Indur

Indur (Arabic: إندور‎) was a Palestinian village, located 10.5 kilometres (6.5 mi) southeast of Nazareth. Its name preserves that of ancient Endor, a Canaanite city state thought to have been located 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) to the northeast.[4] The village was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and its inhabitants became refugees, some of whom were internally displaced. In Israel today, there are a few thousand internally displaced Palestinians who hail from Indur, and continue to demand their right of return.

For the city in Madhya Pradesh, India, see Indore.

Indur

إندور/عين دور

Endor
Village
Indur in the 1890s.
Etymology: Endor[1]
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
A series of historical maps of the area around Indur (click the buttons)
Indur
Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 32°38′11″N 35°22′53″E
Palestine grid186/227
Geopolitical entityMandatory Palestine
SubdistrictNazareth
Date of depopulation24 May 1948[2]
Area
 • Total12,444 dunams (12.4 km2 or 4.8 sq mi)
Population
 (1945)
 • Total620[3]
Cause(s) of depopulationMilitary assault by Yishuv forces
Secondary causeInfluence of nearby town's fall
Current LocalitiesNone

Etymology

The name of this village is thought to preserve that of the ancient Canaanite city of Endor mentioned in the Bible as the place King Saul encountered a known medium. While a few scholars believe that Indur is the actual site of ancient Endor, no ancient remains have been found at the site, and many believe that Khirbet Safsafa, located 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) to the northeast, is a more likely candidate.[4][5][6]

History

In 1596, Indur was a part of the Ottoman nahiya ("subdistrict") of Shafa under the liwa' ("district") of Lajjun with a population of 4 Muslim households, an estimated twenty-two persons. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on a number of crops, including wheat, barley and olives, as well as goats and beehives; a total of 3,000 akçe[7]

A map by Pierre Jacotin from Napoleon's invasion of 1799 showed the place, named as Handourah.[8]

By the late nineteenth century, the village was made of adobe bricks, built against a steep hillside. To the east of the village there were several caves.[9]

British Mandate era

In Ottoman era Palestine, an elementary school was founded in Indur, but closed during the British Mandate in Palestine.[10]

According to the 1922 census of Palestine, Indur had 311 inhabitants; 310 Muslims and 1 Christian,[11] where the one Christian was Orthodox.[12] By the 1931 census the population had increased to 445; 444 Muslims and 1 Christian, in a total of 75 houses.[13]

Sheikh Tawfiq Ibrahim, one of the leaders of the 1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine and an associate of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, was from Indur.[10]

In the 1945 statistics the population of Indur was 620 Muslims,[3] with a total of 12,444 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[14] Of this, 24 dunams were for citrus and bananas, 394 for plantations and irrigable land, 10,061 for cereals,[15] while 29 dunams were built-up land.[16]

1948, and aftermath

The village was occupied by Israel's Golani Brigade on May 16, 1948.[17] Most of the population probably fled at the start of the battle, and several who "tried to escape" were shot.[17] A small garrison was left, which reported that the remaining population were being expelled in the direction of Nazareth.[17]

In 1992 the village site was described: "Many partially ruined walls still stand on the village site. Date, doum palm, fig, and almond trees grow on the village lands. The surrounding flat lands are cultivated by Israelis and the hilly lands serve as grazing area."[10]

During the 2004 commemorations of Nakba Day held by Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, the annual right of return march led to Indur.[18] Jewish Israelis joined in the march and the event received coverage by Israeli cable and Arab satellite TV stations.[18]

Indur's former residents and their descendants number a few thousand from among the tens of thousands of internally displaced Palestinians within Israel today.[18]

See also

References
  1. Palmer, 1881, p. 161
  2. Morris, 2004, p. xvii, village #110. Also gives causes of depopulation.
  3. Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 8
  4. Mazar, 1971, p. 318.
  5. Negev and Gibson, 2005, p. 166.
  6. Freedman, et al., 2006, p. 406
  7. Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 157. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 344.
  8. Karmon, 1960, p. 167.
  9. Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, pp. 83 - 84. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p.346
  10. Khalidi, 1992, p. 346
  11. Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Nazareth, p. 38
  12. Barron, 1923, Table XVI, p. 50
  13. Mills, 1932, p. 74
  14. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 62
  15. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 109
  16. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 159
  17. Morris, 2004, p. 260
  18. Annual Return March in the Galilee (PDF), Issue No. 22, Badil, June 2004, p. 8, archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-11-08.

Bibliography
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