Return is Possible: Uncovering the Stories of Palestinian Villages Visualizing Palestine In 1945, the village Dayr Aban in the sub-district of Jerusalem had a Palestinian population of 2,100. On October 19, 1948, Zionist military forces expelled all the residents of Dayr Aban, along with the nearby Palestinian villages of Bayt ‘Itab, Dayr al-Hawa, Jarash, Khirbat al-Tannur, Sufla, and Ala’ar.
still a development, and as such, represents a barrier to Palestinian efforts to return to their land and property. Despite such challenges, Abu Sitta and Zochrot are among those moving the conversation forward by presenting practical plans for the realization of the right of return.
Today, Israelis and visitors to Israel can have a picnic on the ruins of these seven Palestinian villagUntil then, telling the stories of these villages is es. While Israel never built a new residential coman important part of resisting “memoricide”--the munity on the village lands, the Jewish National ongoing erasure of Palestinian history, culture, and Fund established a park in the area in 1976. They identity. named it American Independence Park “to honor the deep ties between Ameri“On July 15, 1948, Zionist mili- As Palestinian poet Taha ca and Israel.” Mohammad Ali, a refugee tary forces depopulated Sadisplaced from Safuriyya, Just a few kilometers away, Canada Park, also es- furiyya. Today, a grove of pine wrote, “I won’t die! I will not tablished by the JNF in the trees stands over the empty ruins die!! I’ll linger on.” In 1945, the village of Safuriyya in 1970s, sits on top of the ruins the sub-district of Nazareth of Safuriyya.” of four Palestinian villages, had a Palestinian population one depopulated in 1948 and of 4,330. On July 15, 1948, Zionist military forces dethe others in 1967. The park receives 300,000 visitors populated Safuriyya. Today, a grove of pine trees annually. stands over the empty ruins of Safuriyya. On a bit of While these are stories of trauma, there is also rubble poking out of the detritus, Ali indeed lingers hope in studying what happened to the villages deon, in the form of a tribute in spray paint. He may populated by Israel in 1948. According to data comnot have been able to return to Safuriyya in his lifepiled by Palestinian researcher Salman Abu Sitta time, but in an interview with Al Jazeera in 2016, his and Israeli NGO Zochrot (“remembering” in Hebrother Ameen said “I am sure one day I will return brew), 77% of 536 depopulated Palestinian villages to Safuriyya. If not me, then my son - and if not my are not built over. Return is Possible, a visual created son, then my grandson.” by Visualizing Palestine, shows the present-day sta— tus of these villages. For Abu Sitta, this data upends one of the myths Israel depends on to deny the right of return: the notion that the land is simply too full. Still, “not built over” simply means that the land is not currently inhabited by an Israeli community. But as cases like American Independence Park illustrate, uninhabited does not mean unused. A park is
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