| Al-Na'ima | |
| Native Name: | الناعمة |
| Native Name Lang: | ar |
| Etymology: | The soft soil[1] |
| Pushpin Map: | Mandatory Palestine |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 200 |
| Coordinates: | 33.1881°N 35.595°W |
| Grid Name: | Palestine grid |
| Grid Position: | 206/288 |
| Subdivision Type: | Geopolitical entity |
| Subdivision Name: | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdivision Type1: | Subdistrict |
| Subdivision Name1: | Safad |
| Established Title1: | Date of depopulation |
| Established Date1: | May 14, 1948[2] |
| Established Title2: | Repopulated dates |
| Unit Pref: | dunam |
| Area Total Dunam: | 7155 |
| Population As Of: | 1945 |
| Population Total: | 1240 (1,340 Arabs and 210 Jews)[3] |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Cause(s) of depopulation |
| Blank Info Sec1: | Influence of nearby town's fall |
| Blank3 Name Sec1: | Current Localities |
| Blank3 Info Sec1: | Neot Mordechai,[4] Kefar Blum, and Beyt Hillel |
Al-Na'ima (Arabic: الناعمة ) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Safad Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine located northeast of Safad, near the al-Hula Plain. The settlement was depopulated during the 1947-1948 civil war on May 14, 1948 by the Israeli Palmach's First Battalion as part of Operation Yiftach.
In the 1945 statistics it had a population of 1,240 of whom 210 were Jews.[3]
In 1881, during the late Ottoman period, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described the village as a "Stone and mud village, on the Huleh Plain, containing about 100 Moslems".[5]
The village had a boys' elementary school.[4] A shrine dedicated to local sage al-Shaykh al-Wayzi lay about from the site as did a stone quarry.
In the 1931 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, En Na'ima had a population of 858, all Muslims, in a total of 174 houses.[6]
Types of land use in dunams in the village in the 1945 statistics:[7] [8]
| Land Usage | Arab | Jewish |
|---|---|---|
| Irrigated and plantation | 4,122 | 2,197 |
| Cereal | 156 | 217 |
| Cultivable | 4,278 | 2,414 |
| Urban | 112 | 0 |
| Non-cultivable | 60 | 0 |
The land ownership of the village before occupation in dunams:[9]
| Owner | Dunams |
|---|---|
| Arab | 4,450 |
| Jewish | 2,414 |
| Public | 291 |
| Total | 7,155 |
During the 1948 war, Al-Na'ima was depopulated during Operation Yiftach which targeted Safad and the surrounding district. When the city of Safad was finally attacked between the 10 and 11 May 1948, morale in the village was low; according to an Israeli intelligence report, many residents fled on 14 May shortly before advancing Israeli troops entered.[4]
The settlement of Neot Mordechai was built in 1946 to the south of the village while to the north is the settlement of Beyt Hillel, built in 1940. Kefar Blum, built in 1943 lies to the southeast.[4]
