Najd

Najd was located in the southern coastal plain and was connected by bypass roads between Majdal and Gaza. In 1596, its population was 215 people who worked in agriculture, raising livestock, and beekeeping, and their children attended school in the nearby village of Simsim. The scientist Edward Robinson visited the Najd village in 1838 and pointed to its location south of one of the valleys where the residents used to grow barley. The village had a well and a pond. In the late 19th century, the British Mandate expanded the village.  On May 13, 1948, the HeNegeve brigade of the Palmach expelled the residents before the declaration of the “state of Israel”. Now, the village site has become fenced and contains old trees and cacti, in addition to rubble of buildings and irrigation canals. At the same time, the neighboring lands are exploited for Israeli agriculture. Two settlements were established at the ruins of Najd: Sderot(110103) in 1951, south of the village, and Orhanir(112107) in 1957, northeast of the village.