels, protecting each other [to seek refuge with] men of the law… The above mentioned Jews attacked our villages, robbed and looted our property, killed and even damaged the family honor, all this in a manner we find hard to put in words." They further wrote: "By payments they do whatever they want, as if they have
1846-546: The Central District ranks fourth among Israel's seven districts in terms of drug-related arrests. Today, five of Israel's prisons are located in Ramla, including the maximum-security Ayalon Prison and the country's only women's prison, called Neve Tirza . In 2015, Ramla had one of Israel's highest crime rates. The Tower of Ramla , also known as the White Tower, was built in the 13th century. It served as
1917-542: The Early Muslim period) to provide Ramla with a steady supply of water. Use of the cistern was apparently discontinued at the beginning of the tenth century (the beginning of the Fatimid period), possibly due to the fact that the main aqueduct to the city went out of use at that time. The Crusaders built a cathedral in the first half on the 12th century, converted into a mosque when the Mamluks conquered Ramla in
1988-491: The Jarrahids, who continued to dominate the surrounding countryside. The following decade was marked by peace, but, in 1024, the Jarrahids renewed their rebellion. The Fatimid general Anushtakin al-Dizbari secured Ramla for a few months, but the Jarrahids overran the city that year, killing and harassing several inhabitants and seizing much of the population's wealth. They appointed their own governor, Nasr Allah ibn Nizal. In
2059-627: The Jewish militia group Irgun went off in the Ramla market on 18 February, killing 7 residents and injuring 45. After a number of unsuccessful raids on Ramla, the Israeli army launched Operation Dani . Ramla was captured on 12 July 1948, a few days after the capture of Lydda. The Arab resistance surrendered on July 12, and most of the remaining inhabitants were expelled . A disputed claim, advanced by scholars including Ilan Pappé , characterizes this as ethnic cleansing . By November 1949, there were about 2,000 Arabs in Ramla and Lod. Ramla became
2130-412: The Jewish sector, along with immigration and natural reproduction data. The data for the entire Land of Israel is deemed more reliable than the data for individual districts and settlements. The survey’s editors emphasized that it should be viewed as a rough estimate of the actual population rather than an exact count. Previous versions of the report were prepared in 1938 and 1943. The report found
2201-608: The West, is known under the name of Filastin. The armies of the First Crusade took the hastily evacuated town without a fight. In the early years of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem though, control over this strategic location led to three consecutive battles between the Crusaders and Egyptian armies from Ascalon , a Fatimid-held town along the southern coast of Palestine. As Crusader rule stabilized, Ramla became
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2272-416: The White Mosque, dominated by a minaret added at a later date, are visible in the present day. In the courtyard are underground water cisterns from the Umayyad period. From early on, Ramla developed economically as a market town for the surrounding area's agricultural products, and as a center for dyeing, weaving and pottery. It was also home to many Muslim religious scholars . Sulayman built an aqueduct in
2343-507: The area: "We passed through olive groves and gardens past Zernuka, until crossing over some undulating hills we came across the village Akir ..." In 1882, the PEF 's Survey of Western Palestine described Zarnuqa as a large adobe village "with cactus hedges around it and wells in the gardens." In 1890, the region between Zarnuqa and Ramle, a stretch of 10,000 dunams , was described by Zionist sources as an uncultivated wasteland. In March 1892,
2414-532: The bone. The six lines ranged in length from 38 to 42 millimeters. The city has historically suffered severe damage from several major earthquakes, including the 1033 Jordan Rift Valley earthquake , 1068 Near East earthquake , smaller earthquakes in 1070 and 1546, and the 1927 Jericho earthquake . In May 2006, a naturally sealed-off underground space now known as Ayyalon Cave was discovered near Ramla, outside Moshav Yad Rambam . The cave sustains an unusual type of ecosystem, based on bacteria that create all
2485-558: The building became a museum documenting the history of Ramla. The Commonwealth War Cemetery is the largest of its kind in Israel, holding graves of soldiers fallen during both World Wars and the British Mandate period. A tradition reported by Ishtori Haparchi (1280–1355) and other early Jewish writers is that Ramla was the biblical Gath of the Philistines . Initial archaeological claims seemed to indicate that Ramla
2556-437: The city called al-Barada, which transported water to Ramla from Tel Gezer , about 10 kilometers (6 mi) to the southeast. Ramla superseded Lydda as the commercial center of Palestine. Many of Lydda's Christian, Samaritan and Jewish inhabitants were moved to the new city. Although the traditional accounts are in agreement that Lydda almost immediately fell into obscurity following the founding of Ramla, narratives vary about
