Daniyal
Village in Ramle, Mandatory Palestine
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Daniyal (Arabic: دانيال) was a Palestinian village in the Ramle Subdistrict that was located 5 km east of Ramla and southeast of Lydda. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on July 10, 1948, by the Yiftach Brigade under the first phase of Operation Dani, as part of the broader 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight and Nakba.
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Daniyal
دانيال | |
|---|---|
Village | |
Pre-1948 structure from Daniyal, photo taken in 2014 | |
| Etymology: Daniel[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map .jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map .jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Daniyal (click the buttons) | |
  Daniyal Location within Mandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates: 31°55′52″N 34°55′53″E | |
| Palestine grid | 143/148 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Ramle |
| Date of depopulation | July 10, 1948[2] |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,808 dunams (2.808 km2; 1.084 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 410[4][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
| Current Localities | Kfar Daniel[5][6] |
History
In 1838, Edward Robinson stopped by the village well, west of the village. He estimated the depth of the well to be 160 feet.[7] The villagers were Muslim, and the village was noted as being in the Lydda District.[8] It was populated by residents from Rafat, Jerusalem who established it as a dependency - or satellite village - of their home village.[9]
In 1863, Victor Guérin noted: "a small mosque situated on a height; it contains the tomb of a saint, called Neby Danyal. Some olive trees and a palm tree surround it. Near there is a village of about forty houses, also called Danyal. I observed there, not far from the dwellings, a considerable number of silos, intended to preserve straw, barley, and wheat."[10]
An official village list of about 1870 showed that the village had 24 houses and a population of 80, though the population count included men, only.[11][12]
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Neby Danial: "A small settlement round the sacred shrine of the Prophet, with a well to the west. The tomb of Dan is shown here, and is believed by the Samaritans to be the true site."[13] They further noted that: "The village of Neby Danial includes the Mukam of Neby Dan, from which it is said by the natives to take its name."[14]
British Mandate era
In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Danial had a population of 277 Muslims,[15] increasing slightly in the 1931 census to 284 Muslims, in a total of 71 houses.[16]
In the 1945 statistics, it had a population of 410 Muslims[4] with a total of 2,808 dunums of land.[3] Of this, 37 dunums were for plantations and irrigable land, 2,599 dunums were for cereals,[17] while a total of 15 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[18]
An elementary school for boys which is still standing today was founded in 1945, and had an enrollment of 55 students.[19]
1948 war and depopulation
During the 1948 Palestine war, the village was depopulated by Israeli forces as part of the broader 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight. The village was attacked by the IDF on the 10 July 1948.[2] On that day, the Yiftach Brigade reported: "Our forces are clearing the Innaba – Jimzu – Daniyal area and are torching everything that can be burned." On July 11, they reported that they had conquered Jimzu and Daniel and were "busy clearing the villages and blowing up the houses."[20]
Historian Saleh Abdel Jawad writes that upon the Israeli conquest of the village that "indiscriminate killings" occurred in Daniyal, with the IDF having first shelled the village to induce civilian flight and afterwards killing any residents who remained, with at least 9 residents being killed after the capture of the village.[21]
In September, 1948, Daniyal was among the Palestinian villages that Ben Gurion wanted destroyed.[clarification needed][22]
The Israeli settlement of Kfar Daniel was established on village land in 1949.[5]
In 1992 the remains of the village was described by historian Walid Khalidi: "The shrine of al-Nabi Daniyal, the school, and seven well built houses are all that remain of the village. The shrine, deserted and weathered amid weeds and a few trees, is made of stone, with a second story rising on one side. The first story has arched windows and doors and the second has a porch and a rectangular window. The school is presently used by residents of Kefar Daniyyel. The houses are built of stone and are all flat-roofed, with a mix of arched and rectangular doors and windows. One house is used as a warehouse."[5]
Its Arab settlers left to neighboring countries and territories such as Jordan and the West Bank. Others later settled in the United States of America in the States of Texas and Illinois. The descendants of those who were forced to leave their homes face many difficulties from local Israeli authority when attempting to revisit the land where the village once stood.
Daniyal 1942 1:20,000
Daniyal. Survey of Palestine. 1945. Scale 1:250,000
Depopulated villages in the Ramle Subdistrict
