Al-Kunayyisa

The name of the site, variously rendered al-Kunaysah /li-Knaysi/ is of Arabic origin and means "the little church". The name probably refers to the remains of an ancient building on the upper part of the mound.{{Cite journal |last=Marom |first=Roy |last2=Zadok |first2=Ran |date=2023 |title=Early-Ottoman Palestinian Toponymy: A Linguistic Analysis of the (Micro-)Toponyms in Haseki Sultan’s Endowment Deed (1552) |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0cs6f5k5 |journal=Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins |language=en |volume=139 |issue=2}}

In 1552, al-Kunayyisa was an inhabited village. Haseki Hürrem Sultan, the favourite wife of Suleiman the Magnificent, endowed the tax revenues of al-Kunaysa to its Haseki Sultan Imaret in Jerusalem. Administratively, al-Kunayyisa belonged to the Sub-district of Ramla in the District of Gaza.{{Cite journal |last=Marom |first=Roy |date=2022-11-01 |title=Jindās: A History of Lydda's Rural Hinterland in the 15th to the 20th Centuries CE |url=https://www.academia.edu/90931976 |journal=Lod, Lydda, Diospolis |volume=1 |pages=8}}

In 1838, it was noted it was noted as a place "in ruins or deserted", called el-Kuneiseh in the Lydda District.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/121/mode/1up 121]

In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) noted "Foundations and traces of ruins."Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp03conduoft#page/103/mode/1up 103]

By the beginning of the 20th century, residents from Tirat Ramallah settled the site, establishing it as a dependency – or satellite village – of their home village.{{Cite journal |last=Marom |first=Roy |author-link=Roy Marom |date=2022 |title=Lydda Sub-District: Lydda and its countryside during the Ottoman period |url=https://www.academia.edu/79946175/Lydda_Sub_District_Lydda_and_its_countryside_during_the_Ottoman_period_%D7%A0%D7%A4%D7%AA_%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%93_%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%93_%D7%95%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%97%D7%91_%D7%94%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%A4%D7%99_%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%94_%D7%91%D7%AA%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%94_%D7%94%D7%A2%D7%AA%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%AA |journal=Diospolis – City of God: Journal of the History, Archaeology and Heritage of Lod |volume=8 |pages=124}}

In the 1931 census of Palestine Al-Kunayyisa was counted with Innaba, together they had 1135 Muslim inhabitants, in 288 houses.Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 20]

In the 1945 statistics Al-Kunayyisa had a population of 40 Muslims, with 3,872 dunams of land. Of this, a 64 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 2,432 were used for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/al-Ramla/Page-116.jpg 116] while 20 dunams were classified as built-up areas.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/al-Ramla/Page-166.jpg 166]

A khirba to the east contains rugged stone walls and building remains.

Al-Kunayyisa became depopulated after a military assault on July 10, 1948.

On 20 August 1948, Al-Kunayyisa was one of 32 Palestinian villagers whose land was given to the JNF for establishing Jewish settlements. Al-Kunayyisas land was given to Mishmar Ayalon.Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA376 376] However, according to Walid Khalidi, Mishmar Ayalon is on the land of Al-Qubab.Khalidi, 1992, p. 391

In 1992 the village site was described: "From a distance, the site looks like a big stone pile overgrown with a thicket of thorns. 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 with cotton."Khalidi, 1992, p. 392

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{{ref begin}}

• {{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H.H.|author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1883|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp03conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund|volume=3}}
• {{cite book|title=Village Statistics, April, 1945 |url=http://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/Hebrew/library/Pages/BookReader.aspx?pid=856390|author=Department of Statistics|year=1945|publisher=Government of Palestine}}
• {{cite book|title=Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine|url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|first=S.|last=Hadawi|author-link=Sami Hadawi|year=1970|publisher=Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center|access-date=2009-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208215837/http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|archive-date=2018-12-08|url-status=dead}}
• {{cite book|title=All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_By7AAAAIAAJ |first=W.|last=Khalidi|author-link=Walid Khalidi|year=1992|location=Washington D.C.|publisher=Institute for Palestine Studies|isbn=0-88728-224-5}}
• {{cite book | editor = Mills, E. | title = Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas |url=https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas | publisher = Government of Palestine | location = Jerusalem | year = 1932}}
• {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C |first=B.|last=Morris |author-link=Benny Morris |year=2004 |title=The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited|isbn=978-0-521-00967-6 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
• {{cite book|last=Palmer|first=E.H.|author-link=Edward Henry Palmer|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund}}
• {{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838| location=Boston|publisher=Crocker & Brewster|volume=3}}

{{refend}}

• [http://www.palestineremembered.com/al-Ramla/al-Kunayyisa/index.html Welcome To al-Kunayyisa]
• [http://www.zochrot.org/en/village/49233 al-Kunayyisa], Zochrot
• Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8379 IAA], Wikimedia commons
• [http://www.alnakba.org/villages/ramla/kunayyisa.htm al-Kunayyisa] from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center

{{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War}}

Category:Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War

Category:District of Ramla