Sataf

Sataf
صطاف
Village
Remains of Sataf village
Remains of Sataf village
Etymology: from a personal name[1]
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
A series of historical maps of the area around Sataf (click the buttons)
Sataf is located in Mandatory Palestine
Sataf
Sataf
Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 31°46′9″N 35°7′38″E / 31.76917°N 35.12722°E / 31.76917; 35.12722
Palestine grid162/130
Geopolitical entityMandatory Palestine
SubdistrictJerusalem
Date of depopulationJuly 13–14, 1948[4]
Area
[3]
 • Total3,775 dunams (3.775 km2 or 1.458 sq mi)
Population
 (1945)
 • Total540[2][3]
Cause(s) of depopulationMilitary assault by Yishuv forces

Sataf (Arabic: صطاف, Hebrew: סטף) was a Palestinian village in the Jerusalem Subdistrict depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was located 10 km west of Jerusalem, with Sorek Valley (Arabic: Wadi as-Sarar) bordering to the east.

Two springs, Ein Sataf and Ein Bikura flow from the site into the riverbed below.

A monastery located across the valley from Sataf, i.e. south of Wadi as-Sarar, known by local Arabs as Ein el-Habis (the "Spring of the Hermitage"), is officially called Monastery of Saint John in the Wilderness.

Today it is a tourist site showcasing ancient agricultural techniques used in the Jerusalem Mountains.

  1. ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 326
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference 1945p25 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Hadawi58 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Morris, 2004, p. xx, village #354. Also gives cause of depopulation