The District of Hebron

Zakariyya

(The following information is from Walid Khalidi’s All that Remains, see site’s bibliography)

 The village name reflectsthe cultural continuity of the area’s population with the Roman and Byzantine periods. Zakaria first came under attack early in the war, it was besieged by a Hagana unit estimated at 100 men by “Arab sources” quoted by the New York Times. The Times also said that Israeli forces directed their fire at the village on 17 and 18 January  1948. Zakariyya was occupied over nine months later. Unlike most of the inhabitants of villages conquered in these operations, the villagers were not displaced at the time of occupation. But Israeli Historian Benny Morris writes that ”political objections by the Foreign Ministry (and perhaps others) blocked implementation”. In January 1950, Ben-Gurion met with his foreign minister, Moshe Sharett, and Jewish National Fund official Yosef Weitz and decided to evict the inhabitants”. They were eventually evicted on 9 June 1950. The settlement of Zakharya was established in 1950 on village land. The mosque and a number of houses, some occupied by Jewish residents and others deserted, remain on the site. The mosque is in a state of neglect. An Israeli flag is planted on top of its minaret. Part of surrounding lands are cultivated by Israeli farmers.