Qatra

Qatra was a Canaanite center of political and economic authority that along with 30 other urban sites in regions bordering the Mediterranean Sea, entered a period of decline in the Late Bronze Age between 1250 and 1150 BCE.Zevit, 2003, p. 94. Qatra is also tentatively identified with the Hellenistic city of Kidron (Cidron, Gedrus) mentioned in the first Book of the Maccabees (15:39, 41; 16:9), and it has been postulated that its name derives from the Hebrew name for Kidron, Qiṭrôn. Others have suggested that Qatra (Katra) is merely a corruption of the biblical Gederoth mentioned in {{bibleverse|Joshua|15:41|HE}},Conder (1879), pp. [https://archive.org/stream/tentworkinpalest02conduoft#page/173/mode/1up 173]–174 hence the use of the name in the Gederot Regional Council.

Qatra has been named as the place of origin of a holy man named Sheikh Ahmad al-Qatrawani, who set out from the village due to his inability to fulfill his religious duties there, and settled by 'Atara, where his Mamluk shrine still stands.Taha, Hamdan. [https://www.academia.edu/12192359/The_Sanctuary_of_Sheikh_el-Qatrawani The Sanctuary of Sheikh al-Qatrawani] Studium Biblicum Franciscanum - Jerusalem.Canaan, 1927, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/MohammedanSaintsAndSanctuariesInPalestine/Mohammedan%20saints%20and%20sanctuaries%20in%20Palestine#page/n63/mode/1up 51]-52

In 1596, Qatra was part of the Ottoman Empire, nahiya (subdistrict) of Gaza under the liwa' (district) of Gaza with a population of 46 families and 15 bachelors, an estimated 336 person, all Muslim. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, sesame, and fruit, as well as goats and beehives; a total of 11,340 akçe. 1/6 of the revenue went to a waqf.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 145. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 404

In 1838, Kutrah was noted as a Muslim village in the Gaza district.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/118/mode/1up 118]Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/n39/mode/1up 22]

In 1863, Victor Guérin noted the village to have 600 inhabitants, and with houses of adobe. He further noted a noria by the well, which he assumed to be ancient. By the well were also six sections of barrels of columns of gray marble, the diameter of which was thirty centimetres. The villagers told Guérin they had "always" been there. Hedges of cacti surrounded the village and served as fences for figs and olive trees. There were also several "magnificent" acacias and mimosas there.Guérin, 1869, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongog02gu#page/35/mode/1up 35]- 36

An Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed that Katra had a population of 353, in 161 houses, though the population count included men only. It was also noted that it was located south east of Yibna.Socin, 1879, p. [https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde01deut#page/156/mode/1up 156] It was noted to be in the Gazza DistrictHartmann, 1883, p. [https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ#page/n941/mode/1up 133], also noted 161 houses

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described the village as being built of adobe brick and surrounded by gardens.Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/410/mode/1up 410]. Cited in Khalidi, 1992, p. 404

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Qatra Islam had a population of 640; 639 MuslimsBarron, 1923, Table V, Sub-district of Gaza, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n11/mode/1up 9] and 1 Orthodox ChristianBarron, 1923, Table XIII, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n46/mode/1up 44] increasing in the 1931 census to 822, all Muslims, in a total of 175 houses.Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 5]

During its existence as a village in the British Mandate of Palestine it was referred to as Qatrat Islam to distinguish it from the Jewish settlement of Qatrat Yahud or Gedera, as it is called in Hebrew, established in the late 19th century.Khalidi, 1992, p. 404

File:Gedera & Qatra 1930.jpg

File:Bashshit 1945.jpg

In the 1945 statistics the population was 1,290, all Muslims, while the total land area was 7,853 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/al-Ramla/Page-068.jpg 68] Of this, Arabs used 291 dunams for citrus and bananas, 215 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards, 4,320 dunums were allocated to 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 26 dunams were classified as built-up urban 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]

Qatra was captured by Israel's Givati Brigade in May 1948. The operation was according to Plan Dalet. Plan Dalets guidelines to the Givati Brigade gave its leader, Lt. Col. Shimon Avidan, wide discretion. In order to "stabilise" his lines, the plan stated that 'you will determine alone, in consultations with your Arab affairs advisers and Intelligence Service officers, [which] villages in your zone should be occupied, cleansed or destroyed.'733: Ayalon, War of Independence, 485. Quoted in Morris, 2004 p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA254 254] During May to early June, Avidan moved to expand his area of control westwards and southwards as part of Operation Barak.Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA254 254]

It was during these operations that they encountered the village of Qatra. The village offered no resistance. The Givati troops entered and conducted an arms collection operation on 5–6 May. About 60 weapons were handed over - but a Jewish officer was shot and killed (either by an Arab or by friendly fire) while searching one of the houses. Three Arabs were then taken hostage and Givati demanded the name of the killer, and the handover of any foreign irregulars and additional weapons.744: 'Doron'to HIS, 'The village of Qatra', 9 May 1948, HA 105\92aleph; and 'Doron (Elitzur)'to HIS-AD, 'The Conquest of Qatra', 12 May 1948, HA 105\92aleph. Quoted in Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA255 255] The Haganah reoccupied the village and its entire population were either intimidated into flight or expelled on 17 May.745: HIS-AD, 'The Migratory Movement....', 30 June 1948, HHA-ACP, 10.95.13 (1). Quoted in Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA255 255] The IDF trucked about 200 refugees staying in Majdal, originally from Qatra, towards Ramla in the summer of 1950.Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA529 529]