2627-462: The city's disadvantages included the severe muddiness of the place during the rainy winter season and its hard, sandy grounds due to its distance from natural water sources. The limited drinking water gathered in the city's cisterns were generally inaccessible to the poorer inhabitants. By 1011–1012, the Jarrahids controlled all of Palestine, except for the coastal towns, and captured Ramla from its Fatimid garrison, making it their capital. The city and
2698-400: The city's significant commerce and "excellent markets", lauding the quality of its fruits and bread as the best of their kind. During this period, Ramla was one of the major centers for the production and export of oil extracted from unripe olives, known as anfa kinon ( Greek : ὀμφάκιον, ὀμφάχινον; Latin : omphacium; Arabic : زيت الأنفاق ), and used in cuisine and medicine. Conversely,
2769-625: The clients of the Muslims were Samaritans. The golden age of Ramla under the Umayyads and Abbasids, when the city overtook Jerusalem as a trade center, later gave way to a period of political instability and war beginning in the late 10th century. The Egypt-based Fatimids conquered Ramla in 969 and ten years later the city was destroyed by the Jarrahids , a branch of the Tayy tribe. Nonetheless,
2840-607: The elderly were evacuated to the nearby village of Yibna , leaving the Shurbajis and several dozen armed men from other clans. Zarnuqa was depopulated on 27–28 May by the Givati Brigade during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. One account in Al HaMishmar described how a soldier fired with a Sten gun at three people (one old man, old woman and a child) and how the villagers were taken out from the houses and had to stay in
2911-612: The energy they need chemically, from the sulfur compounds they find in the water, with no light or organic food coming in from the surface. A bulldozer working in the Nesher cement quarry on the outskirts of Ramla accidentally broke into the cavern. The finds have been attributed to the cave's isolation, which led to the evolution of a whole food chain of specially developed organisms, including several previously unknown species of invertebrates . With several large halls on different levels, it measures 2,700 metres (8,900 ft) long, making it
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2982-431: The extent of Sulayman's efforts to transfer Lydda's inhabitants to Ramla, some holding that he only demolished a church in Lydda and others that he demolished the city altogether. Al-Ya'qubi (died 839) noted Sulayman razed the houses of Lydda's inhabitants to force their relocation to Ramla and punished those who resisted. In the words of al-Jahshiyari, Sulayman "founded the town of al-Ramla and its mosque and thus caused
3053-837: The figures for land ownership, the report said: "The areas and ownership have been extracted from the Tax Distribution Lists, prepared under the provisions of the Rural Property Tax Ordinance, 1942, the Valuation Lists prepared under the Urban Property Tax Ordinance, 1940, and the Commuted Tithe records for Beersheba Sub-District, in the Gaza District." Israeli geographer Moshe Brawer noted that
3124-520: The first workers' moshav ( moshav ovdim ), known as Kfar Marmorek , now a suburb of Rehovot, in which ten Yemenite-Jewish families evicted from Kinneret in 1931 were resettled. In 1929, Zarnuqa had 1,122 dunams of citrus orchards and most of its economic growth derived from citriculture. In 1934, Zionist writer Ze'ev Smilansky attributed the modernisation of the village to its proximity to Rehovot and land sales to Jews by both effendis and fellahin . Advanced farming technologies were introduced under
3195-399: The following year, al-Dizbari drove the Jarrahids out of Ramla, but was recalled to Egypt in 1026. In 1029, he returned and routed the Jarrahids and their Bedouin allies. Persian geographer Nasir-i-Khusrau visited the city in 1047, remarking: Ramla is a great city, with strong walls built of stone, mortared, of great height and thickness, with iron gates opening therein. From the town to
3266-531: The food supply to dwindle. Seven more species of troglobite crustaceans and springtails were discovered in "Noah's Ark Cave", as the cave has been dubbed by journalists, several of them unknown to science. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), a total of 63,462 people were living in Ramla at the end of 2004. In 2001, the ethnic makeup of the city was 80% Jewish, 20% Arab (16% Muslim Arabs and 4% Christian Arabs ). Ramla
3337-413: The high rate of natural increase among all sections of the population. The rapidity of the change in the size of the population and the length of the period elapsed since the census rendered difficult the task of estimating the population. The population estimates published here are the result of a very detailed work conducted by the Department of Statistics, by using all the statistical material available on
