Ghuwayr Abu Shusha was a Palestinian Arab village in the Tiberias Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on April 21, 1948. It was located 8 km north of Tiberias, nearby Wadi Rubadiyya.
History In 1838 Edward Robinson found on the remains of a few dwellings, built of rough volcanic stones, some of which were still used as magazines by the Arabs of the plain. A wely with a white dome marked the spot. He found no traces of antiquity.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, pp. 285-286; cited in Khalidi, 1992, p. 516
In 1850-1851 de Saulcy saw the village, which he described as ruined. Of the village, all which remained was a few portions of wall of modern appearance, "but in the midst of these is still standing a square vaulted tower, constructed in fine blocks of Herodian workmanship, or Roman of the early empire. This tower rests against a wall of more recent character."Saucy, 1854, pp. 423-424
In 1875 Victor Guérin visited and noted the little wely dedicated to Abou-Choutheh.Guérin, 1880, pp. 209-212
In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as containing 20 Moslems, with housed built of basalt, located round a mill.Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 360 There were modern ruins in the village, and a number of ruined mills in the valley below.Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 396
British mandate era In the 1945 statistics it had a population of 1,240 Muslims, with 8,609 dunams of land. Of this, 21 dunams were used for citrus and bananas, 1,377 for plantations and irrigable land, 1,848 dunams for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 122 while 6 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) area.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 172
Ruins of watermills could be seen at the nearby Khirbat Abu Shusha.Khalidi, 1992, p. 516
1948, and aftermath The village was depopulated after a military assault on 21 and 28 April 1948.
Kibbutz Ginosar presently occupies part of what was village land; so does Livnim, established in 1982 ca. 1 km northwest of the Ghuwayr Abu Shusha site.
In 1992 the village site was described: "The village site is covered with thorns and wild vegetation, including Christ's-thorn trees and cactuses. The shrine of Shaykh Muhammad and the remains of a mill can be seen among piles of stones and a few olive trees. The lower-lying lands are planted in bananas and citrus, while the highlands are used as grazing areas by the Israelis."
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External links Welcome To Ghuwayr Abu Shusha Ghuwayr Abu Shusha, Zochrot Survey of Western Palestine, Map 6: IAA, Wikimedia commons