Umm al-Rashrash

Umm al-Rashrash is an abandoned Arab village located at the southernmost part of Palestine, south of the city of Be’er Sheva, on the eastern side of the Sinai Peninsula. It overlooks the Gulf of Aqaba and is considered the southernmost Palestinian town. Administratively, it was affiliated with the city of Be’er Sheva and is approximately 235 km away from it. The area of its lands is estimated at 85,000 dunams.

The village was occupied on March 10, 1949, by soldiers from the Golani Brigade and the Negev Brigade during the course of Operation Ovda.

The name Umm al-Rashrash, also known as Al-Karshash, derives from the Arab tribe that resided there. Despite this, the village was known by several names, each with its own historical reasons. Among these were the names Al-Hajjaj or Al-Hujajj, named so because it served as a resting station for pilgrims coming from Egypt and the Levant on their way to the holy lands and back. During the Crusades, it was known as Ayla, a name given by the Crusaders following their occupation. Some historians suggest the name is of Canaanite origin, with the Canaanites being the ones who originally named it.

Occupation of Umm al-Rashrash

At the start of the 1948 war, the Egyptian army controlled the lands of the Negev Desert, as well as the southern West Bank and Jerusalem, extending to the area of Ashdod on the Palestinian coast. In October 1948, Jewish militias breached the truce agreed upon with the Egyptian army and launched a military operation called “Yoav,” during which they defeated the Egyptian army and occupied all Palestinian villages and towns south of Hebron in the east, extending to Ashdod on the Mediterranean coast.

Regarding Umm al-Rashrash, at the beginning of 1949, units of the Israeli occupation army launched another offensive called “Horev” (meaning “The Sword”), during which the army entered Sinai and took control of the Be’er Sheva–Asluj road. This compelled the Egyptian government to respond to United Nations pressure and agree, on January 12, 1949, to a ceasefire and to begin armistice negotiations on the battlefronts between the Egyptian and Israeli sides, with Jordan later joining the negotiations to finalize armistice lines among the three countries.

The Israelis decided to implement Operation Ovda, meaning “imposition of facts on the ground,” aiming to reach the Red Sea. They successfully surprised the Egyptian officers and soldiers stationed in Umm al-Rashrash, who were observing the ceasefire, and deliberately and horrifically killed them all.

Following its occupation, Umm al-Rashrash was completely destroyed. On its ruins, the occupiers established the city and port of Eilat in 1949, which became one of the most important ports for the Israeli colonial entity.

Economic and Historical Importance

The geographic location of Umm al-Rashrash played a significant role in its economic activity. Its residents engaged in agriculture, livestock raising, and fishing. Additionally, trade flourished due to its strategic position on the Red Sea coast and its proximity to Jordanian and Egyptian territories.

Due to its strategic location, it was used by the Romans, Byzantines, and Nabataeans as a base in the Levant. In the Middle Ages, some historical references note that Umm al-Rashrash was the first Islamic town established outside the Arabian Peninsula, while others state that the town was already established and its inhabitants pledged allegiance to the Prophet Muhammad before the Islamic conquests of the Levant.

The village was occupied twice by the Crusaders; the first time they were expelled by Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi (Saladin), and the second time by Sultan Baibars in 1276. In 1517, it came under Ottoman rule. In 1818, Muhammad Ali Pasha incorporated it into Egyptian territory under his rule, though it returned to Ottoman control in 1841.