Dayr Nakhkhas

The village was built on the summit of a hill underlain by a hard and bright limestone layer overlooking the Beit Jibrin Valley to the north. It was located south of the Hebron–Beit Jibrin–Majdal ‘Amal road and was connected by several secondary roads to neighboring villages. It is possible that the second part of its name is derived from a common Semitic word meaning “copper.”

In 1596, Deir Nakhas was a village in the Nahiya of Hebron (district of Jerusalem), with a population of 72. The villagers paid taxes on various crops such as wheat, barley, and olives, in addition to other produce including goats and beehives.

By the late 19th century, Deir Nakhas was a small village perched on a high hill overlooking a valley to the north. It extended in a rectangular shape parallel to the road leading to Hebron. Its inhabitants, all Muslim, built their homes from stone and sent their children to schools in neighboring villages. They subsisted on agriculture and livestock breeding, producing various crops, especially wheat, grapes, and olives.

In 1944/1945, a total of 4,887 dunums were allocated for cereal cultivation, and 362 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards. The rough terrain surrounding the village was covered with forests, bushes, and wild grasses, which served as pastureland for sheep and goats. Deir Nakhas was situated in an area rich in archaeological sites; within approximately 15,000 dunums of village lands, there were about 15 archaeological locations, including the village itself, which was built atop an ancient site.

Occupation and Ethnic Cleansing

The village was occupied during the capture of Beit Jibrin in the third phase of Operation Yoav. After most of the operation was completed, some Israeli units advanced eastward into the Hebron area and occupied Deir Nakhas on October 29, 1948. On the same day, Israeli forces committed a massacre in the nearby village of al-Dawayima. According to Israeli historian Benny Morris, the massacre accelerated the large-scale displacement of residents from the area surrounding Deir Nakhas.

The Village Today

Only a few abandoned houses and the ruins of others remain. One of the deserted houses is built of concrete, with rectangular windows and a flat roof, marked with Arabic inscriptions, and stands amid tall grasses and wild plants. There is also a fenced area. The surrounding lands are currently used by Israeli farmers.

Zionist Settlements on Village Lands

There are no Israeli settlements on the lands of the village itself. However, the settlement of Nahusha, established in 1982 on the lands of Khirbat Umm Burj, is located approximately 3 kilometers west of the village site in a straight line.