Al-Rahwa and Its Location

Al-Rahwa lies near Al-Dhahiriya, south of Hebron, on the road connecting Hebron with Beersheba. It contained a police post under Jordanian administration overlooking routes near the armistice line. Police personnel were stationed there, and local accounts describe Palestinian guards and volunteers from Al-Dhahiriya taking part in its defense. [1] [2]

The Date of the Massacre: A Necessary Correction

Published sources differ on the date of the massacre. Some Palestinian accounts give December 11, 1956, while an article by researcher Bakr Khazer Al-Majali dates the attack to September 12, 1956. The Israeli military archive confirms that the operation took place on the night of September 11–12, 1956. This article therefore considers the September date more likely, while acknowledging the discrepancy between sources. [1] [2] [3]

The Attack on the Police Post and the Destruction of the School

An Israeli occupation army force attacked the Al-Rahwa police post, clashing with its defenders before blowing it up. The Israeli military archive confirms that paratrooper units participated in the operation, named “Yehonatan,” and demolished the police building. [3]

The Palestinian Villages Encyclopedia states that the assault also targeted a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which served children from Al-Ramadin near Al-Rahwa. The school was also blown up. [4]

According to an account published by researcher Bakr Khazer Al-Majali, the attacking force cut the telephone line and used it to request reinforcements, then set an ambush for the forces approaching the area. [2]

The Martyrs and Local Memory

Palestinians and Jordanians were martyred in the attack. Among the names documented in Al-Majali’s article are the post commander, Sergeant Majid Issa Al-Majali; police officer Muhammad Ali Hassan Abu Arheila from Ramallah; and police officer Hussein Salem Hussein Al-Balous from Al-Husn. Local Palestinian accounts also name martyrs from Al-Dhahiriya, including Abdul Aziz Younis Rabbaa, Farid Ali Al-Shalmeh, and Khalil Salem Mazal. [2] [1]

Names of the Al-Rahwa Massacre Martyrs and the Missing