Raml Zayta

The village was built on a flat area in the central coastal plain. A secondary road connected it to the main coastal highway, and a dirt road linked it to neighboring roads. Its houses, constructed of mud, stone, and cement, were scattered without a specific pattern, with most of them situated amid agricultural fields. The village included a few small houses dispersed among the others. Residents obtained domestic water from wells, and most worked in agriculture and livestock breeding. The agriculture was primarily rainfed, with some irrigation using well water, focusing on cereals, vegetables, and watermelon. In 1944–45, a total of 126 dunams were allocated for citrus and bananas, 12,554 dunams for cereals, and 27 dunams were irrigated or used for orchards.

In the eastern part of the village lands lay the ruin of Tal al-Duruz, which was abandoned during the British Mandate period due to disputes over the lands of Wadi al-Hawarith located nearby.

Occupation and Ethnic Cleansing

The nearest villages for which reliable information is available were victims of the early Haganah operations aimed at “cleansing” the central coastal area. The neighboring village of Wadi al-Hawarith was attacked and its residents forced to leave on 15 March 1948, while the residents of Arab al-Fuqara were expelled on 10 April following a decision by the Haganah General Command to evacuate the village. It is likely that the residents of Raml Zayta were displaced under similar circumstances.

The Village Today

Stone rubble is visible throughout the site. Only two of the original village houses remain: one is still inhabited by the sole remaining Palestinian family in the village, and the other has been renovated and expanded with additional rooms, currently inhabited by a Jewish family. Cactus plants, mulberry, fig, eucalyptus, and pomegranate trees grow on the site, while Israelis cultivate vegetables and fruit trees on the village lands.

Israeli Settlements on Village Lands

The settlement of Sde Yitzhak (149201), established in 1952, is located on the village lands. Additionally, the town of Gedera (142204), originally established as a settlement in 1890, has expanded such that some of its suburbs now lie on village lands.