Ibdis

Ibdis (Arabic: عبدس‎, ‘Ibdis; Hebrew: עיבדיס) was a Palestinian village in the Gaza Subdistrict, located 30 kilometers (19 mi) northeast of Gaza City. It was situated on flat ground on the coastal plain at an elevation of 75 meters (246 ft) above sea level, and bordered by a wadi that bore its name on its eastern side. In 1945, Ibdis had a population of 540 and a land area of 4,593 dunams, of which 18 dunams were built-up areas.

History

Under the Ottomans, in the 1596, Ibdis was a village in the nahiya of Gaza, part of the Sanjak of Gaza. With a population of 193, it paid taxes on wheat, barley, sesame, fruits, vineyards, beehives, and goats.

In 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described it as a mid-sized village standing on open ground.

British Mandate era

During the British Mandate period, its houses were built of adobe brick and separated by narrow alleys. Toward the end of the Mandate period, new homes were constructed along the two roads that linked it with Majdal and the Jaffa Road. The village's Muslim community obtained water for domestic use from a 55 meters (180 ft) deep well. However, because the number of drilled wells was limited, the residents relied largely on rainfall for their crops. Ibdis was well known in the Gaza region for its quality grains, including wheat, barley, and sorghum. In the later period, fruit trees were grown, including grapes, apricots, and oranges.