Abu Shusha

Abu Shusha in the 1871-77 PEF Survey of Palestine

A Maqam (shrine) was built there in the 16th century.[7] In 1838, Abu Shusheh was noted as a Muslim village in the Ibn Humar area in the District of Er-Ramleh.[9] Edward Robinson also noted the village on his travels in the region in 1852.[10]

In 1869 or 1872, the village lands were purchased by Melville Peter Bergheim of Jerusalem, a Protestant of German origin. Bergheim established a modern agricultural farm, using European methods and equipment. Bergheim's ownership of the land was hotly contested by the villagers, by legal and illegal means, including the murder of Bergheim's son Peter on 12 October 1885.[11] After the Bergheim company went bankrupt in 1892, Abu Shusa's lands were managed by a government receiver.[12]

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) noted that the extent of land farmed by Mr. Bergheim at Abu Shusheh was 5,000 acres. The boundaries was shown on the Survey's map as a dotted line: ____ . . . . _____ . . . .[2] SWP further described Abu Shusha as a small village built of stone and adobe and surrounded by cactus hedges, populated by about 100 families.[13]

Elihu Grant, who visited the village, described it as "tiny" in 1907.[14] In 1910s, part of the land was sold by the government receiver to the villagers and the rest to the Jewish Colonization Association, which gave the villagers one third of their purchase in order to settle the dispute. After World War I, the land in Jewish hands was sold to the Maccabean Land Company, and later transferred to the Jewish National Fund.[12]

In November, 1917, the British 6th Mounted Brigade charged a Turkish detachment defending the heights above Abu Shusheh. The Turks suffered 'heavy casualties'.[15]

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Abu Shusheh had a population of 603 residents; all Muslims,[16] increasing in the 1931 census to 627, still all Muslims, in a total of 145 houses.[17]

The village had a mosque and a number of shops. A village school was founded in 1947, with an initial enrollment of 33 students.[7]

In the 1945 statistics the population of Abu Shusha was 870, all Muslims,[6] with a total land area of 9,425 dunams.[4] 2,475 dunums of village land were allotted to cereals, 54 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,[18] while 24 dunams were built-up (urban) areas.[19]

• 
  Abu Shusha 1942 1:20,000
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  Abu Shusha 1945 Scale 1:250,000
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  Abu Shusha 1945
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  Depopulated villages in the Ramle Subdistrict 9 July 1948

The village was attacked by the Givati Brigade on May 13–14, 1948 during Operation Barak. A few inhabitants fled but most remained. The Givati troops were immediately replaced by militia men from kibbutz Gezer, who were later replaced by troops from Kiryati Brigade.[20] On May 19, Arab Legion sources claimed that villagers were being killed. On May 21, Arab authorities appealed to the Red Cross to stop "barbaric acts" they said were being committed in Abu Shusha.[21] A Haganah soldier was reported to have twice attempted to rape a 20-year-old woman prisoner.[22] The residents that had remained in the village were expelled, apparently on 21 May.[21]

More recent research, including that conducted by Birzeit University, suggests that around 60 residents were massacred by the Givati Brigade during the attack.[23][24] In 1995 a mass grave with 52 skeletons was discovered, but their cause of death is undetermined.[25]

Israeli historian, Aryeh Yitzhaki, explains the events of Abu Shusha as a massacre citing a testimony from the Kheil Mishmar (Guard Units):

"A soldier of Kiryati Brigade captured 10 men and 2 women. All were killed except a young woman who was raped and disposed of. At the dawn of 14 May, units of Giv'ati brigade assaulted Abu Shusha village. Fleeing villagers were shot on sight. Others were killed in the streets or axed to death. Some were lined up against a wall and executed. No men were left; women had to bury the dead."[26]

The Israeli settlement of Ameilim was founded nearby later in 1948, while Pedaya was established in 1951; both on village land.[7] The remains of the village were destroyed in 1965 as part of a government operation to clear the country of abandoned villages, which were regarded by the Israel Land Administration as "a blot on the landscape".[27]

In 1992 the village site was described: "The Israeli settlement of Ameilim occupies much of the site. Figs and cypress trees, cactuses and one palm tree grow on the site. The surrounding valleys are planted in apricots and figs, and various kinds of fruit trees are cultivated on the heights."[7]