‘Iraq al-Manshiyya
March 3, 2024Isdud
March 3, 2024The village is located on a small plateau in the coastal plain, with reddish-brown soil. The main Faluja-Majdal road passed through the southern end of the village. The British built a fortified police station west of the village on the same road, 27 kilometers from Gaza at an average elevation of 100 meters above sea level. The village’s Muslim population in 1945 numbered 660 people. To the west of the village on the main road were two archaeological sites: Khirbet Sheikh Muhammad and Khirbet Sheikh Abdullah. They contained antiquities such as tombs, caves carved into the rock, and mosaic floors.
On the eve of their withdrawal on May 15, 1948, the British authorities handed over the village police station to the residents. Shortly after, Egyptian forces entered Palestine and orders were issued to the first battalion of the police station, which controlled the road between Majdal and Beit Jibrin, as well as the internal road towards the Negev.
Displacement
The Israelis tried unsuccessfully, in eight separate attacks, to seize this station in the following months. The village was still outside the occupation zone when the first truce was announced. As soon as the first truce ended, orders were issued to units of the Negev Brigade to seize the police station, while units of the Givati Brigade were given the orders to occupy the village itself. The fourth battalion of the Givati Brigade occupied the village for a short period on the night of July 8-9 but was forced to evacuate it immediately because units of the Negev Brigade failed to occupy the police station. It was impossible to defend the village without occupying that station. In November, the Israeli Air Force bombed the site and the police station fell into the hands of the Israelis on November 9. The 9th Battalion of the Armored Brigade after a heavy attack launched during the truce and following Operation Yoav, the aim of which was to capture the center in particular, where the Egyptian soldiers had held out for six months.
Colonization
The Yad Natan colony, an agricultural colony, was established in 1953 to the east of the village site on its lands, and the Otzem colony was based on the village lands in 1955 to the southeast of its site, and Sde Yoav (Beit Yoav) was established to the west of the site in 1956 near the village lands.
The village today
The debris of the houses is hidden by a forest of eucalyptus trees that covers the village center. Cactuses and the remnants of a pool are visible. Two old village streets pass through the site and the other through the land are recognized. The British police station is still in use and is now called Matzoudet Yoav, while Israeli farmers use the neighboring land.
Reference: Walid Khalidi, Lest We Forget, pp. 555-557.
