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Al-Khayriyya (), also Ibn Ibraq, was a Palestinian Arab village located 7.5 kilometers east of Jaffa. It became depopulated in April 1948 as a result of a military assault by the Alexandroni Brigade of the pre-state forces during the 1948 Palestine war.Morris, 2004, p. 217 The village lands would later be used by Israel as the Hiriya landfill.
Later in the Ottoman period the village was called Ibn Ibraq, preserving the ancient name."The son of Ibraq", according to Palmer, 1881, p. 214Freedman, 2000, p. 165Cancik et al., 1996, p. 484.
An Ottoman village list from about 1870 found that Jabrak had a population of 208, in 68 houses, though the population count included only men.Socin, 1879, p. 155Hartmann, 1883, p. 136, also noted 68 houses
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described the village, then named Ibn Ibrak, as "an ordinary adobe village".Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 251
In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Khairiyeh had a population of 546, 5 Christians and the rest .Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jaffa, p. 20 In the 1931 census the population of El Kheiriya had increased to 914, 5 Christians and the rest Muslims, in 212 houses.Mills, 1932, p. 14
The villagers worked primarily in agriculture and animal husbandry.
In the 1945 statistics the population of Al-Khayriyya was 1,420: 1,400 Muslims and 20 Christians, with 13,672 of land. Of this, a total of 3,359 dunams of village land was used for citrus and bananas and 2,355 dunums for cereals, while 1,275 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards. Numerous artesian wells supplied them with irrigation water.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 96 26 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 146
The Jewish settlement of Kfar Azar was established on what was traditionally village land in 1932.
The village of Al-Khayriyya was depopulated in the weeks leading up to the 1948 Palestine war, during the Haganah's offensive Mivtza Hametz (Operation Hametz) 28–30 April 1948. This operation was held against a group of villages east of Jaffa, including Al-Khayriyya. According to the preparatory orders, the objective was to "opening the way for to Lydda". Though there was no explicit mention of the prospective treatment of the villagers, the order spoke of "cleansing the area" ''tihur.HGS\Operations to Alexandroni, etc., "Orders for Operation "Hametz", 26 Apr. 1948. IDFA 6647\49\\15. Cited in Morris, 2004, pp. 217, 286 The final operational order stated: "Civilian inhabitants of places conquered would be permitted to leave after they are searched for weapons."Operation Hametz Headquarters to Givati Brigade, etc., 27 Apr. 1948, 14:00 hours, IDFA 67\51\\677. See also Alexandroni to battalions, 27 Apr. 1948, IDFA 922\75\\949. Cited in Morris, 2004, pp. 217, 286
During 28–30 April, the Haganah took Al-Khayriyya without a fight, the HIS attributed the non-resistance of the inhabitants to prior Arab defeats, and later added that "it is clear that the inhabitants ... would willingly return to their villages and accept Jewish protection."Alexandroni to brigades, etc., 8 May 1948, IDFA 2323\49\\6. Cited in Morris, 2004, pp. 217, 286
The Alexandroni Brigade 32nd Battalion reported that they found and buried the bodies of four adult men and three women in the village, and briefly detained a handful of men, women and children. Two of the adult male villagers were charged with having killed a Haganah man, and they were then promptly executed.
Following the war, the area was incorporated into the Israel. In 1952 and 1969 the villages of Ramat Pinkas and Ramat Ef'al, respectively, were established on village land, north of the village site. Both are now part of the suburbs of Giv'atayim.Khalidi, 1992, p. 249
Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi described the village remains in 1992: "A handful of houses and one of the schools remain. One deserted house, surrounded by shrubs and wild vegetation, has simple architecture: a rectangular door, small side windows, and a flat roof. A two-storey house, identified as having belonged to Ahmad al-Tibi, is used as a store. It has rectangular doors and windows and a gabled roof. Cypress, fig, Christ's-thorn, and orange trees grow on the site. Part of the adjacent land is cultivated and the rest is occupied by buildings."
The village lands were later designated for a landfill known as Hiriya.
==Gallery==
1948 War and State of Israel
According to the Palestine Post, in early 1948, the village residents repeatedly attacked the nearby Ef'al settlement. The newspaper also reported that on 16 February 1948, the Haganah blew up a two-story house that was used by snipers against Ef'al.
See also
Bibliography
(1977). 9783920405414, Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. . ISBN 9783920405414
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