Basic Information

Name and Formation of the Settlement

The locality appears in the principal Palestinian sources as 'Arab al-Safa and, in shortened form, al-Safa.

Khalidi does not provide a securely documented linguistic derivation of the name, so no unsupported etymology is adopted.

Like several communities in the Baysan Valley, 'Arab al-Safa originally served as a seasonal Bedouin summer encampment. It later became a permanent settlement as its inhabitants increasingly adopted a sedentary way of life.

Late Ottoman Period

The French traveler Victor Guérin passed through 'Arab al-Safa in the late nineteenth century and recorded several ancient tombs in the area.

This indicates archaeological remains within the village landscape, but Guérin's reference does not securely date the tombs.

They are therefore not assigned to the Roman, Byzantine, or any other specific archaeological period without additional specialist evidence.

Location and Geography

'Arab al-Safa extended over a broad area south of Masil al-Jizl and Wadi al-Shaykh Mahmud and overlooked the open country toward the Jordan River.

A secondary road connected the village with the Baysan-Jericho highway, which passed approximately five kilometers to the west.

Dirt tracks also connected the settlement with neighboring communities near the Jordan River.

Palestinian mapping places Umm 'Ajra to the north, 'Arab al-'Arida to the west, al-Khunayzir to the south, and the Jordan River to the east.

Built Environment

The houses and remaining tents of 'Arab al-Safa were scattered along both sides of the secondary road leading toward the Baysan-Jericho highway.

Many houses were constructed from mud and reeds, reflecting both the environmental conditions of the Baysan Valley and the settlement's Bedouin origins.

The 1931 census recorded 108 houses.

Population

Number of Houses

Land Ownership, 1944/45

The original Government of Palestine terminology was Arab, Jewish, and Public. Those categories are preserved here rather than silently reinterpreted:

The figures balance exactly: 7,549 + 2,523 + 2,446 = 12,518 dunums.

Public land remains a distinct official category and should not be reassigned to either Arab or Jewish private ownership without separate cadastral evidence.

Land Use, 1944/45

The table balances exactly: 10,831 + 14 + 49 + 1,624 = 12,518 dunums.

The published PalQuest table does not provide a separate built-up acreage, so no unsupported figure is added.

Correction to a Secondary Land-Use Table

Palestine Remembered's summary table displays 8,371 dunums of cereals under its Palestinian column. This figure combines 7,449 Arab dunums with 922 Public dunums.

Likewise, its displayed 1,624 non-arable dunums combines 100 Arab dunums with 1,524 Public dunums.

This article follows the detailed PalQuest breakdown and preserves the distinction between Arab and Public land.

Economy and Agriculture

Agriculture was the principal livelihood of the inhabitants.

Palestinian cultivated land was concentrated particularly east of the settlement and in the zawr of the Jordan River. Cereals were the dominant crop by acreage.

Vegetables were also cultivated, and palm trees grew near a spring southeast of the village.

The poorer katar soils and nearby marshy areas were unsuitable for cultivation.

Water

Several springs flowed on village land near the Jordan River and supported domestic needs and cultivation.

Wadi al-Shaykh Mahmud and the proximity of the Jordan River were also defining features of the local landscape.

The principal sources reviewed do not securely list the individual names of all village springs, so no unsupported names are added.

Education

No independently documented school, founding date, pupil enrollment, or teacher total was located for 'Arab al-Safa in the principal Palestinian sources reviewed.

No school is therefore asserted without direct evidence.

Religious Buildings

No independently documented mosque or church specific to 'Arab al-Safa immediately before the Nakba was located in the principal sources consulted.

Population religion alone is insufficient to demonstrate the existence of a particular religious building.

Archaeology

Victor Guérin recorded several ancient tombs at 'Arab al-Safa during his nineteenth-century journey through the region.

The reference establishes archaeological remains but does not provide sufficient evidence to date them securely.

The tombs are therefore not assigned to a particular archaeological period without specialist documentation.

Operation Gideon

The Golani Brigade carried out Operation Gideon in the Baysan Valley from 10 to 15 May 1948.

