Ra'na

Location and Historical OverviewThe village of Ra‘na was located on the eastern slopes of the western hills of the Hebron mountains. A secondary road passed through the village, connecting it to the villages of Kudna and Bayt Jibrin to the south. This road led northwest toward the villages of Deir al-Dubban and ‘Ajjur, eventually linking with the main Jerusalem–Jaffa road.

According to the American biblical scholar Edward Robinson, who passed through the village in 1838, the fields of Ra‘na were cultivated with tobacco and cotton. By the late 19th century, Ra‘na was a village built of stone and mud, and included a pool and gardens. The inhabitants were Muslim, and their homes were constructed from stone, with roofs made of wood and mud.

Ra‘na was classified as a farm in the Palestine Index Gazetteer. Its main crops were grains, though the villagers also cultivated grapevines, carob trees, and olive trees during the later years of the British Mandate. In 1944/1945, a total of 5,882 dunums were allocated for grain cultivation, and 112 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.

Occupation and Ethnic Cleansing

The Israeli army’s Givati Brigade stormed several villages in the Hebron subdistrict, while other forces were executing Operation Yoav, advancing further northward. Ra‘na fell to Israeli forces on 22–23 October 1948. Many of its residents, along with inhabitants of surrounding villages in the Hebron hills, had fled before the Israeli troops arrived. Those who remained were expelled toward Hebron.

The Village Today

The site is now fenced with barbed wire. Cactus plants cover parts of it, especially where the soil is limestone-rich. Carob trees are scattered throughout the area. No houses or ruins remain.

Zionist Settlements on Village Lands

In 1946, the settlement of Luzit was established on lands traditionally belonging to the village