Arab al-Bawati
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Arab al-Bawati
عرب البواطي/خربة الحكمة | |
|---|---|
Village | |
| Etymology: Kh. el Hakeimîyeh, the ruin of el Hakeimîyeh[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map .jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map .jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Arab al-Bawati (click the buttons) | |
  Arab al-Bawati Location within Mandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates: 32°31′41″N 35°32′21″E / 32.52806°N 35.53917°E | |
| Palestine grid | 200/214 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Baysan |
| Date of depopulation | 16 or 20 May 1948[2] |
| Area | |
• Total | 10,641 dunams (10.641 km2; 4.109 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 520[3][4] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Influence of nearby town's fall |
Arab al-Bawati (Arabic: عرب البواطي/خربة الحكمة), was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Baysan. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
It was located 4 kilometres north east of Baysan in the Baysan valley.
British Mandate era
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Kh. el Hakeimiyeh as having "ruined walls and a few modern deserted houses – a small deserted village".[5]
In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the Mandatory Palestine authorities, Bawati had a population of 348 Muslims,[6] increasing in the 1931 census to 461 (under the name of 'Arab Hakamiya), still all Muslims, in 86 houses.[7]
In the 1945 statistics it had a population of 520 Muslims[3] with a total of 10,641 dunums of land.[4] That year Arabs used 2,225 dunams of village lands for plantations and irrigated land, 3,335 for cereals,[8] while 52 dunams were classed as uncultivable.[9]
1948 and aftermath
Many of the villagers left early in the war, apparently after a Haganah attack.[10][11] The village was destroyed on May 16, or May 20, 1948.[2] Following the war the area was incorporated into the State of Israel and the land was left undeveloped; the nearest village is Hamadia.
In 1992, it was described: "All of the village houses have been demolished. The remains of basalt stone walls and the square and circular foundations of buildings can be seen among the weeds."[12] Evidence of historic occupation includes Roman milestones and ruined buildings at the Khirbat al Bawati.[12]
