Khulda

Khulda
خُلدة
Khuldeh
The largest remaining house in Khulda
The largest remaining house in Khulda
Etymology: "the perpetual"[1][2]
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
A series of historical maps of the area around Khulda (click the buttons)
Khulda is located in Mandatory Palestine
Khulda
Khulda
Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 31°49′10″N 34°54′14″E / 31.81944°N 34.90389°E / 31.81944; 34.90389
Palestine grid141/136
Geopolitical entityMandatory Palestine
SubdistrictRamle
Date of depopulationApril 6, 1948[5]
Area
 • Total9,461 dunams (9.461 km2 or 3.653 sq mi)
Population
 (1945)
 • Total280[3][4]
Cause(s) of depopulationMilitary assault by Yishuv forces
Current LocalitiesMishmar David[6]

Khulda (Arabic: خُلدة), also Khuldeh, was a Palestinian Arab village located 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) south of Ramla in the Mandatory Palestine. Known as Huldre to the Crusaders, it is also mentioned in documents dating to the periods of Mamluk, Ottoman, and Mandatory rule over Palestine. During the 1948 war, the village was depopulated as part of Operation Nachshon and was subsequently destroyed. The Israeli kibbutz of Mishmar David was established that same year on land belonging to the village.

  1. ^ Conder, 2009, p. 268.
  2. ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 268
  3. ^ Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 29
  4. ^ a b Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 67
  5. ^ Morris, 2004, p. xix, village #261. Also gives cause of depopulation.
  6. ^ Morris, 2004, p. xxi, settlement #37