Beit Jiz

The village was built on uneven land on the foothills of the Jerusalem mountains. A secondary road connected it to the Gaza-Jerusalem main road, which lay to the north of the village’s lands. Some seasonal dirt roads also connected it to the villages of Deir Muhaysin and Beit Susin. At the beginning of the 20th century, the village was elongated in shape, with narrow streets and houses built of stone and mud. Its inhabitants were Muslim. The village center included a few shops, a mosque, and a school established in 1947 with joint funding from the residents of Beit Jiz and the neighboring village of Beit Susin. Agriculture was the backbone of Beit Jiz’s economy; the inhabitants cultivated various crops, including grains, vegetables, figs, almonds, and olives. They cultivated olives on 14 dunams of their land. In 1944/1945, a total of 6,525 dunams were dedicated to grain cultivation, and 36 dunams were irrigated or used for orchards. Part of the surrounding land served as pasture for livestock, enabling villagers to raise sheep and goats, while another part was covered by forests. Several ruins were located near Beit Jiz.

Occupation and Ethnic Cleansing of the Village

All the villages in the Jerusalem corridor that did not fall during Operation Hasharon were occupied during subsequent battles around Latrun in May and June 1948. Beit Jiz was occupied between the first and second attacks on Latrun, specifically between May 15 and May 30. The New York Times reported an Israeli attack on Latrun on May 25, which extended the following day to Beit Jiz and Khulda but failed. The correspondent described the battle around Beit Jiz and Khulda as the largest clash in the war to that date. On May 28, the Israeli army officially announced the occupation of the village after its forces penetrated south of the Jaffa-Jerusalem road. According to the history of the War of Independence, Beit Jiz and Beit Susin fell into the hands of the newly formed Seventh Brigade (Sheva) as part of Operation Bin Nun. The occupation of these two villages allowed Israeli forces to establish an alternative supply line to Jerusalem bypassing Latrun.

Israeli historian Benny Morris mentions a military attack on the village on April 20, the previous month, and states that its residents were expelled on that date. However, Palestinian historian Arif al-Arif notes that the first attempt to seize Beit Jiz occurred on May 22-23 and failed. One reason for this failure was that Israeli forces received incorrect reports claiming the village had been evacuated. As a result, they were surprised by the fierce resistance from the inhabitants of Beit Jiz and Beit Susin, as well as from the regular Arab forces in the Latrun sector. Al-Arif adds that both villages fell in a subsequent attack launched on May 30.

The Village Today

The site, now overgrown with wild plants, is used as a park. The only remaining village landmark is the school, which resembles the architectural style of the Qula school. The school is currently used for recreational purposes, and a fire observation tower has been added. A plaque on the tower in English and Hebrew reads: “This fire observation post is named in honour of Mr. and Mrs. Coleman Levene of Southend and Westcliff [Jewish National Fund].” Some houses remain; some are used as warehouses while others are abandoned. One large stone warehouse building has a flat roof and three side windows with Gothic arches. Three of the abandoned houses each consist of two stories and display various architectural features such as rectangular and arched doors and windows, flat roofs, and balconies supported by square columns. Crops such as grains, vegetables, and olives are cultivated on the surrounding lands.

Israeli Settlements on the Village Lands

There are three Israeli settlements on the lands of the village: Har’el, established in 1948; Tzeliaqum, established in 1950; and Gizo, established in 1968.