Zayta, Hebron
Zayta (Arabic: زيْتا Zaytā) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Hebron Subdistrict in Mandate Palestine. During Crusader rule in Palestine, the village is mentioned as forming part of the landholdings of the Order of St. John. At the time of the rule of the Ottoman Empire, according to the 1596 census, Zayta had a population of 165. Mentioned by Western travellers to the region in the 19th century, it is described by one as, "a picturesque Arab village"; by 1945, its population was 330 inhabitants.
Zayta
زيتا Zeita | |
|---|---|
| Etymology: oil | |
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
A series of historical maps of the area around Zayta, Hebron (click the buttons) | |
Zayta Location within Mandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates: 31°38′25″N 34°49′25″E | |
| Palestine grid | 133/116 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Hebron |
| Date of depopulation | July 17–18, 1948 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 10,490 dunams (10.49 km2 or 4.05 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
| • Total | 330 |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
Zayta was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War between July 17–18, 1948. Its inhabitants became refugees, ending up the West Bank and Gaza Strip. All that remains of the village structures is the well that served as its main water source.