Dayr Abu Salama (Arabic: دير ابو سلامة) was a small Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict, located 8 km northeast of Ramla. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on July 13, 1948, in the first phase of Operation Dani. History Late Ottoman period In 1882 the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) noted at Deir Abu Salameh: "Foundations, heaps of stones, and a few pillar shafts."Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 310
By the beginning of the 20th century, residents from neighbouring Ni'lin settled the site, establishing it as a dependency – or satellite village – of their home village.
British Mandate In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Dair Abu Salameh had a population of 30 inhabitants; all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramleh, p. 22
In the 1945 statistics, it had a population of 60 Muslims with 1,195 dunams of land. Of this, 41 dunams were either irrigated or used for orchards, 695 used for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 114 while 459 dunams were classified as non-cultivable areas.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 164
A shrine for a local sage known as al-Shaykh Abu Salama is also located in the village.Khalidi, 1992, p. 374
Israel Dayr Abu Salama was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on July 13, 1948, in the first phase of Operation Dani.
In 1992 the village site was described: "The site has been converted into an Israeli picnic area and is surrounded by stands of pine and cypress trees. Workers for the Jewish National Fund have used stones retrieved from the destroyed village houses to construct a watchtower and an amphitheater on the village site. The area in front of the amphitheater has been leveled and is covered by a green lawn. Old fig and olive trees still grow there; cactuses and carob trees grow on the western and northern edges of the site."Khalidi, 1992, p. 375
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External links Welcome To Dayr Abu Salama Dayr Abu Salama, Zochrot Survey of Western Palestine, Map 14: IAA, Wikimedia commons