Dayr al-Dubban

Occupation and Ethnic Cleansing

The village was located on a sloping hill at the edge of the western foothills of the Hebron Mountains. Two secondary roads connected it to the nearby villages of ‘Ajjur to the northeast and Tall al-Safi to the northwest. These roads eventually led to the main highways linking the cities of Hebron, Ramla, Gaza, and Jerusalem.

The village’s name is derived from the Arabic word dubbān, meaning “flies.” This raises the question of whether, in ancient times, the inhabitants worshiped Ba‘al-Zebub, the “Lord of the Flies,” the chief deity of the Canaanites in Ekron, south of Ramla.

In the year 1596, Deir al-Dubban was a village in the Nahiya (subdistrict) of Jerusalem, within the Liwa (district) of Jerusalem, with a population of 396. The residents paid taxes on wheat, barley, olive trees, vineyards, and other fruit trees, in addition to goats and beehives. In the early 19th century, American biblical scholar Edward Robinson mentioned passing near Deir al-Dubban while en route to examine nearby caves.

In modern times, the inhabitants of the village were Muslims. Their economy was primarily based on rainfed agriculture, followed by livestock raising. They cultivated grains twice a year—once in the summer and once in the winter. In accordance with local customs, the land was divided into eastern and western sections: one would be planted during a particular season while the other was left fallow. Over time, fig and grape trees were planted in the lands adjacent to the village, along with vegetable cultivation.

In 1944/1945, a total of 5,358 dunums were dedicated to grain crops. Livestock grazed on the uncultivated lands. The village was built atop an archaeological site that included the remains of buildings, mosaic floors, rock-cut tombs, and wine presses. The area surrounding the village was rich in archaeological sites—five such sites existed within a 2 km² radius.

The Israeli Givati Brigade advanced northward and eastward toward Hebron during Operation Yoav, while other units moved southward toward Gaza and the Negev. According to Israeli historian Benny Morris, Deir al-Dubban fell into Israeli hands on October 23–24, 1948, during the northward assault.

Two days prior to the village’s occupation, The New York Times published a statement from an Israeli military spokesperson regarding the broader goals of the operation. On October 21, 1948, the spokesperson declared that the Israeli army did not intend to capture Egyptian army strongholds in the region; however, during operations to cut off roads, some Egyptian positions weakened, making their capture a natural outcome.

Morris notes that most residents of the Hebron area fled before the arrival of Israeli forces, while some were also expelled.

The Village Today

Zionist Settlements on Village Lands

The settlement of Luzit, whose inhabitants are Moroccan Jews, was established to the northeast of the village site in 1955.