al-Shajara

The village was located on the eastern slope of a moderately elevated hill, bordered on its eastern side from north to south by a narrow valley. A main road passed through it, leading to Tiberias to the northeast and Nazareth to the southeast. The Crusaders referred to it as "Siera" in 1596. Al-Shajara was a village in the Tiberias Subdistrict, part of the Tiberias District, with a population of 369 inhabitants.

The village paid taxes on various crops including wheat, barley, olives, and fruits, in addition to other sources of production and assets such as goats, beehives, orchards, and an olive or grape press. The Swiss traveler Burckhardt noted in 1812 that the wild artichoke plant covered the plain surrounding the village.

By the late 19th century, Al-Shajara was a village consisting of stone-built houses, with approximately 150 inhabitants. It was surrounded by agricultural land planted with fig and olive trees. There was also a spring located at its southern corner. Al-Shajara was the fourth largest village in the Tiberias District in terms of land area. Most of its houses were clustered in the northeastern part of the site, with some scattered on the western side. Forests and vegetation covered the slopes of the hills facing the village from the south. The population was 770 people: 720 Muslims and 50 Christians. During the Mandate period, a primary school was established in the village.

The residents of Al-Shajara depended on agriculture for their livelihood. In 1944/1945, a total of 2,102 dunams were allocated for cereal cultivation, while 544 dunams were irrigated or used for orchards. The village occupied an archaeological site that included the foundations of a studied church, stones bearing inscriptions, and rock-carved tombs. Nearby the village were two ruins, one to the northeast and the other to the southwest, containing remains such as cisterns and tombs.

Occupation and Ethnic Cleansing

In mid-February 1948, while fighting was ongoing between Arab forces and the Haganah in the Beisan Valley, the Haganah launched a diversionary attack on Al-Shajara. According to the newspaper Falastin, around midnight on February 17, a Haganah unit infiltrated the village and blew up two houses. A British official report stated that the targeted houses were abandoned.

In May 1948, the village fell following the fall of Tiberias, as part of preparations for an attack on Beisan. The attack on the village was part of the Haganah's efforts to consolidate control over Lower Galilee before May 15. According to the Haganah’s history, units from the Golani Brigade, particularly the 12th Battalion (known as the Barak Battalion), raided the village at dawn and captured it after a strong assault. An unknown number of villagers were killed during the attack. The Haganah narrative states that the village was occupied on May 6, and its inhabitants fled, leaving behind their dead. Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that twenty Arab bodies were found in the village after the Haganah attack.

At the same time, another Haganah unit besieged the neighboring village of Lubya. To prevent reinforcements from reaching Al-Shajara, local Arab forces launched a counterattack from the villages of Kafr Kanna and Tur'an later that morning at 8 a.m. The battle lasted the entire day; however, by nightfall, the village remained in Haganah hands, according to the Haganah’s history.

The Village Today

The remains of houses and broken iron rails protrude through the wild vegetation that now covers the site. Part of the ruined village entrance still stands, while prickly pear cactus plants cover the western corner of the site and the adjacent hill. The southern and eastern parts of the site are occupied by livestock pens belonging to the nearby Israeli settlement of Ilaniya. At the northern end, there is a deep well with a spiral staircase inside used for cleaning and maintenance. The area is planted with myrtle, fig, and mulberry trees.

Zionist Settlements on Village Lands

No Israeli settlements were established directly on the village lands. However, there are several nearby settlements. The Zionists established the settlement of Sajjara in 1902, northeast of the village site. Its name was derived from the Arabic word for "tree" (Shajara), but the residents soon changed the name to Ilaniya (188204), from the Hebrew word Ilan meaning "tree." In 1949, the kibbutz Sde Ilan (189239) was established to the east of the village’s agricultural lands. The agricultural center Hafat Hashomer (188240), established in 1956, is not on the village lands but near the site, though it appears to no longer be active.