PLace

Salbit

Place
Salbit — سَلْبِيت
District
Lydda
Subdistrict
Ramla
Average Elevation
200 m
Distance from Al Ramla
12 km
Population
Year Arab Total
1931 * 406
1944/45 510 510
Land Ownership (1944/45) in dunums
Year Arab Public Total
1944/45 6105 6 6111
Land Use (1944/45) in dunums
Use Arab Public Total
Non-Cultivable & Built-up (Total)
Use Arab Public Total
Built-up 31 31
Non-Cultivable 1992 6 1998
2023 6 2029 (33%)
Cultivable (Total)
Use Arab Total
Plantation and Irrigable 16 16
Cereal 4066 4066
4082 4082 (67%)
Number of Houses (1931)
71
*

Salbit stood on a hill of soft limestone on the western edge of the Jerusalem-Hebron Mountains. Three km northwest of the village there was a secondary road which linked Salbit to the Ramla-Jerusalem highway. Dirt roads also connected it to adjacent villages. Its houses, made of mud and stone, were grouped around the village center, where the mosque, marketplace, and elementary school were located. The school, built in 1947, had an enrollment of forty-five students. All of the residents of Salbit were Muslims. The quality of the grass in the region enabled them to raise livestock; they also worked in agriculture, growing mainly rainfed grains. In 1944/45 a total of 4,066 dunums was allocated to cereals; 16 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards. The village obtained its drinking water from a well.

Both the History of the War of Independence and Israeli historian Benny Morris report that the Israeli army broke through to Salbit on 15-16 July 1948. This took place in the course of Operation Dani (see Abu al-Fadl, Ramla sub-disctrict), shortly after the occupation of Lydda and Ramla. After the residents of those towns were expelled, some Israeli units were given the task of pushing eastwards and seizing a number of villages from the Arab Legion, including Salbit. The Second Battalion of the Kiryati Brigade was charged with the occupation of Salbit, through which the Arab Legion's front lines ran. No details are given of what occurred at the village, or of what happened to the villagers.

The kibbutz of Sha'alvim (148142) was established in 1951 on village lands.

Nothing remains except some cactus plants and shrubs. The site is used for grazing cattle, and the surrounding lands are cultivated by Israelis.

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