Al-Khisas
Al-Khisas (Arabic: الخصاص), also known as Khisas or Khissas, was a Palestinian Arab village in the Safad Subdistrict in Mandatory Palestine. It was located 31 kilometers (19 mi) northeast of Safed on a natural terrace about 100 meters (330 ft) wide that formed when Lake al-Hula receded. To the west of the village was a valley known as Wadi al-Hasibani through which ran the Hasbani River.
History
Ottoman era
Evidence of the long history of habitation in the village includes the nearby shrine of a local sage known as al-Shaykh 'Ali and the presence of rock-hewn tombs. The Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi described al-Khisas as falling within the administrative jurisdiction of Banias in Syria. Under the Ottoman Empire, al-Khisas was administered as part of a sanjak in the vilayet of Damascus, and was later redesignated a part the vilayet of Sidon (renamed the vilayet of Beirut).
British Mandate
In 1917, al-Khisas lay north of the Sykes Picot line, a straight line between the midpoint of the Sea of Galilee and Nahariya in the area to be incorporated under a French sphere of influence. The Syria-Lebanon-Palestine boundary was a product of the post-World War I Anglo-French partition of Ottoman Syria. British forces had advanced to a position at Tel Hazor against Turkish troops in 1918 and wished to incorporate all the sources of the river Jordan within the boundaries of British controlled Palestine. Due to the French inability to establish administrative control, the frontier between Syria and Palestine became 'fluid'. The international boundary between Palestine and Syria was finally set by joint agreement between Great Britain and France in 1923 in conjunction with the Treaty of Lausanne, after Britain had been given a League of Nations Mandate for Palestine in 1922; thus, al-Khisas came under British jurisdiction.
Al-Khisas, Gaza
Al-Khisas (Arabic: خربة الخِصاص, Khirbat Khisâs) was a Palestinian Arab village located 18.5 kilometers (11.5 mi) northeast of Gaza near the modern city of Ashqelon.
History
Al-Khisas contained remnants of wells and burial grounds, which indicated earlier inhabitation. The modern village was classified as a hamlet in the Palestine Index Gazetter, and was built after World War I Farmers from neighboring areas first built temporary huts at the site to shelter themselves during the harvest, gradually they settled and built adobe houses.
The population, who were Muslim, numbered 150 in 1945. They relied on neighboring villages Al-Jura and Ni'ilya for medical, educational and administrative services. In 1944/45 a total of 191 dunums of village land was allocated to citrus and bananas, while 419 dunums were used for cereal farming. 2,671 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.
The village was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War between November 4–5, 1948 at the end of Operation Yo'av.
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