3408-669: The houses were demolished the month after. The family of the Shaqaqi brothers, Fathi (one of the founders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad ) and the political scientist Khalil Ibrahim, was from Zarnuqa. They fled in the face of rumours of massacres of Palestinians by Yishuv troops and expected to return after the hostilities ended. They were not permitted to come back. Haidar Eid, Associate Professor at al-Aqsa University in Gaza, states that his parent were evicted from
3479-480: The map of Pierre Jacotin compiled during this campaign. In 1838, Edward Robinson found Ramleh to be a town of about 3000 inhabitants, surrounded by olive-groves and vegetables. It had few streets, and the houses were made of stone and were well-built. There were several mosques in the town. In 1863, Victor Guérin noted that the Latin (Catholic) population was reduced to two priests and 50 parishioners. In 1869,
3550-432: The marble here with a toothless saw, which is worked with 'Mekka sand'. They saw the marble in length, as is the case with wood, to form the columns; not in across; they also cut it into slabs. The marbles that I saw here were of all colours, some variegated, some green, red, black and white. There is, too, at Ramla, a particular kind of fig, and this they export to all the countries round. This city Ramla, throughout Syria and
3621-457: The minaret of the White Mosque ( al-Masjid al-Abyad ) erected by Caliph Suleiman in the 8th century, of which only remnants are to be seen today. The tower is six stories high, with a spiral staircase of 119 steps. The Pool of Arches, also known as St. Helen's Pool and Bīr al-Anezīya, is an underground water cistern built during the reign of the Abbasid caliph Haroun al-Rashid in 789 CE (in
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#17327827220853692-547: The population was given as 3,460; 3000 Muslims, 400 Greek Orthodox and 60 Catholics. In 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund 's Survey of Western Palestine noted that there was a bazaar in the town, "but its prosperity has much decayed, and many of the houses are falling into ruins, including the Serai ." Expansion began only at the end of the 19th century. In 1889, 31 Jewish worker families settled in
3763-484: The road connecting the Mediterranean port of Jaffa with Jerusalem . It rapidly overshadowed the adjacent city of Lydda , whose inhabitants were relocated to the new city. Not long after its establishment, Ramla developed as the commercial centre of Palestine , serving as a hub for pottery, dyeing, weaving, and olive oil, and as the home of numerous Muslim scholars . Its prosperity was lauded by geographers in
3834-537: The ruin of Lod [Lydda]". The Abbasids toppled the Umayyads in 750, confiscating the White Mosque and all other Umayyad properties in Ramla. The Abbasids annually reviewed the high costs of maintaining the Barada canal, though starting under the reign of Caliph al-Mu'tasim it became a regular part of the state's expenditures. In the late 9th century the Muslim inhabitants were composed mainly of Arabs and Persians, while
3905-509: The sea-coast is a distance of three leagues. The inhabitants get their water from the rainfall, and in each house is a tank for storing the same, in order that there may always be a supply. In the middle of the Friday Mosque [White Mosque], also, is a large tank: and from it, when it is filled with water, anyone who wishes may take. The area of the mosque measures two hundred paces ( Gam ) by three hundred. Over one of its porches ( suffah )
3976-552: The seat of Palestine's administration ( diwan ). The next structure was the Dar al-Sabbaghin (House of the Dyers). At the center of the new city was a congregational mosque , later known as the White Mosque . It was not completed until the reign of Sulayman's successor Caliph Umar II ( r. 717–720 ). The Sulayman's construction works were financially managed by a Christian from Lydda, Bitrik ibn al-Naka. The remains of
4047-565: The seat of a seigneury in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Lordship of Ramla within the County of Jaffa and Ascalon . It was a city of some economic significance and an important way station for pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem. The Crusaders identified it with the biblical Ramathaim and called it Arimathea . Around 1163, the rabbi and traveller Benjamin of Tudela , who also mistook it for
4118-401: The seat of his administration, replacing Lydda , the Muslims' original provincial capital. Sulayman had been appointed governor by his father Caliph Abd al-Malik before the end of his reign in 705 and continued in office through the reign of his brother Caliph al-Walid I ( r. 705–715 ), whom he succeeded. He died as caliph in 717. Ramla remained the capital of Palestine through
4189-496: The second half of the 13th century, when they added a round minaret, an entrance from the north, and a mihrab . The Great Mosque of Ramla, also known as the El-Omari Mosque, it is in architectural terms Israel's largest and best-preserved Crusader church. The Hospice of St Nicodemus and St Joseph of Arimathea on Ramla's main boulevard, Herzl Street, is easily recognized by its clock-faced, square tower. It belongs to
