Mallaha

The village was located at the northern edge of Wadi al-Baida, a seasonal stream that flows into the northwestern corner of Lake Hula. This stream was fed by the waters of the 'Ayn Mallaha spring (Grid Ref. 204276), located south of the village. It was considered one of the most abundant springs in Palestine, with a water flow rate ranging between 1,800 and 2,700 cubic meters per hour.

The village of Mallaha lay along a main road leading to Safad and Tiberias. In the year 1157, following the collapse of relations between Damascus and the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, Mallaha was near the site of a battle between the army of Nur al-Din ibn Zangi (also known by his first name, Mahmud) and the forces of King Baldwin III (commander of the Knights Templar). The Muslims dealt a decisive defeat to the Crusaders in this battle, with the king escaping accompanied by only a small group of his guards.

The Syrian Sufi traveler al-Bakri al-Siddiqi, who toured Palestine in the mid-18th century, passed by a village he referred to as “al-Mallaha,” which is likely the same location. In 1838, the American biblical scholar Edward Robinson noted that Mallaha was located northwest of Lake Hula.

The modern village of Mallaha was built in a rectangular layout stretching from north to south, and its population consisted entirely of Muslims. Agriculture formed the backbone of the village’s economy. In the 1944/45 statistics, a total of 1,761 dunums of land were allocated for cereal cultivation.

Occupation and Ethnic Cleansing of the Village

Israeli forces captured Mallaha at the end of Operation Yiftach, on May 25, 1948. The inhabitants were driven to flee as a result of a campaign of psychological warfare. However, a direct military assault that possibly included mortar shelling cannot be ruled out, particularly since most of the psychological warfare tactics were employed roughly ten days prior to the villagers' displacement. Additionally, at that time, Zionist forces had directed mortar fire at several neighboring villages as part of Operation Yiftach.

The Village Today

The sandy hill on which the village once stood is now overgrown with tall grasses and wild vegetation, interspersed with clusters of cacti, fig trees, eucalyptus, and palm trees. Amidst this vegetation, the scattered stone ruins of the destroyed houses can still be seen. The surrounding land is currently cultivated by residents of the Israeli settlement of Yesud haMa'ala.

Israeli Settlements on Village Lands

There are no Israeli settlements directly on the village lands. However, the settlement of Yesud haMa'ala (Grid Ref. 207273), established in 1883, is located approximately 5 kilometers southeast of the village site.

Source: All That Remains by Walid Khalidi.