The campaign resulted in the conquest of Baysan and numerous surrounding Palestinian communities and caused major population displacement throughout the valley.

'Arab al-Safa, however, was depopulated on 20 May, five days after Operation Gideon formally ended.

The village's depopulation should therefore be described as taking place in the immediate aftermath of Operation Gideon rather than during the operation itself.

The Fall of Baysan and Its Effect on 'Arab al-Safa

Baysan fell on 12 May 1948 during Operation Gideon.

Khalidi considers the depopulation of 'Arab al-Safa eight days later most likely connected to the military and psychological consequences of the fall of the subdistrict capital and the continued Golani advance through the valley.

This is consistent with Palestine Remembered's classification of the cause as the influence of the fall or exodus of a neighboring town.

Depopulation of 'Arab al-Safa – 20 May 1948

The inhabitants of 'Arab al-Safa left on 20 May 1948.

Khalidi does not document a separate pitched battle inside the village, a house-to-house assault, or a village-specific written expulsion order on that date.

He instead considers the departure most likely a consequence of the fall of Baysan and the continuing military takeover of the valley.

The occupying forces were from the Golani Brigade and were operating within the broader military framework of Plan Dalet.

Military Unit

The Golani Brigade is the military formation directly identified in Khalidi's account of 'Arab al-Safa.

No particular battalion or company is securely identified as the force that entered the village.

This article therefore does not transfer battalion-level attributions from other Baysan villages to 'Arab al-Safa.

Cause of Depopulation

The best-supported explanation is the impact of Baysan's fall and the subsequent Golani military advance through the Baysan Valley.

The available village-level evidence does not establish a separate ground battle at 'Arab al-Safa or prove that all inhabitants were directly expelled in a single action.

The most precise formulation is therefore depopulation under the impact of Baysan's fall and the subsequent Golani military consolidation of the valley.

Destruction

The village's built environment subsequently disappeared, and secondary summary tables classify 'Arab al-Safa as completely destroyed.

The principal village account does not provide a precise demolition date or establish that all structures were destroyed on 20 May itself.

The depopulation date and the later destruction of the built environment should therefore be treated as separate historical stages.

Ethnic Cleansing in Source Classification

Palestine Remembered classifies 'Arab al-Safa using the term “complete ethnic cleansing.” The expression is retained here only as an attributed source classification.

The more specifically documented sequence consists of the fall of Baysan, continued military consolidation of the valley, the departure of 'Arab al-Safa's inhabitants on 20 May, the absence of permanent collective return, and the later disappearance of the village's buildings.

Occupation and Depopulation Chronology

Israeli Settlements on 'Arab al-Safa's Lands

According to Walid Khalidi and PalQuest, no Israeli settlement was established on the lands of 'Arab al-Safa itself.

Tirat Zvi, founded in 1937, lies near the village site to the southwest but stands on land belonging to the Palestinian village of al-Zarra'a.

Sde Eliyahu, established in 1939, lies to the west but was founded on land belonging to 'Arab al-'Arida.

Neither should therefore be listed as a settlement established on 'Arab al-Safa's village lands solely because of geographical proximity.

'Arab al-Safa Today

According to the field description used by Walid Khalidi before the publication of All That Remains in 1992, only three palm trees remained at the former village site.

The surrounding land was being cultivated with wheat.

This description constitutes documented historical field evidence from the period before the publication of Khalidi's book rather than a comprehensive direct field survey of the site in 2026.

Later Palestinian mapping and community documentation provide additional geographic material, but no comprehensive recent Palestinian archaeological or cadastral survey was located that would justify replacing Khalidi's field description in full.

Sources

• PalQuest – Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question: 'Arab al-Safa
• PalQuest – Operation Gideon and its chronology
• Palestine Remembered – 'Arab al-Safa, Baysan Subdistrict
• Palestinian Villages Encyclopedia – 'Arab al-Safa / al-Safa
• Falastinuna – 'Arab al-Safa: population, location, and depopulation
• Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics – Historical Census Reports
• Government of Palestine – Census of Palestine 1922