Bayt Jiz

Bayt Jiz
بيت جيز
Beit Jiz
The old school of Bayt Jiz
The old school of Bayt Jiz
Etymology: The ruin of the house of the valley side[1]
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
A series of historical maps of the area around Bayt Jiz (click the buttons)
Bayt Jiz is located in Mandatory Palestine
Bayt Jiz
Bayt Jiz
Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 31°48′46″N 34°57′15″E / 31.81278°N 34.95417°E / 31.81278; 34.95417
Palestine grid145/135
Geopolitical entityMandatory Palestine
SubdistrictRamle
Date of depopulation20 April 1948[4]
Area
[3]
 • Total8,357 dunams (8.357 km2 or 3.227 sq mi)
Population
 (1945)
 • Total550[2][3]
Cause(s) of depopulationMilitary assault by Yishuv forces
Current LocalitiesHar'el,[5][6] Tzelafon,[6] Gizo[6]

Bayt Jiz (Arabic: بيت جيز) was a Palestinian Arab village situated on undulating land in the western foothills of the Jerusalem heights, 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) southwest of Ramla. In 1945, it had a population of 550. It was occupied by Israeli forces in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and became depopulated.[7]

  1. ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 301
  2. ^ Village Statistics, Government of Palestine. 1945, p. 29
  3. ^ a b Village Statistics, Government of Palestine. 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 66
  4. ^ According to Morris, 2004, p. xx, village #328 Also gives the cause for depopulation
  5. ^ Morris, 2004, p. xxi: settlement #33, October 1948.
  6. ^ a b c Khalidi, 1992, p. 365
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Khalidi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).