Imwas
| Imwas | |
|---|---|
Imwas, early 20th century
|
|
| Arabic | عِمواس |
| Name meaning | possibly "thermal springs" |
| Also spelled | 'Amwas, Amwas |
| Subdistrict | Ramle |
| Coordinates | 31°50′26″N 34°59′30″E / 31.84056°N 34.99167°ECoordinates: 31°50′26″N 34°59′30″E / 31.84056°N 34.99167°E |
| Palestine grid | 149/138 |
| Population | 2,015 |
| Date of depopulation | 7 June 1967 |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Expulsion by Israeli forces |
| Current localities | Canada Park |
Imwas (Arabic: عِمواس) was a Palestinian Arab village located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) southeast of the city of Ramla and 26 kilometres (16 mi) from Jerusalem in the Latrun salient of the West Bank. It is traditionally (possibly from as early as the 3rd century, but probably incorrectly) identified with the biblical Emmaus.
After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Imwas fell under Jordanian rule. Its population at the time was predominantly Arab Muslim, though there was an Arab Christian minority. Captured by the Israeli Defense Forces during the Six-Day War on June 7, 1967 along with the neighbouring villages of Yalo and Bayt Nuba, the villagers of Imwas were expelled and the village destroyed on the orders of Yitzhak Rabin. Today the area of the former village lies within Canada Park, which was established by the Jewish National Fund in 1973.
The name of the modern village was pronounced by its inhabitants as 'Imwās. Arabic literary sources indicate the name was formerly pronounced 'Amwās and 'Amawās, the latter being form transcribed by the Syrian geographer Yakut (1179–1229).
...
Wikipedia