Bayt ‘Affa

A village located on a small hill near the coastal plain, 29 kilometers from Gaza, with an average elevation of 100 meters above sea level. It is connected by secondary roads to two main roads. The village was founded in the fourteenth century AD by the Sufi Sheikh Al-Faluji, who immigrated from Iraq to Palestine. In 1945, its population reached 400 people distributed over 105 houses. The village was distinguished by a shrine believed to belong to the Prophet Saleh, who was mentioned in the Qur’an. Most of the residents were Muslims and depended on the neighboring village (Al-Faluja) for commercial and educational services, and practiced rain-fed agriculture.

Displacement
At midnight on January 27, 1948, a unit of Zionist militias entered the village and tried to plant mines, but the village guards noticed their presence, which led to a two-hour clash that forced the attackers to withdraw. It fell into the hands of Zionist forces during the “ten days” between the two truces, and its residents were expelled.

Colonization
The colony of Yad Natan was established near the village site in 1953 on the lands of the village of Iraq Suwaydan, northwest of Beit Affa.

The village today
No trace of its houses remains and the only distinguishing feature of the site is the sycamore, carob and cactus trees, while fruits, especially citrus fruits, are grown on the adjacent lands irrigated by water drawn from the Jordan River via a canal.

Reference: Walid Khalidi, Lest We Forget, pp. 524-526.