Yalo

Yalo يالو Yalu
Village
Etymology: From Hebrew Ajalon, "Place of the fallow deer"[1]
1870s map 1940s map modern map 1940s with modern overlay map A series of historical maps of the area around Yalo (click the buttons)
Yalo Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 31°50′31″N 35°01′24″E / 31.84194°N 35.02333°E / 31.84194; 35.02333
Palestine grid	152/138
Geopolitical entity	Mandatory Palestine
Subdistrict	Ramle
Date of depopulation	7 June 1967
Area
• Total	14,992 dunams (14.992 km2 or 5.788 sq mi)
Population  (1961)
• Total	1,644
Cause(s) of depopulation	Expulsion by Israeli forces
Current Localities	Canada Park

Yalo (Arabic: يالو, also transliterated Yalu) was a Palestinian Arab village located 13 kilometres southeast of Ramla.^[2] Identified by Edward Robinson as the ancient Canaanite and Israelite city of Aijalon.^[2][3] During the Middle Ages, it was the site of a Crusader castle, Castrum Arnaldi.

Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Jordan annexed the West Bank, including the village of Yalo.^[4] Yalo's population increased dramatically owing to an influx of Palestinian refugees from neighbouring towns and villages depopulated during the war.

During the 1967 Six Day War, Yalo's inhabitants were expelled by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the village was destroyed. Yalo and the area surrounding Latrun were annexed from Jordan by Israel.^[5][6] Subsequently, with donations from Canadian benefactors, the Jewish National Fund built a recreational space, Canada Park, which contains the former sites of Yalo and two other neighbouring villages, Dayr Ayyub and Imwas.^[7][8]