Qazaza

Qazaza

قزازة
Kezazeh, Kerazeh
Qazaza قزازة Kezazeh, Kerazeh
	Remains of the Wadi al-Sarar Railway Station, on the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway line, located 3 km (2 mi) due north of the village.
	Etymology: from personal name
	1870s map 1940s map modern map 1940s with modern overlay map A series of historical maps of the area around Qazaza (click the buttons)
	Qazaza Location within Mandatory Palestine
	Coordinates: 31°46′44″N 34°52′34″E / 31.77889°N 34.87611°E
Palestine grid	138/131
Geopolitical entity	Mandatory Palestine
Subdistrict	Ramle
Date of depopulation	9–10 July 1948
Area
• Total	18,829 dunams (18.829 km2 or 7.270 sq mi)
Population (1945)
• Total	940
Cause(s) of depopulation	Influence of nearby town's fall
Current Localities	Israel Defense Forces base

Qazaza (Arabic: قزازة) was a Palestinian village in the Ramle Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine, located 19 kilometers (12 mi) south of Ramla. It was depopulated in 1948.

History

In 1838, in the Ottoman era, el Kuzazeh was noted as Muslim village, in the Er-Ramleh district.^[4]

A European traveler reported that he passed Qazaza in the 1860s on his way to examine a nearby tell.^[5]

Socin found from an official Ottoman village list from about 1870 that Kezaze had a population of 133, in 89 houses, though the population count included men only. It was also noted that it was located two hours southeast of Shahma.^[6] Hartmann found that Kezaze had 85 houses.^[7]

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Kerazeh as "a small village of adobe and stone at the edge of the hills, with gardens and a well."^[8]

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Qezazeh had a population of 472 Muslims,^[9] increasing in the 1931 census to 649, still all Muslims, in a total of 150 residential houses.^[10]

The villagers maintained a village mosque and some owned shops. An elementary school was first established in Qazaza in 1922. In 1945 Qazaza joined with the villagers of Sajad and Jilya and established a common school for all the three villages. This school had 127 students at the time of its founding in 1945.^[1]

The villagers cultivated grain, vegetables and fruits.^[1]

In the 1945 statistics the population was 940, all Muslims,^[11] while the total land area was 18,829 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.^[12] Of this, a total of 11,757 dunums were allocated to cereals, while 131 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,^[13] while 38 dunams were classified as built-up urban areas.^[14]

1948 war and aftermath

During the countdown to the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Haganah was ordered to demolish Arab houses in so-called "retaliatory measures". In this connection, Haganah units partially destroyed the home of the mukhtar of Qazaza, Abdullah Abu Sabah, on the 19 December 1947, in response to the killing of a Jew.^[15] Two Arabs were killed during this operation.^[16]

On 16 July 1948, Givati HQ informed General Staff\Operations that "our forces have entered the villages of Qazaza, Kheima, Jilya, Idnibba, Mughallis, expelled the inhabitants, [and] blown up and torched a number of houses. The area is at the moment clear of Arabs".^[17]

Many of Qazaza's former inhabitants fled to Hebron, forming part of the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight.^[18]

Today, the village lands are used by the Israel Defense Forces. As a closed military zone, it is not known what became of Qazaza's mosque, its elementary school (which had served the villages of Sajad and Jilya as well) or its more than 150 homes.^[18]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Khalidi, 1992, p. 405
^ Palmer, 1881, p. 268
^ Morris, 2004, p. xix, village number 265. Also gives cause of depupulation
^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 120
^ Mansell, 1862, p.506. Cited in Khalidi, 1992, p. 405
^ Socin, 1879, p. 156
^ Hartmann, 1883, p. 140
^ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 408
^ Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramleh, p. 21
^ Mills, 1932, p. 22
^ Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 30
^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 68
^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 116.
^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 166
^ Morris, 2004, p. 343
^ Morris, 2004, pp. 125-126
^ Givati HQ to General Staff\Operations, 20:50 hours, 16 July 1948, IDFA 922\75\\1176. See also Givati Brigade, "Combat Page", 16 July 1948, IDFA 6127\49\\118. Cited in Morris, 2004, p. 437
^ ^a ^b "Welcome to Qazaza". Palestine Remembered. Retrieved 2007-12-06.