The depopulated village of Al-Jura (Gaza) / District of Gaza

Subdistrict: Gaza

Population in 1948: Approximately 2,807

Date of occupation and depopulation: 4–5 November 1948

Military operation: Operation Yoav

Attacking force: Givati Brigade

Settlements established on village land before 1948: None

Present locality on the village site and land: The western expansion of Ashkelon

Modern neighbourhoods reported within the former village area: Eshkol Paz, Ramat Ben-Gurion, Shimshon, Neve Alonim, Neve Yam, and Afridar

Al-Jura, also known historically as Jurat ‘Asqalan, was a Palestinian coastal village in the Gaza Subdistrict. Israeli forces occupied and depopulated it on 4–5 November 1948, during the final stage of Operation Yoav.

Geography of al-Jura

Al-Jura was situated approximately 20 kilometres northeast of Gaza and five kilometres west of al-Majdal ‘Asqalan. It stood on level ground less than one kilometre from the Mediterranean coast and was surrounded by sandy hills and coastal dunes.

Because of its coastal location, al-Jura had cooler summer weather than inland localities. It consequently served as a summer resort for residents of nearby al-Majdal.

To the south lay a wide expanse of dunes known as Rimal ‘Asqalan, or the Sands of Ascalon, formed through the gradual movement and accumulation of coastal sand.

Boundaries of al-Jura

Al-Jura was bordered by the following villages, towns, and geographical features:

• North: Hamama.
• West: the Mediterranean Sea.
• South: Khirbat al-Khisas.
• Southeast: Ni‘ilya.
• East and northeast: al-Majdal ‘Asqalan.

Historical and Architectural Development

Al-Jura was also known as Jurat ‘Asqalan to distinguish it from other Palestinian villages bearing the same name. The village is recorded in late sixteenth-century Ottoman documents under forms including Jawra and Jawrit al-Hajja. It belonged to the nahiya and liwa of Gaza and had an estimated population of 253 in 1596.

In the late nineteenth century, al-Jura was described as a rectangular village situated on flat ground on the outskirts of ancient Ascalon. Its inhabitants built their houses from adobe bricks and stone obtained from the ruins and archaeological sites surrounding Ascalon.

Landmarks and Public Buildings

The village had a mosque with a two-room guesthouse attached to it for the accommodation of travellers and visitors. The mosque, school, and marketplace were all situated in the centre of the village.

Education in al-Jura

An elementary school was established in al-Jura in 1919. By the mid-1940s, it had an enrolment of 206 pupils. The school formed part of the central institutional area of the village alongside its mosque and market.

Religious and Archaeological Sites

Al-Jura and the adjoining landscape of historical Ascalon contained numerous archaeological remains and religious sites. Local tradition associated the area with several shrines, including the shrines of Shaykh ‘Awwad, Shaykh Muhammad, Shaykh Hasan, Shaykh Burhan, and al-Sayyida Khadra.

The best-known religious tradition was associated with the shrine known as Mashhad al-Husayn. An annual spring mawsim was held in the village in April. Visitors from Gaza, al-Majdal, and numerous surrounding villages attended for religious observances, swimming, sporting activities, celebrations, and trade. A special market was organized during the festival.

The village was also associated with Wadi al-Naml and with archaeological remains belonging to ancient Ascalon. Some traditions concerning individual shrines vary between local oral accounts and published historical studies.

Economic Life in al-Jura

Al-Jura had a diversified economy. Fishing and bird hunting were among its inhabitants’ principal occupations, and fish and game were sold in neighbouring towns and villages. The village was considered one of Palestine’s important coastal fishing centres.

Residents also made fishing nets, baskets, and other handicrafts connected with the coastal economy. Agriculture was another major source of livelihood. The villagers cultivated both rain-fed and irrigated crops, including citrus fruit, grapes, apricots, apples, almonds, vegetables, onions, and cereals.

In 1944/45, 481 dunams were devoted to citrus and bananas, 7,198 dunams were irrigated or planted with orchards, and 2,965 dunams were allocated to cereals.

Land Ownership in al-Jura

* One dunam equals approximately 1,000 square metres.

Land Use in al-Jura in 1945

* One dunam equals approximately 1,000 square metres. Citrus plantations form part of the broader irrigated-land and orchard category and should not be added to it when calculating the total cultivable area.

Population of al-Jura

Al-Jura had 1,326 inhabitants in the 1922 census. The population rose to 1,754 in 1931 and 2,420 in 1945. All the inhabitants recorded in the 1945 statistics were Palestinian Muslims. The estimated population at the time of the Nakba was approximately 2,807.

* The figures for 1948 and 1998 are demographic estimates rather than contemporary census counts.

Number of Houses in al-Jura

Occupation and Depopulation of al-Jura

Al-Jura was subjected to aerial bombardment during Operation Yoav. According to an Egyptian communiqué reported by the press, it was among the operation’s earliest targets. On 15 October 1948, a report from Cairo stated that Israeli aircraft had bombed al-Jura together with Gaza and al-Majdal.

The village was almost certainly occupied alongside al-Majdal on 4–5 November 1948, at the end of Operation Yoav. The attacking force is identified as the Givati Brigade. Its inhabitants most probably fled or were displaced towards the Gaza Strip as a result of the occupation and the preceding aerial attacks along the coastal region.

The frequently cited date of 5 November therefore falls within the documented occupation period, although 4 November is also given in village databases and military chronologies. It is most accurate to present the event as occurring on 4–5 November 1948.

Localities Established on the Land of al-Jura

No Zionist settlement was established on al-Jura’s land before 1948. After the village’s occupation and depopulation, the expanding city of Ashkelon spread across its site and agricultural land.

The western urban expansion reported within the former village area includes the neighbourhoods of Eshkol Paz, Ramat Ben-Gurion, Shimshon, Neve Alonim, Neve Yam, and Afridar. These are urban neighbourhoods within Ashkelon rather than separate agricultural settlements. Their precise relationship to individual village parcels should be determined from cadastral maps rather than treating every neighbourhood as occupying the original built-up site.

Al-Jura Today

According to Walid Khalidi’s survey, only one village house remained standing by the early 1990s. Thorny shrubs and other vegetation covered the portions of the site that had not been built over, while the expansion of Ashkelon occupied most of the village area.

Some physical features associated with al-Jura’s landscape, including wells, irrigation pools, cemetery remains, and the shrine of Shaykh ‘Awwad, have also been documented. Nevertheless, the village’s original architectural fabric was overwhelmingly destroyed or absorbed into subsequent urban development.

Sources

• Palestine Remembered: al-Jura, Gaza Subdistrict.
• Institute for Palestine Studies: All That Remains.
• Walid Khalidi, ed., All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948, Institute for Palestine Studies, 1992, pp. 117–118.
• Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, Village Statistics, April 1945.
• Government of Palestine, Census of Palestine, 1922 and Census of Palestine, 1931.