Arabic بيسمون Palestine grid 204/278 Local time Tuesday 10:53 PM | Date of depopulation 25 May 1948 | |
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Also spelled Beisamun, En Besamun, Basimun Weather 22°C, Wind NE at 18 km/h, 34% Humidity | ||
Baysamun (Arabic: بيسمون, Beisamûn) was a small Palestinian Arab village, located 16.5 kilometers (10.3 mi) northeast of Safad. In 1945, it had a population of 20. It was depopulated during the 1948 War on May 25, 1948 by the Palmach's First Battalion in Operation Yiftach.
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History
Kathleen Kenyon notes that Beisamun disappeared under modern drainage systems set up by Israel; in the fish ponds created, Neolithic remains were found that included houses and two plastered skulls. Rectangular houses with plastered floors show striking similarities to those at Byblos. These "Levantine pier house[s]" were also found in Yiftahel, Ayn Ghazal, and Jericho.
A main period of habitation was during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B era, but also Pottery Neolithic and Bronze Age remains have been found.
British mandate era
The population of Baysamun in the 1922 census consisted of 41 Muslims, increasing to 50 Muslims in 11 occupied houses by 1931.
By 1945 the population was 20, with a total of 2,102 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 107 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 1,817 for cereals; while 133 dunams was non-cultivable area.
1948, aftermath
It was depopulated during the 1948 War on May 25, 1948 by the Palmach's First Battalion in Operation Yiftach in a Whispering campaign.