al-Samakiyya

Al-Samqiya was located in a volcanic area on the northern shore of the Sea of Tiberias. A secondary road connected it to the main road running along the lake’s shore, leading to the city of Tiberias. The village was established near the site of the Roman-Byzantine town of Kfar Nahum, of which only ruins remain today. This site is currently known as Tel Hum, despite the absence of any actual hill in the location.

In reference to the road extending along the northern shore of the Sea of Tiberias, the Jewish historian Josephus mentioned Al-Samqiya as a village cultivating fertile land. Its residents referred to it as Kfar Nahum. According to the New Testament of the Bible, Capernaum (Kfar Hanum) is the town where Jesus Christ resided most of the time after leaving Nazareth.

The American biblical scholar Edward Robinson noted that the small Bedouin tribe of Al-Samqiya used some of the houses in the village of Abu Shusha, located to the southwest, as storage places. The distribution of the Al-Samqiya dwellings was irregular, scattered randomly to the southwest of Wadi al-Widani. Some of these dwellings were Bedouin tents made from goat hair, while others were constructed from stone, mud, or cement.

The village population numbered 380 people, consisting of 320 Muslims and 50 Christians. Their livelihood depended primarily on animal husbandry and agriculture, especially cereal farming. In 1944/1945, the area designated for cultivating citrus and bananas did not exceed two dunams, while 4,034 dunams were dedicated to cereal cultivation, and 66 dunams were irrigated or used for orchards.

On the hills separating Al-Samqiya from the neighboring village of Tabgha, there were several churches and monasteries, including an Italian monastery, a Franciscan church, and a Greek Orthodox church. Local tradition claims that Jesus Christ delivered the “Sermon on the Mount” on one of these hills, known as Khirbat al-Mubarakah.

Occupation and Ethnic Cleansing

One source indicates that Israeli forces expelled the Bedouin tribe of Al-Samqiya, who were residing in the area, as part of a sub-operation of Operation Yiftach on May 4, 1948, with the objective of driving out the inhabitants and demolishing their homes.

A wide and relatively secure corridor linking Lower and Upper Galilee was established under Jewish control. On May 28, The New York Times reported that correspondents from the Associated Press who toured the northern and eastern fronts with Israeli forces stated that the Arabs were almost completely expelled from the Upper Galilee region as part of an Israeli military operation called “The Sweep.”

The Village Today

Wild vegetation dominates the village site, with scattered piles of basalt stones. Palm trees have been planted on the site, and part of the surrounding lands is used as pasture for livestock, while another part has been planted with walnut trees and other fruit-bearing trees.

Zionist Settlements on Village Lands

The settlement of Amnun, established in 1983, is located approximately two kilometers north of the village site. Additionally, in 1983, a private farm called Vered HaGalil and the settlement of Korazim were established on the village lands.