Imwas
Imwas or Emmaus (Arabic: عِمواس), known in classical times as Nicopolis (Greek: Νικόπολις, lit. 'City of Victory'), was a Palestinian village located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) southeast of the city of Ramla and 26 kilometres (16 mi) from Jerusalem in the Latrun salient of the West Bank. It is traditionally (possibly from as early as the 3rd century, but probably incorrectly) identified with the biblical Emmaus.
Imwas
عِمواس 'Amwas, Amwas | |
|---|---|
Village | |
Imwas, early 20th century | |
| Etymology: possibly "thermal springs" | |
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
A series of historical maps of the area around Imwas (click the buttons) | |
Imwas Location within Mandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates: 31°50′26″N 34°59′30″E | |
| Palestine grid | 149/138 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Ramle |
| Date of depopulation | 7 June 1967 |
| Population | |
| • Total | 2,015 |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Expulsion by Israeli forces |
| Current Localities | Canada Park |
After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Imwas fell under Jordanian rule. Its population at the time was predominantly Muslim although there was an Palestinian Christian minority. Captured by the Israeli Defense Forces during the Six-Day War on June 7, 1967 along with the neighbouring villages of Yalo and Bayt Nuba, the villagers of Imwas were expelled and the village destroyed on the orders of Yitzhak Rabin. Today the area of the former village lies within Canada Park, which was established by the Jewish National Fund in 1973.