al-Hamidiyya

The village was located 5 kilometers from Bisan (Beisan). It stood on a hill overlooking the Bisan Valley to the east, the Yabla Valley to the north, and the lands of the city of Bisan to the south. The village, which relied on Bisan for administrative and commercial services, was named after the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1876–1909). A secondary road approximately two kilometers long connected it to the main road leading to Bisan, and other roads linked it to four neighboring villages. Its layout was rectangular, with narrow alleys forming an interconnected network. The houses were built of bricks, and during its slow expansion in the first half of the 20th century, new houses were constructed with cement along the roads leading to the neighboring villages.

Occupation of the Village

The Golani Brigade succeeded in occupying the city of Bisan, and most of the population of the Bisan Valley fled during a campaign that began in the first half of May 1948. Al-Humidiya was one of the few villages that remained. According to the Israeli historian Benny Morris, its inhabitants left on May 12 as a result of the displacement of Bisan’s residents and pressure from the Haganah forces.

Zionist Settlements on Village Lands

The settlement of Jermuniya, established in 1942, is located two kilometers south of the village site near its lands but not on them. This settlement was renamed Hamadiya in 1952 to resemble the original Arabic name.