*** Welcome to piglix ***

Biyar 'Adas

Biyar 'Adas
PikiWiki Israel 5421 Shanti House.jpg
"Shanti" house, ca 1948
Biyar 'Adas is located in Mandatory Palestine
Biyar 'Adas
Biyar 'Adas
Arabic بِيار عدس
Name meaning "The well of lentils"
Also spelled Bir Adas
Subdistrict Jaffa
Coordinates 32°09′27″N 34°55′15″E / 32.15750°N 34.92083°E / 32.15750; 34.92083Coordinates: 32°09′27″N 34°55′15″E / 32.15750°N 34.92083°E / 32.15750; 34.92083
Palestine grid 142/173
Population 300 (1945)
Area 5,492 dunams
5.5 km²
Date of depopulation April 12, 1948
Cause(s) of depopulation Military assault by Yishuv forces
Current localities Adanim,Elishama

Biyar 'Adas (Arabic: بِيار عدس‎‎) was a Palestinian Arab village located 19 km northeast of the city of Tel Aviv. In 1945 the village had a population of 300 and a total land area of 5,492 dunums.

In 1870 Victor Guérin noted it as located on a small height, and an Ottoman village list from about the same year showed that Bijar 'Adas had a population of 198 in a total of 60 houses, though that population count included men, only. It was further noted that the name meant "The cistern of lentils".

In 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Biyar 'Adas as a village built of adobe bricks, with a well to the east.

In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Biar Adas had a population of 87, all Muslims, increasing in the 1931 census to 161, still all Muslim, in a total of 28 houses.

In the early hours of May 29, 1939, 25 members of the Irgun led by Moshe Moldovsky attacked Biyar 'Adas. They forced their way into two houses and shot dead one man and four women. Two men and a girl were wounded. A letter from Ze'ev Jabotinsky to the Irgun command ordered that the organization must avoid giving the impression that women were being deliberately targeted.

By 1944/45 the village had a total of 1,604 dunums of land used for citrus and bananas, 3,413 dunums to cereals, 181 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards, while 14 dunams were classified as built-up areas.

The village became depopulated after an assault by the Lehi, an offshoot of the Irgun on April 12, 1948. Later that year, Yosef Weitz set about levelling Biyar 'Adas.


...
Wikipedia

...