Template:Infobox former Arab villages in Palestine
Hawsha (Arabic: هوشة, also Husha) was a Palestinian Arab village located Template:Km to mi east of Haifa, about Template:M to ft above sea level.[1] It was depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War on April 16, 1948 as part of the Battle for Mishmar Ha'emek.
In 1945, it had a population of 580 inhabitants, 400 of which were Arab and 180 of which were Jewish. The built-up area of the village was 50 dunums, and 717 dunums were used for agriculture. All but 7 dunums were owned by Jews by this time. Hawsha contained a number of ancient ruins including a maqam (shrine) for a Nabi Hushan, rock-cut tombs, and a mosaic floor.[1]
History
The village was locate[d on a low hilly area between the plain of Haifa and Marj ibn Amr (Jezreel Valley) and situated on an east-west axis. To the west, lay a wide valley that was the dividing area between it and the neighboring village of Khirbat al-Kasayir. Some researchers have connected Hawsha to the biblical village of Hosea, where the tribe of Asher is said to have resided (Joshua 29:19). Hawsha was categorized as a hamlet in the Mandate-era Palestine Index Gazetteer.[1]
The houses were clustered around the center of the village where there was a water cistern. The Muslim inhabitants shared a cemetery with Khirbat al-Kasayir. The villagers were agriculturalists and pastoralists who raised livestock. Beans were the most important agricultural product. The agricultural area of the village lay to the southwest. A small area north of the built up part of the village was planted with olive and fruit trees.[1]
The village contained many ancient ruins, parts of which were used to build some village structures, including a shrine dedicated to the Prophet Joshua (Maqam Nabi Hushan or Maqam Neby Hǔshǎ), a well, and tombstones.[1][2] There was also a mosaic floor from an ancient building.[1]
In 1937, the Jewish settlement of Yosha was established Template:Km to mi west of Hawsha. Hawsha's lands became part of Shefa 'Amr.[1]
1948 war and aftermath
In mid-April 1948, there was a battle between the Haganah and the Arab Legion forces that was concentrated around Hawsha and Khirbat al-Kasayir, according to the Haganah archives.[1]
A volunteer effort to restore the cemetery of the depopulated village of Hawsha was undertaken in 1994 and overseen by Al-Aqsa Assocation.[3]
References
Bibliography
- Hadawi, Sami (1970), Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine, Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center
- Khalidi, Walid (1992), All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948, Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies, ISBN 0887282245
- Boqa'i, Nihad (2005). Nur Masalha (ed.). Catastrophe remembered: Palestine, Israel and the internal refugees : essays in memory of Edward W. Said (1935-2003). Zed Books. ISBN 1842776231, 9781842776230.
((cite book)): Check|isbn=value: invalid character (help); Unknown parameter|editorlink=ignored (|editor-link=suggested) (help) - Morris, Benny (2004), The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521009677, 9780521009676
((citation)): Check|isbn=value: invalid character (help) - Thomson, William M. (1859). The Land and the Book: or, Biblical illustrations drawn from the manners and customs, the scenes and scenery, of the Holy Land. Harper & brothers.
