Indur

The village of Indur was located on the northeastern slopes of Mount al-Dahi, facing north and overlooking the Jezreel Valley (Marj Ibn Amir). It lay a few kilometers from a main road connecting Tiberias and Nazareth, and the British-owned Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC) pipeline passed approximately half a kilometer north of the village. The village’s name may have been derived from the ancient Canaanite town of En-dor, mentioned in the Old Testament as the place where Saul consulted the medium before battling the Philistines (1 Samuel 28:4–25). The ancient town may have been located at modern-day Indur, or at one of two nearby sites: Tall al-‘Ajjul (Grid ref. 185226) or Khirbat al-Safsafa (Grid ref. 187227). The Crusaders referred to the site as Endor.

In 1569, Indur was recorded as a village in the subdistrict of Shafa (Liwa’ al-Jawlan), with a population of 22. It paid taxes on various agricultural products including wheat, barley, and olives, as well as on other resources such as goats and beehives.

By the late 19th century, Indur was described as a brick-built village situated on a steep hillside. Several small caves were located above the village. One of its most prominent figures was Shaykh Tawfiq Ibrahim, a leader of the 1936–1939 Palestinian Revolt against the British. Shaykh Tawfiq was an associate of Shaykh Izz al-Din al-Qassam, the preacher from Haifa whose martyrdom in 1935 sparked the uprising.

Indur consisted of a winding series of houses, following the contours of the terrain. The homes were built of either stone and cement, or stone and mud. The population was entirely Muslim, except for one Christian resident. During the Ottoman period, a school was established in the village, which also served students from the nearby village of Nin. However, the British Mandate authorities later closed it.

The village economy relied primarily on grain cultivation. In 1944–1945, 24 dunums were planted with citrus and bananas, 9,864 dunums were used for cereals, and 394 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards, of which 180 dunums were dedicated to olive cultivation. Livestock farming was also practiced.

The presence of rock-hewn cisterns, silos, and tombs—alongside the ruins of older, abandoned houses near the village—indicates continuous habitation of the site since ancient times.

Occupation and Ethnic Cleansing

According to Israeli historian Benny Morris, the village was occupied on 24 May 1948. It is likely that the residents of Indur fled due to a military assault and the fall of the nearby town of Baysan (Beit She’an). Although most of the Baysan Valley was seized by the Haganah before 15 May 1948, the Golani Brigade continued to “clear and defend” the area through early June.

Current Status of the Village

Today, several partially collapsed walls remain at the village site. Palm, doum, fig, and almond trees grow in the area. The flat surrounding lands are cultivated by Israelis, while the hilly terrain is used as pasture for livestock.

Israeli Settlements on Village Lands

There are no Israeli settlements directly on Indur’s village lands. However, the settlement of Dovrat (Grid ref. 183228) is located nearby, directly to the west of the village site. It was established in 1946, on land situated between Indur and the neighboring village of Daburiyya (Grid ref. 185233).