Lifta

Lifta

لفتا
Lefta
Lifta لفتا Lefta
	Depopulated homes of the village of Lifta
	Etymology: Lifta, personal name
	1870s map 1940s map modern map 1940s with modern overlay map A series of historical maps of the area around Lifta (click the buttons)
	Lifta Location within Mandatory Palestine
	Coordinates: 31°47′43″N 35°11′47″E / 31.79528°N 35.19639°E
Palestine grid	168/133
Geopolitical entity	Mandatory Palestine
Subdistrict	Jerusalem
Date of depopulation	January 1948
Repopulated dates	1948–2017 by Jews
Area
• Total	8,743 dunams (8.743 km2 or 3.376 sq mi)
Population (1948)
• Total	2,958
Cause(s) of depopulation	Military assault by Zionist paramilitary forces
Current Localities	Western suburb of Jerusalem

Lifta (Arabic: لفتا; Hebrew: ליפתא) was a Palestinian village on the outskirts of Jerusalem. The village's Palestinian Arab inhabitants were expelled by Zionist paramilitary forces during the 1948 Palestine war.

During the Ottoman period, the village was recorded to have a population of 400 Arabs, all Muslim households. In 1834, a battle took place in the village during the Palestinian Peasants' Revolt. A British 1922 census registered Lifta's population at 1,451, all Muslims.^[4]

Prior to 1948, the village had orchards, several olive presses, a winepress, in addition to a modern clinic, two coffeehouses, two carpentry shops, barbershops, a butcher, and a mosque.^[5]^[6] In the 1945 statistics the population of Lifta was 2,250; 2,230 Muslims and 20 Christians.^[7] In addition, a small number of Jews resided in the village, and one former Jewish inhabitant described the relationship her family and the Palestinian Arab majority as 'excellent'.^[6]

During the 1948 Palestine war, a massacre occurred on 28 December 1947, when a Jewish militia launched a machine-gun and grenade assault on a cafe in Lifa. The mukhtar's home was also incinerated by the Zionist forces and 20 buildings were blown up as the village was put under siege.^[8] The village's Palestinian Arab inhabitants were expelled, and the abandoned village was later repopulated by Jewish immigrants until 1970s. In July 2017, Israel declared Lifta (called Mei Neftoach) as a national nature reserve.^[9] It has been referred to as the "Palestinian Pompeii".^[10]

^ Palmer, 1881, p. 322
^ Morris, 2004, p. xx, village #363
^ Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics Archived 12 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine also gives village area
^ Cite error: The named reference Census1922 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Golan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Glinski was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference 1945p25 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Levy21 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Naturereserve2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Palestinian ‘Pompeii’ in Jerusalem could face demolition

[1] Palmer, 1881, p. 322

[depop-2] Morris, 2004, p. xx, village #363

[3] Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics Archived 12 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine also gives village area

[Census1922-4] Cite error: The named reference Census1922 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Golan-5] Cite error: The named reference Golan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Glinski-6] Cite error: The named reference Glinski was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1945p25-7] Cite error: The named reference 1945p25 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Levy21-8] Cite error: The named reference Levy21 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Naturereserve2017-9] Cite error: The named reference Naturereserve2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[10] Palestinian ‘Pompeii’ in Jerusalem could face demolition

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Lifta لفتا Lefta
Depopulated homes of the village of Lifta
Etymology: Lifta, personal name^[1]
1870s map 1940s map modern map 1940s with modern overlay map A series of historical maps of the area around Lifta (click the buttons)
Lifta Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 31°47′43″N 35°11′47″E / 31.79528°N 35.19639°E / 31.79528; 35.19639
Palestine grid	168/133
Geopolitical entity	Mandatory Palestine
Subdistrict	Jerusalem
Date of depopulation	January 1948^[2]
Repopulated dates	1948–2017 by Jews
Area
• Total	8,743 dunams (8.743 km² or 3.376 sq mi)
Population (1948^[3])
• Total	2,958
Cause(s) of depopulation	Military assault by Zionist paramilitary forces
Current Localities	Western suburb of Jerusalem