Iqrit

The village of Iqrit was situated on a steep hill, located a few kilometers from the Lebanese border. It overlooked winding terrain to the east and the Bassa Valley to the west, which descends toward the sea. A secondary road connected it to Acre and Ras al-Naqura, and several other villages were located along this route. The history of Iqrit likely dates back to the Canaanite period, during which a statue representing the deity Melqart was established on the site. The Crusaders occupied the village, calling it “Acrif.” Like many other Palestinian villages, Iqrit suffered extensive destruction during the Crusader wars but was later rebuilt.

By 1996, Iqrit was administratively linked to the Tabnine subdistrict (Safad district), with a population of 374 residents. The village paid taxes on goats, beehives, and its oil press, which was used for olives or grapes.

In the late 19th century, Iqrit had approximately 100 inhabitants. Its buildings were stone-built, and it featured a modern church. The village sat on a hill surrounded by agricultural lands, where residents cultivated fig and olive trees.

When the British and French delineated the borders between Lebanon and Palestine in 1923, Iqrit was included within Palestine. The village population consisted of 160 Christians and 30 Muslims. The Melkite Catholic Patriarchate built and administered an elementary school in the village. The villagers cultivated various crops, including wheat, barley, olives, figs, grapes, and tobacco. In 1944–1945, approximately 1,888 dunams were allocated for grains, and 458 dunams were irrigated or used as orchards, including 80 dunams specifically for olive trees. The majority of the land was covered with oak and pine forests.

The hill on which Iqrit was built contained mosaic floors, remnants of a grape press, rock-cut tombs, water cisterns, and flint tools. Additional archaeological sites were located near the village.

Occupation and Ethnic Cleansing

According to the history of the Independence Party, Iqrit was one of the villages captured at the end of Operation Hiram following the fall of most of the Upper Galilee. The Israeli army’s Udid Brigade advanced along the road parallel to the Lebanese border, occupying Iqrit and Tarshiha in October 1948. The narrative states that both villages surrendered to the Israeli army and that the inhabitants apparently remained in their homes.

However, the residents were not allowed to stay for long. Approximately ten days after the northern front hostilities ended, they were expelled without delay. Israeli historian Benny Morris states that Iqrit, along with many other villages, fell victim to the “Arab-free border strip” policy, which was approved by the Israeli General Staff during the second week of November 1948. In Iqrit, soldiers informed the residents that the expulsion would be temporary. Some were dispersed to Lebanon, while others were transported by Israeli trucks to the Palestinian village of Rama, located about twenty kilometers south. For several subsequent years, the inhabitants of Iqrit and other similarly affected villages sought permission from Israeli authorities to return to their homes but to no avail. Morris notes that the case of Iqrit and two other border villages in particular exemplifies the Israeli army’s intent, from November 1948 onward, to establish a northern border strip devoid of Arab inhabitants.

The Village Today

Only the Melkite Catholic church remains, a stone building with a flat roof topped by a rectangular bell tower. The church has a rectangular door surmounted by a decorated arch and carvings on the lintel above it. The main facade features a collection of crosses, each set within a niche, including a cross above the arch and a large Latin cross on the (closed) door, flanked by smaller crosses on the upper quarters of the door. The church is abandoned and its color has faded. Apart from the church, the site contains scattered stone rubble covered with fig trees, jujube trees, and other vegetation. A cattle pen is also located on the village site.

Israeli Settlements on Village Lands

The Shomera settlement (grid 176276), established in 1948, and the Eikon Mines settlement (grid 178275), established in 1960, lie on the boundary between the village lands and those of Yirka to the east and northeast of the village site. In 1950, the Goren settlement (grid 172273) was established on village lands to the west of the site, and in 1980, the Gurion Magalil settlement (grid 173274) was established on village lands.