Abu Shusha

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Until 1948, Abu Shusha was an Arab village in Palestine, 8 km southeast of Ramle. It was depopulated in 1948, and later demolished by Israeli armed forces.

Abu Shusha was located on the slope of Tel Jazar, which is commonly identified with the ancient city of Gezer. The Crusaders won a battle against Saladin there in 1177. The time of founding of the Arab village is unknown, though it existed in 1800. The population, consisting of Muslim Arabs, was 627 in 1931 and 870 in 1944. The village produced cereals and olives.

In April-May 1948, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Abu Shusha was attacked by Zionist forces several times. The final assault began on May 13 (the day before the state of Israel declared its independence). Abu Shusha attempted to defend itself, but was occupied on May 14 after a one-sided battle. Those residents who had not already died or fled were expelled by May 21. With their descendants, they numbered about 6198 as of 1998.

The Israeli town of Ameilim was founded nearby later in 1948.

Allegations of a massacre

Allegations that the Israeli forces in Abu Shusha were committing atrocities were made to the Red Cross by Arab sources during the week after the capture of the village. These allegations are supported by the testimony of refugees from the village, who say that Israeli forces killed 60-70 residents. A mass grave with 52 skeletons was discovered in 1995, but it is unclear how they died. No substantial support for the claims of a massacre has been found in Israeli archives.

Sources

• Morris, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited.
• Khalidi, All that remains.
• Benvenisti, City of Stone, p248.
• Birzeit University series on Palestinian destroyed villages, 276 page report on Abu Shusha; some information here: [1] [2] [3]

Disambiguation

A different Arab village called Abu Shusha was situated 26 km south-east of Haifa. It was also depopulated and destroyed in May 1948.