Ra'na (Arabic: رعنة) was a village located approximately 26 km northwest of Hebron. It was occupied by the Israeli army during Operation Yo'av in October 1948. It was one of 16 villages in the Hebron district that were depopulated.
History
In 1838, during the Ottoman empire, Edward Robinson noted it as Muslim village, located in the Gaza district.[5] He further reported that the fields of Ra'na were planted with tobacco and cotton.[6]
In 1863 Victor Guérin described it as a "village now reduced to a few huts, but that once had been much more considerable, judging by two beautiful wells dug in the rock and by a number of great stones scattered here and there".[7]
An Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed that Ra'na had 8 houses and a population of 30, though the population count included men, only.[8][9]
In 1945 statistics the population of Ra'na was 190, all Muslims.[2][3] In 1944/45 a total of 5,882 dunums of land was planted with cereals, while 112 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards. Grain was the dominant crop, but during the final year of the British Mandate of Palestine, the villagers also grew grapes, carob and olives.[12][15] 14 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.[16]
The kibbutz of Gal On was established in 1946 on what had traditionally been village land.[12]
Ra'na 1948 1:250,000 (top left quadrant)Ra'na 1948 1:20,000
1948, and after
The village was attacked by the Giv'ati Brigade on 22–23 October 1948. Those villagers who had not already fled were expelled and the village destroyed.[12]
Following the war, the area was incorporated into the State of Israel. Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi described that the site of the village in 1992: "The site is fenced in with barbed wire and is overgrown in part by cactuses, especially where there is limestone soil, and by carob trees. No houses or rubble remains."[12]
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
