Arabic فجّة Subdistrict Jaffa Area 4,419 dunams
4.4 km² Local time Sunday 11:24 AM Date of depopulation 15 May 1948 | Name meaning from personal name Palestine grid 141/165 Cause(s) of depopulation Whispering campaign Current locality Petah Tikva | |
 | ||
Weather 25°C, Wind S at 34 km/h, 25% Humidity | ||
Fajja (Arabic: فجّة) was a Palestinian Arab town located 15 kilometers northeast of Jaffa.
Contents
History
In 1870, Victor Guérin found the village to be divided into two quarters, each with its own Sheikh. He estimated it to have 300 inhabitants, while an Ottoman village list from about the same year found that Fajja had a population of 110, in 35 houses, though the population count included men, only.
In 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Fajja as a small village built of adobe bricks.
British Mandate era
In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Fajjeh had a population of 164, all Muslims, increasing sharply in the 1931 census, to 707, still all Muslims, in a total of 165 houses.
The town had one elementary school, founded in 1922. By 1945 it had 181 students, including 10 females.
In 1945, the town had 1,570 inhabitants, including 370 Jews, and a total land area of 4,419 dunams. Of this, a total of 768 dunums was used for citrus and bananas, 61 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards, 3,863 used for cereals, while 7 dunams were classified as built-up areas.
1948, aftermath
It was conquered by the Haganah and Irgun on May 15, 1948 without any resistance. Most of the Arab inhabitants fled the town before its capture by Israeli forces due to alleged attacks by the Irgun on February 17. In June 1948, the town was demolished based on the recommendation of Yosef Weitz of the Jewish National Fund. Most of the town's land is currently a part of the jurisdiction of the city of Petah Tikva.