Umm Kalkha was a small Palestinian village in the Ramle Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine. It was depopulated during the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on April 7, 1948, during Operation Nachshon. It was located 12.5 km south of Ramla, situated on the northern banks of Wadi al-Sarar.
History Umm Kalkha was established during the British Mandate era by the Nashashibi family. Its workers, settling in an area of orchards, came mostly from places near modern Rehovot, including Zarnuqa and al-Qubayba.Grossman, D. (1986). "Oscillations in the Rural Settlement of Samaria and Judaea in the Ottoman Period". in Shomron studies. Dar, S., Safrai, S., (eds). Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House. p. 379
Ottoman period In 1838, Um Kelkha was noted as a place "in ruins or deserted."Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 119
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) noted: "There are traces here of an old town, caves, cisterns of rubble, masonry, and pottery fragments."Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 426 British Mandate era In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Umm Kalka had a population of 1 Muslim,Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramle, p. 21 increasing sharply in the 1931 census 24 Muslims, in 6 houses.Mills, 1932, p. 24
In the 1945 statistics the population was 60, all Muslims, while the total land area was 1,405 dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 21 dunums of land were used for citrus and bananas, 93 dunums were plantations or irrigated land, 1,119 were for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 117. while a total of 63 dunams were classified as non-cultivable areas.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 167
1948, aftermath The Israeli settlement of Yesodot was established on Umm Khalkha land. References
Bibliography
External links Welcome To Umm Kalkha Umm Kalkha, Zochrot Survey of Western Palestine, Map 16: IAA , Wikimedia commons Umm Kalkha at Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center