Bayt Mahsir

Bayt Mahsir

Panorama from west, 2008
Bayt Mahsir
Arabic بيت محسير
Subdistrict Jerusalem
Coordinates 31°47′39.70″N 35°02′04.75″E / 31.7943611°N 35.0346528°E / 31.7943611; 35.0346528Coordinates: 31°47′39.70″N 35°02′04.75″E / 31.7943611°N 35.0346528°E / 31.7943611; 35.0346528
Palestine grid 153/133
Population 2400 (1945)
Area 16,268 dunams
Date of depopulation May 10–11, 1948[1]
Cause(s) of depopulation Military assault by Yishuv forces
Current localities Beyt Me'ir.,[2][3] Mesillat Tziyyon[3]

Bayt Mahsir (Arabic: بيت محسير) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Jerusalem Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 10, 1948 by the Harel Brigade of Operation Makkabi. It was located 9 km west of Jerusalem.

In 1945, the village had a population of 2,400. Bayt Mahsir had three schools; two schools for boys and an elementary school for girls. Bayt Mahsir contains a number of khirbat, including al-Huwaytiyya, al-Masi, Khatula and al-Sallam.

According to the Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi, the village remaining structures on the village land are: "Several village houses have been spared, and are for the most part interspersed among the houses of the settlement of Beit Meir. Two large, rectangular-shaped, almost identical houses built of limestone rise above the Israeli settlement's cabin-like residences. The remains of a flour mill, a metal machine with flywheels fitted over a stone structure, can still be seen. There is a wild forest of old trees on the eastern edge of the village site, on top of the mountain. The tomb of al-' Ajami, together with other graves, are among the trees."

Geography

Bayt Mahsir was known for its lush forested mountains and palm trees scattered about.

The current natural landscape of the area.
Many Sabra Cactus plants are now grown currently in this location.

References

  1. Morris, 2004, p. xx, village #336. Also gives cause of depopulation.
  2. Morris, 2004, p. xxi, settlement #28.
  3. 1 2 Khalidi, 1992, p. 277.

Bibliography

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External links

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