Al-Sawafir al-Shamaliyya

al-Sawafir al-Shamaliyya
السوافير الشمالية
al-Sawafir al-Halil, Suafir Ibn Audeh,[1]
Saouafir ech-Chemalieh Saouafir,[2] Abou -A'ouarr,[2]
Sawalir Shamali,[3] Sawafir esh Shamaliya,
[4] sawafir ode[5]
Etymology: "The northern nomads"[1]
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
A series of historical maps of the area around Al-Sawafir al-Shamaliyya (click the buttons)
al-Sawafir al-Shamaliyya is located in Mandatory Palestine
al-Sawafir al-Shamaliyya
al-Sawafir al-Shamaliyya
Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 31°42′48″N 34°42′15″E / 31.71333°N 34.70417°E / 31.71333; 34.70417
Palestine grid122/124
Geopolitical entityMandatory Palestine
SubdistrictGaza
Date of depopulationMay 18, 1948[8]
Area
[7]
 • Total5,861 dunams (5.861 km2 or 2.263 sq mi)
Population
 (1945)
 • Total680[6][7]
Cause(s) of depopulationFear of being caught up in the fighting

Al-Sawafir al-Shamaliyya (Arabic: السوافير الشمالية) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Gaza Subdistrict, located 33 kilometers (21 mi) northeast of Gaza situated along the southern coastal plain of Palestine 50 meters (160 ft) above sea level. It was one of three namesake villages, alongside Al-Sawafir al-Sharqiyya and Al-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya.

It had a population of 680 in 1945. Al-Sawafir al-Shamaliyya was depopulated in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.[9]

  1. ^ a b Also called Suafir Ibn Audeh, the nomads of Ibn Audeh (personal name); but this is said to be a modern name, from an inhabitant who died within the century, according to Palmer, 1881, p. 274
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Guerin82 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Census1922 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Census1931 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Socin160 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 32
  7. ^ a b Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 46
  8. ^ Morris, 2004, p. xix, village #283. Also gives the cause for depopulation.
  9. ^ Khalidi, 1992, pp. 133-134.