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Dayr al-Qassi or Deir el-Qasi (), was a Palestinians village located 26 km northeast of the city of Acre, which was depopulated during 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
Ceramics from the late Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire eras have been found here.Dauphin, 1998, p. 648
In the Crusader states it was known as Cassie, and in 1183 it was noted that Godfrey de Tor sold the land of the village to Joscelin III.Strehlke, 1869, pp. 15-16, No. 16; cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. 125, No. 624; cited in Frankel, 1988, pp. 257, 264 In 1220 Jocelyn III's daughter Beatrix de Courtenay and her husband Otto von Botenlauben, Count of Henneberg, sold their land, including Cassie and the nearby Roeis (Tel Rosh), to the Teutonic Knights.Strehlke, 1869, pp. 43- 44, No. 53; cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. 248, No. 934; cited in Frankel, 1988, pp. 257, 264.
Remains from the Mamluk era have been found in the area.Lerer, 2011, Elqosh
In the early 18th century, Dayr al-Qassi was a fortified village controlled by a local sheikh (chief) named Abd al-Khaliq Salih. In 1740, Sheikh Zahir al-Umar, a local multazim (tax farmer) from the Banu Zaydan family whose strength was growing throughout the Galilee, struggled to gain control of Dayr al-Qassi. Later that year, he made the village part of his domain by marrying Sheikh Salih's daughter, thereby sealing an alliance with the latter's family.Joudah, 1987, p. 24. In late 1767, Zahir's son Ali of Safed requested control of Dayr al-Qassi from his father after his request for Deir Hanna was rejected. Zahir refused and the two entered into an armed conflict, which Zahir won. Nonetheless, Zahir pardoned Ali and ultimately ceded the village to him.Joudah, 1987, p. 53.
In 1838, Dayr al-Qassi was noted as a Muslim village in the Jabal subdistrict, located west of Safed.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol. 3, 2nd appendix, p. 133
Victor Guérin visited Dayr al-Qassi in 1875, and he estimated that the village had 350 Muslim inhabitants. In 1881, Dayr al-Qassi was described in the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) as being situated on a ridge, encircled by fig and olive trees and arable land. It then had a population of about 200.Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p.197. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 12 A population list from about 1887 showed Dayr al-Qassi to have about 945 inhabitants, all Muslims.Schumacher, 1888, p. 190
Later, Dayr al-Qassi was mostly Muslim but had a large Palestinian Christian minority. According to the 1945 census it had 1,250 inhabitants; 370 Christians and 880 Muslims. Village Statistics April 1945, The Palestine Government , p. 2 Together with the two villages of Fassuta and al-Mansura, the population was 2,300 and their total land area was 34,011 dunums.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 40 1,607 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 6,475 used for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 80 while 247 dunams were built-up (urban) land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 130
However, in January 1949, the Cabinet voted to "encourage introducing ‘olim into all the abandoned villages in the Galilee".Morris, 2004, p. 394; note #333 The village's residents were (again) expelled on 27 May 1949 and most migrated north into Lebanon. By June 1949, it was reported that the whole northern area had been "Judaised", including Tarshiha, Suhmata, Dayr al-Qassi, Tarbikha, Meirun, al-Sammu'i, Safsaf and al-Ras al-Ahmar.Morris, 2004, pp. 381- 382; note #226
Elkosh was established in 1949, and occupies part of the village site. Netu'a, founded in 1966, Mattat, founded in 1979 and Abirim, founded in 1980, are also on village land. Netu'a is near the neighboring village of al-Mansura.
The Palestinian historian, Walid Khalidi, described the remaining structures on the village land in 1992: "A few stone houses still are used as residences or warehouses by the inhabitants of Elqosh. The debris of destroyed houses is strewn over the site. The school building stands deserted. Fig and olive trees and cactuses grow on the site." In 2004, some of the remains of the village were removed by mechanical equipment during excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority.Braun, 2004, Elqosh Archive Report- Final Report
In 2000, a book about the village history was published by Ibrahim Khalil Uthman.Davis, 2011, p. 285
== Gallery==
British Mandate
At the time of the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate, Dayr al-Qassi had a population of 663 Muslims.Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Safad, p. 41 increasing in the 1931 census, when Dayr al-Qassi had a population of 865, still all Muslims, living in a total of 169 houses.Mills, 1932, p. 106.
Israel
During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War Dayr al-Qassi was defended by the Arab Liberation Army but the village was occupied by the Israeli Army during its offensive Operation Hiram on October 30, 1948. At the same time, Dayr al-Qassi was bombed by the Israelis, which they claimed was "by mistake", and seven residents were killed. In December 1948, there was a suggestion of sending new Jewish immigrants to settle al-Bassa, Dayr al-Qassi and Tarshiha, but Aharon Zisling objected to sending militarily untrained immigrants there.Morris, 2004, p. 394; note #332
Notable people
See also
Notes
Bibliography
(1977). 9783920405414, Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. . ISBN 9783920405414
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