Info
District: Tiberias
Population 1948: 240
Occupation date: 01/10/1948
Jewish settlements on village/town land before 1948: Hukuk
Jewish settlements on village/town land after 1948: Kadarim
Background:
Yaquq before 1948
The village of Yaquq was located 12.5km from the city of Tiberias on an uneven hill in the mountains of eastern lower Galilee. It was linked to its closet village, al-Shuna, by a dirt road, and by a dirt path to the road between Tiberias and al-Maghar.
It is believed that the village may have been established on top of the ruins of the Canaanite city of Hukkok, meaning hole, which was mentioned in the Old Testament (Joshua 19:34). In the roman period, it was called Hucuca. In 1944-45, Yaquq consisted of 210 inhabitants and paid taxes on their wheat, barley, olives, goats, beehives and their press used either for olives or for grapes. In 1944-45, 1,010 dunums were allocated to cereals, whilst 24 for used for orchards or irrigated.
The village had an archaeological site, contaning tombs carved in rock and pieces of pillars and cisterns.
Occupation and depopulation
In late April or early May 1948, Tiberias had already fallen to the Zionist forces. Yaquq was probably affected by these events in Tiberias, but also in Safad, which were the two cities it was located between. When the forces then began to move to Safad, it is believed that Yaquq either deliberately were expelled, or came under pressure to leave because of the campaigns being waged around them.
Israeli Settlements on village lands
In 1943, the settlement of Chuqoq was established 2km southeast of the village. Some of its buildings are now on the village lands.
The village today
Today, the site is covered with rubble and stone, with an olive grove on the edge. Part of the surrounding land is cultivated by the Israelis whilst the rest is used as a grazing area.
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Source: al-Khalidi, Walid (ed.). All that remains: the Palestinian villages occupied and depopulated by Israel in 1948. Washington DC: 1992.
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