The operation in Qatra (and a similar operation in the nearby village of Aqir) was characterised by looting and brutal behaviour. The HIS officer who accompanied the troops later highlighted several problems, including the lack of clear orders regarding behaviour, the absence of POW camp for detainees, and looting.746: 'Doron'to HIS, 'Assessment of Operation Helem', 7 May 1948, HA 105\92aleph. Quoted in Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA255 255] The Givati Brigade's official history states that after these operations, the brigade HQ acted to 'curtail the instinct to loot and maltreat prisoners [hit'alelut beshvuyim]'.747: Ayalon, War of Independence, 526. It would appear that one or more of those who had died in Aqir had been murdered. Quoted in Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA255 255]

In 1949, the Israeli moshav of Kidron was established on Qatra's land. The current Israeli towns built on Qatra's land are Gedera and Kidron.

• Barid, Muslim postal network strengthened in Palestine during the Mamluk period (roads, bridges, khans); Qatra was a barid station
• Depopulated Palestinian locations in Israel

{{reflist|25em}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book|title=The Claim of Dispossession: Jewish Land-settlement and the Arabs, 1878-1948|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Teb4dKHQcoC |first=Arieh L. |last=Avneri |year=1984 |publisher=Transaction Publishers |isbn=0-87855-964-7}} (p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=8Teb4dKHQcoC&pg=PA90 90] notes 37, 38)
• {{cite book | editor =Barron, J.B. | title = Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922 |url=https://archive.org/details/PalestineCensus1922 |publisher = Government of Palestine | year = 1923}}
• {{cite book|title=The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: K-P|first=G.W.|last=Bromiley|author-link=Geoffrey W. Bromiley|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|year=1994|isbn=978-0-8028-3783-7}}
• {{cite book|last=Canaan|first=T.|author-link=Tawfiq Canaan|url=https://archive.org/details/MohammedanSaintsAndSanctuariesInPalestine |title=Mohammedan Saints and Sanctuaries in Palestine|year=1927|location=London|publisher=Luzac & Co.}} (pp. [https://archive.org/stream/MohammedanSaintsAndSanctuariesInPalestine/Mohammedan%20saints%20and%20sanctuaries%20in%20Palestine#page/n277/mode/1up 269], [https://archive.org/stream/MohammedanSaintsAndSanctuariesInPalestine/Mohammedan%20saints%20and%20sanctuaries%20in%20Palestine#page/n296/mode/1up 288], n. 5)
• {{cite book|last=Conder|first=C.R.|author-link=Claude Reignier Conder|title=Tent Work in Palestine. A Record of Discovery and Adventure|volume=2 |publisher=Richard Bentley & Son (published for the Committee of the PEF)|year=1879|location=London|language=en|url=https://archive.org/stream/tentworkinpalest02conduoft#page/n9/mode/2up |oclc=23589738}}
• {{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=1882|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp02conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund|volume=2}}
• {{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|last=Guérin|first=V.|author-link=Victor Guérin|title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptiongog02gu|volume=1: Judee, pt. 2|year=1869|publisher= L'Imprimerie Nationale|location=Paris|language=fr}}
• {{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}}
• {{cite journal | last = Hartmann | first =M.| author-link = Martin Hartmann | title = Die Ortschaftenliste des Liwa Jerusalem in dem türkischen Staatskalender für Syrien auf das Jahr 1288 der Flucht (1871) | journal = Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins | volume = 6 | pages = 102–149 | url =https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ | year = 1883}}
• {{cite book | last1= Hütteroth |first1=W.-D.|author-link1=Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth |first2=K. | last2=Abdulfattah |author-link2=Kamal Abdulfattah| title = Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wqULAAAAIAAJ | year = 1977 | publisher = Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft|isbn= 3-920405-41-2}}
• {{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|title=The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited|first=B.|last=Morris|author-link=Benny Morris|year=2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-00967-7}}
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• {{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 |place=Boston |publisher=Crocker & Brewster |volume=3}}
• {{cite journal | last = Socin | first =A.| author-link = Albert Socin | title = Alphabetisches Verzeichniss von Ortschaften des Paschalik Jerusalem | journal = Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins | volume = 2 | pages = 135–163 | url = https://archive.org/details/zeitschriftdesde01deut | year = 1879}}
• {{cite book|title=The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches|first=Z.|last=Zevit|author-link1=Ziony Zevit|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8264-6339-5}}

{{Refend}}

• [http://www.palestineremembered.com/al-Ramla/Qatra/index.html Welcome To Qatra]
• [http://www.zochrot.org/en/village/49450 Qatra], Zochrot
• Survey of Western Palestine, Map 16: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8378 IAA], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.16.jpg Wikimedia commons]
• [http://www.alnakba.org/villages/ramla/qatra.htm Qatra] from Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center

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

{{Authority control}}

Category:Arab villages depopulated prior to the 1948 Arab–Israeli War

Category:District of Ramla