1948, and After
On May 15 the British authorities gave the local population control over the police fortress. Despite eight separate attacks, the Israelis failed to capture the fort, which controlled the road between al-Majdal and Bayt Jibrin as well as the main road to the Negev. It finally fell on 9 November 1948 after a massive bombardment including air strikes by B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft.
In 1953 Yad Natan was founded to the east of the site on village land. In 1955 Otzem was established on village land, to the southeast of the site. In 1956 Sde Yoav was established to the west of the site, close to village land.
According to the Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi, the remaining structures on the village land were in 1992: "The debris of houses are hidden within a forest of eucalyptus trees that cover the village center. Cacti and the remnants of a pool are visible. Two old village streets, one passing through the site and the other through the land, are clearly recognizable. The British police station is still in use and is now called Metzodat Yo'av. The surrounding lands are now cultivated by Israeli farmers."
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Famous quotes containing the words and after:
“We look before and after,
And pine for what is not:
Our sincerest laughter
With some pain is fraught;
Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.”
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822)