Arabic عموقه Also spelled Amuka, 'Amuqa Palestine grid 198/267 Local time Wednesday 12:19 AM Date of depopulation 24 May 1948 | Name meaning "deep" Subdistrict Safad Area 2,574 dunams Current locality Amuka, Israel | |
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Weather 19°C, Wind NE at 16 km/h, 42% Humidity | ||
Ammuqa (also transliterated 'Amuqa and Amuka) was a Palestinian village, located five kilometres northeast of Safed.
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History
Known locally for its seven springs, Ammuqa also enjoyed renown as the site of the sepulchre of Jonathan ben Uzziel. Rabbi Samuel ben Samson, who travelled to Palestine in 1210, writes that the site was marked by "a great tree" where the local Muslim population made vows "to his glory" and gave votive offerings of oil and light.
Ottoman era
In 1517, Ammuqa was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire, and by 1596 it was under the administration of the nahiyah ("subdistrict") of Jira, part of Sanjak Safad, with a population of 391. It paid taxes on wheat, barley, olives, beehives, vineyards, and goats.
In the second half of the 19th century Algerian followers of Abdelkader El Djezairi have been defeated by the French in Algeria, and sought refuge in another part of the Ottoman Empire. They were given lands in various locations in Ottoman Syria, including Ammuqa, and the close-by Dayshum, Marus, Al-Husayniyya and Tulayl.
British Mandate era
In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, 'Amuqa had a population of 114, all Muslims, decreasing slightly in the 1931 census to 108, still all Muslims, in a total of 17 houses.
By 1944/45, the village had a total of 1,164 dunums of land allocated to cereals; while 195 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.
During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, on the 24 May 1948, Ammuqa was assaulted by the Palmach's First Battalion, headed by Yigal Allon. Following the "systematic" destruction of the villages in the Hula Valley, Ammuqa was evacuated.