Miska

The village of Maska was situated on a gently sloping sandy hill in the coastal plain, on the northern edge of a wadi. Several secondary roads connected it to the road leading to Tulkarm and to the main coastal highway. It is possible that a group descending from the Arab tribe of Maska—who migrated to the region before and during the early Islamic conquest—were the founders of the village. However, the connection between the village name and the tribe is not confirmed. Furthermore, another village with the same name existed in a different location in 1596.

The Arab historian Al-Safadi (d. 1362) mentioned that a number of Muslim scholars were attributed to Maska, including the linguist and prosodist Abd al-Mun'im al-Maski, who died in Cairo in 1235. According to the Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 1229), Maska was renowned for its fruit, especially apples. Hasan al-Yazuri, who died in 1058, also noted this. The French commander Kléber and his troops passed through the village on their way to Acre during the Napoleonic campaign of 1799.

By the late 19th century, Maska was a small village with an estimated population of 300. Olive trees were cultivated to the north and south of the village, while fig and palm trees were scattered throughout. The village was roughly square, divided into four unequal parts by two intersecting streets crossing its center. Houses built in the later years of the British Mandate were concentrated in the northern corner, away from the wadi. The population was Muslim, with a mosque and an elementary school. The surrounding lands were covered by forests, though some were reclaimed for fruit tree cultivation. Water resources, especially wells near the village, were relatively abundant, enabling the cultivation of citrus on 1115 dunams, cereals on 3245 dunams, and 304 dunams irrigated or used for other fruit trees. Vegetables such as cucumbers and watermelon were also grown. To the southwest stood Tell Dhahrat al-Sawaneh (142178), which contains evidence that the site was inhabited in prehistoric times.

Occupation and Ethnic Cleansing

According to accounts, Haganah officers ordered the villagers to leave on April 15, 1948, but the residents ignored the order. A few days later, on April 20-21, units of the Alexandron Brigade attacked Maska and expelled its inhabitants. This action was part of a prior decision by the Haganah leadership to ensure the evacuation of all Arab communities from the coastal region between Tel Aviv and Zikhron Ya’akov, south of Haifa, in the weeks leading up to May 15.

In early June, the Jewish National Fund began destroying the village, along with several others, despite some opposition from the Israeli left-wing party Mapam. On June 16, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion recorded in his diary that he had avoided giving the Jewish National Fund written permission to destroy Maska and other villages to avoid implicating himself in the operation.

The Village Today

Citrus orchards now cover the site, with cactus plants growing around them. The two-room school building remains and is used as a watchmen’s station for the orchards. The mosque has been converted into a storage area for fig bales and farming tools. Large concrete sections of a demolished wall surrounding the village well are still visible. Israeli settlers have planted citrus trees over much of the surrounding land.

Zionist Settlements on Village Lands

The settlement of Sde Warburg (141179) was established in 1938 on lands traditionally belonging to Maska. The settlement of Mishmarot (142181), founded in 1946, lies on village lands near the site to the northwest. Ramat HaKovesh (144180), established in 1932, is located approximately one kilometer west of the village site, on higher ground.