Karmia Colony

Karmia is a kibbutz located in the south, situated between Ashkelon and the Gaza Strip on the ruins of the depopulated Palestinian village of Harbiya. Harbiya was an Arab village under the jurisdiction of Gaza before 1948, located about 15 kilometers north of Gaza.

The kibbutz was established in 1950 by members of the Hashomer Hatzair organization from France and Tunisia, who trained at Kibbutz Beit Zera.

The lands surrounding Karmia include the lands of the villages of al-Khisas, al-Jura, and Barbariyah to the north; the lands of Beit Jerja and Deir Sunayd to the east; and the lands of Beit Lahia to the south. Harbiya is situated approximately 25 meters above sea level. The total land area of Harbiya was approximately 22,312 dunams, while the built-up area of the village was around 42 dunams.

The population of Harbiya in 1922 was about 1,307 people; by 1931, it had grown to 1,510 (803 males and 707 females). On April 1, 1945, the population was estimated at 2,240, consisting of people partly descended from Egyptians and others from Crusader converts to Islam.

As of 2021, the settlement had a population of 652 settlers.

Sources:
Due to the limited availability of Arabic sources, Hebrew sources were used: the settlement’s official Hebrew website, the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.
For information on the village of Harbiya, the source used is Palestine Remembered.