| Ghazzawiyya | |
| Native Name: | الغزاويه |
| Native Name Lang: | ar |
| Other Name: | al-Ghazawiya, Arab al Ghazawiya tribe, Arab Abu Hashiya (Frantzman) |
| Pushpin Map: | Mandatory Palestine |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 200 |
| Coordinates: | 32.5022°N 35.5417°W |
| Grid Name: | Palestine grid |
| Grid Position: | 200/212 |
| Subdivision Type: | Geopolitical entity |
| Subdivision Name: | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdivision Type1: | Subdistrict |
| Subdivision Name1: | Baysan |
| Established Title1: | Date of depopulation |
| Established Date1: | May 20, 1948[1] |
| Established Title2: | Repopulated dates |
| Unit Pref: | dunam |
| Area Total Km2: | 18.4 |
| Area Total Dunam: | 18,408 |
| Population As Of: | 1945 |
| Population Total: | 1,020[2] [3] |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Cause(s) of depopulation |
| Blank Info Sec1: | Influence of nearby town's fall |
| Blank3 Name Sec1: | Current Localities |
Al-Ghazzawiyya (Arabic: الغزاويه), was a Palestinian village located 2 kilometers east of the city of Bet Shean (Bisan). In 1945, the population was 1,640, 1,020 Arab and 620 Jewish.[4]
Several archeological sites in the area testify to a long history of human occupancy. The village was surrounded by the archeological sites of Tall-al Barta to the north, Tall al-Husn to the west, and Tall al-Maliha to the southwest. Excavations of Tall al-Husn showed an occupational history extending from the third millennium BC to the eighth century CE, when the site was occupied by an Arab village.[5]
In modern times, the village spread over a wide area of the Baysan valley. The villagers were members of the al-Ghazzawiyya Beduin tribe, who constituted the bulk of the valley's population together with members of the al-Bashatiwa and the al-Suqur.In the 1931 census, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Arab Abu Hashiya had 156 Muslim inhabitants, and a total of 29 houses.[6]
In the 1945 statistics, Al-Ghazzawiyya had 1,020, all Muslim inhabitants[2] with a total of 18,408 dunams of land.[3] Of this, a total of 13 dunams were used for citrus and bananas, 5,185 dunums for cereals, 34 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,[7] [8] while 91 dunams were classified as non-cultivable land.[9]
It was occupied by Israel's Golani Brigade on May 20, 1948, during Operation Gideon, an Israeli offensive during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The Arab population was forced to flee to nearby Syria or the present-day West Bank.[10]
The Jewish localities of Maoz Haim and Neve Eitan are built on the lands of the former village, though a large percentage of it is used as agricultural land, in particular the wheat crop. According to Walid Khalidi, the village contained an archaeological site, Tell al-Ru'yan which was transformed into waste dump.[10]
