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| Al-Birwa |
| Arabic |
البروه |
| Also Spelled |
Al-Birwe |
| District |
Acre |
| Population |
1460 (1945) |
| Jurisdiction |
13,542 dunams (13.5 km²) |
| Date of depopulation |
11 June 1948(?)[1] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation |
Military assault by Jewish forces |
| Current localities |
Ahihud, Yasur |
al-Birwa or al-Birwe (Arabic: البروه) is a former Palestinian village that was captured by Israel on June 11, 1948 during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. It was a part of the District of Acre, 10.5 km east of the district capital, Acre (Akka). According to a 1945 census, al-Birwa had a population of 1,460 residents, most of whom were Muslim and its total land area was 13,542 dunams.[2]
Al-Birwa had two elementary schools. The Ottomans founded the male school in 1888 and the school for females was founded in 1943. According to Walid Khalidi, one of the schools, two shrines for local sages and three houses remained standing after the town's capture.[2]
[edit] History
The town was referred to as Broet by the Crusaders. During the 1900s, while it was under Ottoman control the town considerably grew commercially and in population. The town had one church, a mosque and a number of shrines. It was captured by Israeli forces during Operation Dekel from the control of local militiamen and the Arab Liberation Army.[2] All of al-Birwa's inhabitants fled the town to various camps in Lebanon as well as to the nearby towns and villages of Kabul, Kafr Yasif, Majd al-Krum and Bi'ina. The town was the birthplace and childhood residence of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish.
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