Na'an Colony

Na'an is a kibbutz located near the settlement of Rehovot, in the central region of the occupied Palestinian territories. The kibbutz was established in September 1930 by 42 members of the Noar HaOved youth movement, on land taken from the Palestinian village of Al-Na'ani. It is the first kibbutz to have been established by Zionist Jews born in Palestine. Today, Na'an is the largest kibbutz in the occupied territories in terms of settler population. The kibbutz was named after the nearby Palestinian village of Al-Na'ani. Some of the early settlers wished to name it Na’ama, after a biblical region bearing the same name. In 1948, Na'an became the headquarters of the newly formed Israeli occupation forces during their operation to seize Jerusalem. It was on the lands of this kibbutz that the Arab elders of the city of Ramla signed the official surrender of the city. The village of Al-Na'ani was fully depopulated on May 14, 1948. As of 2022, the number of settlers in the kibbutz was approximately 1,794. Sources: Due to the scarcity of Arabic sources, Hebrew sources were used: the official Hebrew website of the settlement and the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics. Information about the village of Al-Na'ani was sourced from the "Palestine Remembered" website.