Be’erot HaYil Colony

Be’erot HaYil is a kibbutz located in southern occupied Palestine, near Sede Murot. As of 2021, the settlement had a population of 1,015 settlers. The name  roughly translates to “Wells of the Soldiers,” possibly in reference to the Bar Kokhba Revolt against the Romans in the first half of the 2nd century CE. The kibbutz was established on the ruins of the depopulated Palestinian village of Yazur, which historically served as the location of a religious school headed by Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai. Its establishment involved several stages. On April 10, 1948, a group of Zionist immigrants from Egypt set up camp on land reportedly seized by the Jewish National Fund. This followed a model similar to the "tower and stockade" method of settlement used during the 1936–1939 Arab Revolt. A few days later, on April 19,  reported that: “Yesterday (April 19), Zionists established a new settlement named Be’erot HaYil on the edge of the Negev Desert, in the southern part of Palestine, where Egyptian volunteers were said to be preparing for a 'second front.' The settlers were World War II veterans who had served with the British Army. They led a convoy of 24 armored trucks to the top of a hill less than a mile from the Palestinian village of Yazur during the night. When the Arabs awoke, they found the Zionists erecting prefabricated houses and building a defensive wall and a watchtower. The Arabs immediately opened fire, but by noon, the houses and wall were in place.” The nearby village of Brir was depopulated during the 1948 war, after which the kibbutz expanded onto its lands. As of 2022, the population of Be’erot HaYil reached approximately 1,063 settlers.   Sources: Due to the lack of Arabic sources, Hebrew-language materials were used:

• Official website of the settlement (in Hebrew)

• Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics

• “Palestine Remembered” – Entry for the village of Brir