Barqusya

Barqusya (also: Barkusya, Arabic: بركوسيا‎) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Hebron Subdistrict, depopulated in the 1948 Palestine War. It was located 31 km northwest of Hebron.

Barqusya

بركوسيا
Etymology: “variegated”[1]
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
A series of historical maps of the area around Barqusya (click the buttons)
Barqusya
Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 31°40′46″N 34°49′24″E
Palestine grid133/120
Geopolitical entityMandatory Palestine
SubdistrictHebron
Date of depopulationNot known[2]
Area
 • Total3,216 dunams (3.216 km2 or 1.242 sq mi)
Population
 (1945)
 • Total330[3][4]

History

In 1838, in the Ottoman era, Berkusia was noted as Muslim village in the Gaza area,[5] and being "somewhat larger" than Bil'in.[6]

In 1863, Victor Guérin found the village to have about 150 inhabitants. He further noted that it was situated on a low hill, with fig trees to the north.[7]

An official Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed that Berkusja had 28 houses and a population of 72, though the population count included men, only.[8][9]

In 1882 the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it: "A village of moderate size, on a hill in a conspicuous position. The houses are of mud and stone. There is a fine well, resembling that of Summeil, west of the village, and rock-cut tombs to the south-west."[10]

In 1896 the population of Berkusja was estimated to be about 171 persons.[11]

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Barqusya had a population of 198 inhabitants, all Muslims,[12] increasing in the 1931 census 258 inhabitants, in 53 houses.[13]

In the 1945 statistics, it had a population of 330 Muslim inhabitants,[3] and a land area of 3216 dunams.[4] Of this, 28 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land, 2460 dunams were for cereals,[14] while 31 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[15]

Barqusya 1945 1:250,000 (lower left quadrant)
Barqusya 1948 1:20,000

1948 and aftermath

It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War on July 9, 1948 as part of Operation An-Far.[2][16][17][18]

In 1992 the village site was described: "No houses remain. Some graves can be seen amidst foxtail and khubbayza (mallow) plants. One of the graves has an inscribed tombstone resting on the superstructure. There are also the remnants of a well. Cactuses and a variety of trees, including palms grow on the site. The site serves as grazing grounds for Israeli farmers who also grow grapes and the fruits."[19]

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References
  1. Palmer, 1881, p. 266
  2. Morris, 2004, p. xix, village #291. Morris gives both cause and date for depopulation as "Not known"
  3. Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 23
  4. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 50 Archived 2009-07-20 at WebCite
  5. Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 119
  6. Robinson and smith, 1841, vol. 2, p. 368
  7. Guérin, 1869, p. 121
  8. Socin, 1879, p. 157
  9. Hartmann, 1883, p. 143 also noted 28 houses
  10. Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, pp. 414 -415
  11. Schick, 1896, p. 123
  12. Barron, 1923, Table V, Sub-district of Hebron, p. 10
  13. Mills, 1932, p. 27
  14. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 93
  15. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 143
  16. Morris, 2004, p. 376
  17. Morris, 2004, p. 437, note #131, p. 456
  18. Morris, 2004, p. 443, notes #181, 185, pp. 459-460
  19. Khalidi, 1992, p. 208

Bibliography
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