Dallata

Dallata
Dallata
Arabic	دلاّتة
District	Safad
Coordinates	33°01′18.88″N 35°29′56.02″E / 33.0219111°N 35.4988944°E / 33.0219111; 35.4988944Coordinates: 33°01′18.88″N 35°29′56.02″E / 33.0219111°N 35.4988944°E / 33.0219111; 35.4988944
Population	360[1] (1945)
Area	9072[1] dunums
Date of depopulation	Not known[2]
Cause(s) of depopulation
Current localities	Dalton

Dallata (Arabic: دلاّتة‎) was a Palestinian Arab village, located on a hilltop 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) north of Safad. Constructed upon an ancient site, it was known to the Crusaders as Deleha. Dallata was included in the late 16th century Ottoman census and British censuses of the 20th century. Its inhabitants were primarily agriculturalists, with some involved in carpentry or trade.

Dallata was depopulated during the 1948 Palestine war on around May 10, 1948 by the Palmach's First Battalion of Operation Yiftach. Following the establishment of Israel, the Israeli locality of Dalton was established about 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) southwest of the village site.

History

Dallata was located on the upper slope of a hill, built on the ruins of an ancient site that contained old structures like cisterns, and large pools. The village was referred to by the Crusaders as "Deleha".^[3] The village was mentioned in the 1596 Ottoman census, in the nahiya (subdistrict) of Jira, liwa' (district) of Safad, with a population of 127 and it was reported that the inhabitants paid taxes on wheat, barley, olives, goats, beehives, vineyards, and a press for processing grapes or olives.^[4]

An excavation carried out in 2006 on a location halfway between the center of Dallata and the new Israeli settlement of Dalton, revealed a structure dating to the Late Ottoman Period, with alluvial soil that contained worn Late Roman and Byzantine potsherds.^[5] By the late nineteenth century, Dallata was described as being situated at the foot of a large hill, with about 100 Muslim residents. There were a few gardens around the village, and water was supplied from a well and a birket.^[6] The villagers worked primarily in agriculture throughout its history, and some worked in carpentry and trade.^[3] In 1944/45 a total of 3,651 dunums was allocated to cereal farming and 302 dunums were used for orchards.^[3][7] In 1945, it had a population of 360. The village had a small school which had an enrollment of 37 students in 1945.^[3]

1948, and aftermath

Dallata was depopulated in the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine. The Israeli historian Benny Morris writes that the date and cause of the depopulation is unknown,^[2] while Walid Khalidi assumes it was occupied some time after the fall of the district capital of Safed, 10–11 May 1948. According to Khalidi, the indirect evidence points to the village being seized during Operation Yiftach, and, in that case, it was probably one of the villages attacked in the latter stages of the operation, like neighboring ‘Ammuqa, which was occupied on 24 May.^[3] The British historian Esber reports that Dallata was one of the villages that locals fled to in the first days of May 1948, when Fir'im, Mughr al-Khayt and Qabba'a were attacked with mortars by Israeli forces.^[8] Esber gives the depopulation date as 10 May 1948, and the causes twofold: "Direct mortar attacks on civilians, siege, shooting at fleeing Arabs", and "Terror raids, house demolitions, sniping, hostage-taking, looting, destruction of crop and livestock."^[9]

In 1950 after the 1948 war, the settlement of Dalton was established by the Israelis about 1 km southwest of the village site.^[3]

The Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi described the village remains in 1992: "All that remains are the debris of the houses scattered across the site, partly covered by grass, shrubs, and trees. A few stone terraces on village land are still intact, and some olive trees still grow. About 1 km south of the site lies the Israeli settlement of Dalton"^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Hadawi, 1970, p.69.
2. ^ ^{a b} According to Morris, 2004, p. xvi, village #40.
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Khalidi, 1992, p.443-4
4. ^ Hütteroth, Wolf-Dieter and Kamal Abdulfattah (1977), Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. p. 177. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 443
5. ^ Smithline, 2008; Har Dalton Final Report
6. ^ Conder & Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p.197. Quoted in Khalidi, p. 443
7. ^ Hadawi, 1970, p. 118
8. ^ Esber, 2008, p. 332, 333
9. ^ Esber, 2008, p. 391

Bibliography

• Conder, Claude Reignier and H.H. Kitchener (1881): The Survey of Western Palestine: memoirs of the topography, orography, hydrography, and archaeology. London:Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. vol 1
• Esber, Rosemarie M. (2008), Under the Cover of War, The Zionist Expulsions of the Palestinians. Arabicus Books & Media. ISBN 0981513174, 9780981513171.
• Guérin, M. V. (1880): Description Géographique, Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine. Galilee, "Tome II" Paris: Imprimerie Nationale (p. 443)
• Hadawi, Sami (1970), Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine, Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center, http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html 
• Khalidi, Walid (1992), All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948, Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies, ISBN 0887282245 
• Morris, Benny (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521009676. http://books.google.com/?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=benny+morris&q. 
• Howard Smithline (4/9/2008): Har Dalton Final Report Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 120.

External links

• Welcome To Dallata
• Dallata, at Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center
• Dallata, Dr. Khalil Rizk.