Barqa () was a Palestinian Arab village located 37 km north of Gaza near the modern-day Israeli city of Ashdod. It was referred to as Barka by the Greeks and Bareca by the Romans during their rule over the ancient Philistine city. In 1945, the village had a population of 890 and total land area of 5,206 dunums.

It was occupied and depopulated on May 13, 1948 during Operation Barak, a Yishuv offensive in southern Palestine just prior to the outbreak of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The ruins of the village were later incorporated into the Israeli town of Gan Yavne.

History It is likely that Barqa was built on the site of the Greek town of Barka, which the Romans called Baraca. The villagers were Muslim, and around the village mosque were a number of tombs that they referred to as the tombs of Shaykh Muhammad, Shaykh Zarruq, and the prophet (al-nabi) Barq.Khalidi, 1992, pp. 82-83

A burial chamber with four arcosolia have been uncovered at Barqa. It contained three pottery lamps, dated to the late Roman or Byzantine Empire era, and two Byzantine glass vessels, dated to fifth century CE.Volynsky, 2010, Barqa (North) The village was a major centre in the Byzantine era. In 511 CE a richly decorated basilica church was built, with a mosaic floor. It was in use until the seventh century.Sion, Rapuano, Habas and Di Segni, 2010, Barqa Ottoman era Barqa, like the rest of Palestine, was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517, and in the census of 1596, the village was located in the nahiya of Gazza in the liwa of Gazza. It had a population of 12 households, all Muslim. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, fruit trees and sesame; the taxes totalled 2,100 akçe.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 147

In 1838, Robinson noted Burka as a Muslim village located in the Gaza district.Robinson and Smith, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 118

In 1863 Victor Guérin visited and noted, lying beside a well, several trunks of greyish marble. A kubbeh was here, dedicated to Neby Barak, and surrounded by tombs.Guérin, 1869, pp. 68-70; as given by Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 420 An Ottoman village list from about 1870 showed that Burka had a population of 202, with a total of 80 houses, though the population count included men, only.Socin, 1879, p. 149 Also noted in the Gaza districtHartmann, 1883, p. 134 also noted 80 houses

In 1882 the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Barqa as an "ordinary" village, with the tomb of Neby Burk.Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 409. Cited in Khalidi, 1992, p. 84

British Mandate of Palestine

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Burqa had a population of 448 inhabitants, all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table V, Sub-district of Gaza, p. 9 which had increased in the 1931 census to 600, 593 Muslim, 6 Jews and 1 Christian, in a total of in 123 houses.Mills, 1932, p. 2

In the 1945 statistics the population of Barqa consisted of 890, all Muslims, and the land area was 5,206 dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 667 dunams were designated for citrus and bananas, 47 for plantations and irrigable land, 4,031 for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 86 while 26 dunams were built-up areas.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 136 1948 and aftermath Barqa became depopulated on May 13, 1948, after a military assault by the Yishuv's Giv'ati forces.Morris, 2004, p. 179, note #112, p. 271Morris, 2004, p. 256 note #759, p 305 The area was subsequently incorporated into the State of Israel. In 1992, the village remaining structures on the village land were described: "Two houses remain standing on the site. One serves as a warehouse; it is made of concrete and has a covered portico on two sides. The other, a stone house with rectangular doors and windows and a flat roof, stands deserted in the midst of wild vegetation. The site is overgrown with weeds interspersed with cactuses and eucalyptus and palm trees. Israelis cultivate the land around the site."Khalidi, 1992, p. 83

References

Bibliography

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External links Barqa, at Palestine Remembered Barqa, Zochrot Survey of Western Palestine, Map 16: IAA, Wikimedia commons Tomb of the Neby Burk (Barq) Barqa from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center