Daniyal

Daniyal
Pre-1948 structure from Daniyal, photo taken in 2014
Daniyal
Arabic	دانيال
Name meaning	Daniel
Subdistrict	Ramle
Coordinates	31°55′52″N 34°55′45″E / 31.93111°N 34.92917°E / 31.93111; 34.92917Coordinates: 31°55′52″N 34°55′45″E / 31.93111°N 34.92917°E / 31.93111; 34.92917
Palestine grid	143/148
Population	410 (1945)
Area	2,808 dunams
Date of depopulation	July 10, 1948
Cause(s) of depopulation	Military assault by Yishuv forces
Current localities	Kfar Daniel

Daniyal (Arabic: دانيال‎‎) was a Palestinian village in the Ramle Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on July 10, 1948 by the Yiftach Brigade under the first phase of Operation Dani. It was located 5 km east of Ramla and southeast of Lydda.

In 1838, Edward Robinson stopped by the village well, west of the village. He estimated the depth of the well to be 160 feet.

In 1863, Victor Guérin noted: "a small mosque situated on a height; it contains the tomb of a saint, called Neby Danyal. Some olive trees and a palm tree surround it. Near there is a village of about forty houses, also called Danyal. I observed there, not far from the dwellings, a considerable number of silos, intended to preserve straw, barley, and wheat."

An official village list of about 1870 showed that the village had 24 houses and a population of 80, though the population count included men, only.

In 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Neby Danial: "A small settlement round the sacred shrine of the Prophet, with a well to the west. The tomb of Dan is shown here, and is believed by the Samaritans to be the true site." They further noted that: "The village of Neby Danial includes the Mukam of Neby Dan, from which it is said by the natives to take its name."

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Danial had a population of 277 Muslims, increasing slightly in the 1931 census to 284 Muslims, in a total of 71 houses.

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Wikipedia