Al-Jaladiyya (Arabic: الجلدية) was a small Palestinian Arab village in the Gaza Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Location and Geography
The village stood on a slightly elevated spot on the southern coastal plain, at an average elevation of approximately 75 meters (246 feet) above sea level. It was located about 34 kilometers (21 miles) northeast of Gaza City, bordered on the southeast side by Wadi Suqrir (Wadi Saqrir). The village was connected by secondary roads to the town of al-Faluja to the south and to the main road leading to Majdal (now Ashkelon) to the southwest and other villages. Its coordinates are 31°41′55″N 34°44′59″E.
History
Crusader Period
Crusader scholars believe that the castle of Geladia was built on the site of Khirbat Jaladiyya, and fragments of Crusader-era architecture have been cited as evidence for this. In 1160, the site was granted by Amalric, Count of Ascalon, to the Holy Sepulchre.
Ottoman Period
According to Ottoman tax records from 1596, the village had 88 inhabitants. It is possible that the village was abandoned during the 17th century and was repopulated only in the 1870s. In 1890, a mosque was constructed in the village on the order of Ottoman Sultan Abd al-Hamid II. The mosque had two sections: one for prayer and one for teaching.
British Mandate Period
The 1931 census recorded 228 inhabitants living in houses built of adobe. By 1944–1945, the population had grown to 360, all of whom were Muslims. The village's land area covered 4,329 dunams (approximately 4.3 km²). The mosque school opened its doors in 1945 with an enrollment of 43 students. The economy was based primarily on rainfed agriculture, mostly cereals such as wheat and barley, along with fruits, vegetables, and olives.
Depopulation (1948)
Al-Jaladiyya was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The exact date of occupation is uncertain — Benny Morris gives the cause and date of depopulation as "Not known," while other sources place it between July 8–10, 1948. The village fell during the period between the two truces of the war (known as "the ten days"), when the Israeli army launched an offensive on the southern front to extend its area of control southwards toward the Negev. Units of the Giv'ati Brigade captured the village. According to Giv'ati sources, the inhabitants fled before the army's entry, though operational orders required the villagers to be expelled. The villagers fled either eastward to Hebron or southward to the Gaza Strip. In total, 16 villages between the coast and the Hebron foothills were conquered during this operation, and at least 20,000 people were uprooted from their homes.
Post-1948
No Israeli settlements were established on the village's land. As of the present day, all that remains of the site are some date-palm, carob, and fig trees. The surrounding lands are cultivated by Israeli farmers. The site has not been excavated.
Demographics (Historical)
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1596 (Ottoman) | 88 |
| 1931 (British census) | 228 |
| 1945 | 360 |
| 1948 (estimate) | ~418–420 |
References
- Khalidi, Walid (1992). All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948. Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies. ISBN 0-88728-224-5.
- Morris, Benny (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-00967-6.
- Department of Statistics (1945). Village Statistics, April, 1945. Government of Palestine.
- Pringle, D. (1997). Secular buildings in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: an archaeological Gazetter. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-46010-1.
