Ghabat Kafr Sur

The village was located on a flat expanse of land in the coastal plain, south of Beit Lid and Bayarat Hannoun. The sandy beach dunes extended into the central and southern parts of the village, forming ridged sand dunes. Several secondary roads connected the village to the main Jaffa–Haifa road. The village was situated on what was once part of the extensive Arsuf Forest.

The lands belonging to the village were seasonally inhabited by the residents of Kafr Sur Forest, who engaged in cutting trees and reclaiming the land for agriculture. Numerous wells and springs were found in the northern and eastern parts of the forest. Most of the village’s residents, who were predominantly Muslim, cultivated 1,363 dunams of orange trees. Additionally, they cultivated cereals and watermelon. In 1944–45, a total of 2,700 dunams were allocated for cereals, 42 dunams were irrigated or used as orchards, and some land was dedicated to citrus and bananas.

Occupation and Ethnic Cleansing

The circumstances surrounding the occupation of Kafr Sur Forest, one of several coastal villages west of Tulkarm, remain unclear. The Haganah General Command had decided to secure the entire coastal region extending from Jaffa to Zikhron Ya‘akov (an area covering approximately 60 km²) by expelling all Arab residents before 15 May 1948. Between April and early May 1948, several villages were attacked, their inhabitants either displaced or fleeing in panic. Israeli historian Benny Morris notes that the residents of the nearby village of Khirbat Beit Lid fled out of fear and isolation on 5 April. The proximity of this village to the large Jewish settlement of Netanya likely heightened tensions and vulnerability to attack. By mid-May, this coastal strip had become devoid of Arabs.

The Village Today

A large part of the site now consists of sand dunes covered with wild vegetation and a few large eucalyptus trees. Remains of three large Arab houses can be seen amid a newly planted orange grove in the eastern and northeastern parts of the site. These houses are currently used by Israelis as agricultural equipment warehouses.

Israeli Settlements on Village Lands

In 1938, Zionists established the settlements of Beit Yehoshua (137185) and Well Yitzhak (138184) on lands purchased by the Jewish National Fund, which traditionally belonged to the village. The settlement of Kfar Netter (138186) was established one year later, approximately two kilometers north of Beit Yehoshua.