4260-475: The subject. They cannot, however, be considered as other than rough estimates which in some instances may ultimately be found to differ even considerably, from the actual figures. The estimates for the whole of Palestine are to be considered as more reliable than those for sub-districts, while the sub-district estimates can, in turn, be considered as more reliable than those of the individual localities. Population statistics were prepared in four stages. Regarding
4331-462: The sun, in hunger and thirst, until they surrendered the weapons they claimed they did not have. They were then expelled towards Yibna. In total, six died and 22 were taken prisoners. The day after, the inhabitants returned and recounted that the Yibna villagers saw them as traitors. The Zarnuqa villagers saw their village being ransacked by Jewish soldiers and nearby settlers. They were expelled again and
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#17327827220854402-595: The surrounding places were plundered by the Bedouin, impoverishing much of the population. The Jarrahids brought the Alid emir of Mecca , al-Hasan ibn Ja'far , to act as caliph in defiance of the Fatimids. The development was short-lived, as the Jarrahids abandoned al-Hasan after Fatimid bribes, and the caliphal claimant left the city for Mecca. A Fatimid army led by Ali ibn Ja'far ibn Fallah wrested control of Ramla from
4473-406: The third-largest limestone cave in Israel. One of the finds was an eyeless scorpion, given the name Akrav israchanani honouring the researchers who identified it, Israel Naaman and Hanan Dimentman. All ten specimen of the blind scorpion found in the cave had been dead for several years, possibly because recent overpumping of the groundwater has led the underground lake to shrink, and with it
4544-412: The total population of Palestine to be 1,764,520: there were 1,061,270 Muslims , 553,600 Jews , 135,550 Christians and 14,100 classified as "others" (typically Druze ). Regarding the accuracy of its statistics, the report said: The last population census taken in Palestine was that of 1931 . Since that year, the population has grown considerably both as a consequence of Jewish immigration and of
4615-455: The town, which had no Jewish population at the time. In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities , 'Ramleh' had a population of 7,312 (5,837 Muslims , 1,440 Christians and 35 Jews). The Christians were further noted by denomination: 1,226 Orthodox , 2 Syriac Orthodox (Jacobites), 150 Roman Catholics , 8 Melkite Catholics , 4 Maronite , 15 Armenian , 2 Abyssinian Church and 36 Anglicans . Less than
4686-411: The tuition of their Jewish neighbors. The village had two elementary schools, with one of them for boys, founded in 1924, and the other one for girls, founded in 1943, initially with 65 students. In 1945, the boy school had 252 students. In the 1945 statistics , the village was counted with Gibton , and together they had a total population of 2,620; 2,380 Muslims and 240 Jews. The land ownership of
4757-466: The village before occupation in dunams : Types of land use in dunams in the village in 1945: At the beginning of December 1947, the residents of Zarnuqa considered entering into a non-belligerency pact with Rehovot but apparently it was not formalized. In April 1948, Arab irregulars moved into the village. The Dar Shurbaji clan was in favor of the village surrendering its weapons and accept protection by Haganah but others objected. Women, children and
4828-609: The village by members of the Haganah and Stern gang who told them: "Leave your homes or we will kill and rape you". After the establishment of Israel , the Zarnuqa ma'abara was established on the site to house Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe and Arab lands . Ramla Ramla or Ramle ( Hebrew : רַמְלָה , Ramlā ; Arabic : الرملة , ar-Ramleh ) is a city in the Central District of Israel . Ramle
4899-508: Was logistically and economically advantageous. The area's economic importance was based on its strategic location at the intersection of the two major roads linking Egypt with Syria (the so-called " Via Maris ") and linking Jerusalem with the Mediterranean coast. Sulayman established his city in Lydda's vicinity, avoiding Lydda proper. This was likely due to a lack of available space for wide-scale development and agreements dating to
4970-422: Was not built on the site of an ancient city, although in recent years the ruins of an older city were uncovered to the south of Ramla. Earlier, Benjamin Mazar had proposed that ancient Gath lay at the site of Ras Abu Hamid east of Ramla. Avi-Yonah , however, considered that to be a different Gath, usually now called Gath-Gittaim. This view is also supported by other scholars, those holding that there was, both,
5041-405: Was noted as a village in the Gaza area. In 1863, Victor Guérin found that Zarnuqa had 300 inhabitants and that it was surrounded by tobacco plantations. A sanctuary was dedicated to a Sheik Mohammed . An Ottoman village list from around 1870 counted 107 houses and a population of 267, though the population count included men only. Passing by, in 1871, Charles Warren described travelling in
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