Zochrot - al-Damun

al-Damun

Info

District: Akka (Acre)

Population 1948: 1520

Occupation date: 16/07/1948

Occupying unit: 7th brigade

Jewish settlements on village/town land before 1948: None

Jewish settlements on village/town land after 1948: None

Background:

The village was spread across the flat top and sides of a rocky hill, on the eastern tip of the Acre plain, 11.5 km southeast from Acre. Secondary roads linked it to the Acre-Safad and Acre-Haifa highways.

After the initial Israeli successes in central Galilee during the first stage of Operation Dekel, units of the Sheva' (seventh) Brigade moved westwards to take control of a number of western Galilee villages. Al-Damun was among them, falling in the second stage of Operation Dekel on 15-16 July 1948, according to Israeli historian Benny Morris. However, Palestinian historian 'Arif al-'Arif dates its capture much earlier, in late May 1948, following the fall of Acre. Morris reports that the inhabitants were demoralized by the falle of Acre and Nazareth, and that some fled during the bombardment that preceded the attack on the village. The remainder were expelled and the village itself itself was completely destroyed, according to both al-'Arif and Morris.

There are no Israeli settlments on village land. Yas'ur, built on lands belonging to the neighboring al-Birwa, uses the lands of al-Damun for agriculture. This settlement nearly 3 km nortwest of al-Damun, was established in January 1949.

The site is overgrown with thorns, cactuses, olive trees, and pines. Stone and concrete rubble is scattered around it. The structure that formerly protected the ecntral water source and regulated its flow stands untended and is collapsing in several places. The cemetery is extant, although the markers over a few graves are collapsing. The settlement of Yas'ur uses the land around the site, particularly the lands in the Acre valley, for agricultural purposes.