‘Iraq al-Manshiyya

The village was located in a region of rolling hills where the coastal plain meets the foothills of the Hebron Mountains. It was bordered to the west by Wadi Fatala, and was located south of the main road between Fallujah to the northwest and Beit Jibrin to the east. It is located 32 kilometers from Gaza at an average elevation of 125 meters above sea level.

To the north of the village and on its summit is the shrine of Sheikh Ahmed al-Arini. The village’s population, numbering 2,220 people (in 1945), obtained water for domestic use from three wells and worked mostly in agriculture, growing grains, grapes, and many types of fruit trees (such as olives and almonds). Most of the agriculture was seasonal, and they used to go to Fallujah to obtain medical treatment and other services.

The displacement
The Givati ​​Brigade tried to occupy the village in late July 1948 during the second truce of the war but failed. The village was the target of continuous attacks during the second truce. A major attempt was made to occupy the village at the end of the second truce at the beginning of Operation Yoav on October 16. This time, the Israeli army was decisively defeated by Egyptian forces after an Israeli armored unit succeeded in storming the village. The final attack was launched on December 27-28 by units of the Alexandroni Brigade, which succeeded in entering the village but was expelled from it again when Egyptian supplies arrived. At the end of the war, the village was besieged in the (Faluja Pocket), an enclave in which 3,000 Palestinian civilians and an Egyptian brigade were trapped. Days after the signing of the armistice agreement between Egypt and Israel on February 24, Israel violated the terms of the agreement, using terror and fear to force 2,000-3,000 residents of Iraq al-Manshiyya and al-Faluja to flee. A decision was issued to terrorize the residents to force them to flee from their villages which were captured by the commander of the Israeli southern sector, Yigal Allon, with the approval of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.

Colonization
kibbutz Gat was established in 1941 on the village lands. In 1949, this kibbutz seized more land after the expulsion of the inhabitants. Five years later (in 1954), the town of Kiryat Gat was established on the village lands. The Sde Moshe colony was also established in 1956 on the village lands to the east of its location.

The Village Today
A eucalyptus forest was planted on the site and there are two signs in Hebrew and English identifying this forest as (Margolin Peace Forest). All that remains of the village is the remains of its streets and some scattered cactus plants. Israeli farmers exploit part of the adjacent lands.

Reference: Walid Khalidi, Lest We Forget, pp. 557-560.