Samakh

The village of Samakh was located on a flat area of the Jordan Valley at the southernmost shore of the Sea of Tiberias, a short distance from where the Jordan River exits the lake. Samakh was the largest village in the Tiberias district in terms of both area and population. It served as an important transportation hub, linking regions east of the Jordan River with those to the west, as well as connecting the areas surrounding the lake with the Jordan Valley to the south. The village had a train station situated on a main road running alongside the lake, leading northeast to the city of Tiberias. Additionally, maritime routes on the lake connected Samakh to the city’s port.

Samakh was established in the early 19th century on the ruins of the town of Kfar Samakh, which was inhabited during the Roman period. Most of the village houses were built of brick, in an area of the Golan Heights near Samakh. The Swiss traveler Burckhardt, who visited in 1812, described the village as consisting of thirty to forty mud houses adjacent to more elaborate stone houses. He noted that approximately one hundred feddans of land were cultivated near the village.

Later in the 19th century, the population of Samakh reached 200 inhabitants, who cultivated the surrounding plains.

By 1945, the population of Samakh consisted of 3,320 Muslims, 130 Christians, and 10 people of other religions. The majority belonged to the Bedouin tribes of Arab al-Suqur and Arab al-Bishatwah, which had settled there in 1945. A municipal council was established in 1923 to manage Samakh’s affairs. The council’s expenses gradually increased from 310 Palestinian pounds in 1929 to 1,111 Palestinian pounds in 1944. The village had two schools: one for boys and one for girls. The villagers relied primarily on agriculture and trade, with bananas being one of their main crops. The strategic location of the village also allowed some inhabitants to specialize in various trades and crafts.

Occupation and Ethnic Cleansing

According to accounts, some residents left during the early months of the 1948 war. However, the village was not completely depopulated until the end of April 1948, following the capture of Tiberias on April 18 of that year. Once Tiberias fell, the Golani Brigade turned its attention to Samakh and prepared to occupy it.

Israeli historian Benny Morris reports that Golani Brigade soldiers set fire to an unnamed neighboring village after training there for the operation. On April 28, the police station in Samakh was captured, and the villagers fled without further detailed accounts. Palestinian historian Arif al-Arif noted that the fall of Tiberias effectively isolated Samakh from the rest of Palestine, leaving only one vital route, the Hummeh road, which also leads to Syria and Jordan.

Samakh was briefly retaken from Israeli forces the following month. According to the history of the War of Independence, a Syrian column supported by Iraqi forces seized control of the village and captured a nearby Jewish settlement on May 18. The New York Times reported that this happened two days earlier and cited a Syrian military source stating that the attack began at 4 a.m., and the village fell within four hours.

The official Israeli account states that the fall of Samakh and subsequent aerial bombardments deeply affected morale. On the same night, the Yiftach Brigade launched an attack on Samakh, inflicting heavy losses on the Syrian defenders but failing to recapture the village.

The New York Times reported that on May 20, Israeli air forces bombed the Samakh area for the first time since the Arab forces entered Palestine. According to Israeli sources, the recapture of Samakh was enabled by four heavy artillery guns deployed at the Tel Aviv port a few days earlier, which immediately shelled Syrian forces near Samakh. The Syrian forces soon withdrew, and Golani Brigade units re-entered the village on the morning of May 21.

Press reports stated that Israeli aircraft attacked Arab facilities near Samakh on May 23 for the fourth consecutive night. The Israeli army claimed the following day that it had secured control of the entire area.

The Village Today

Only the ruins of the railway station and a water reservoir remain from the village. Residents of the nearby Dgania Alef settlement developed the site into a tourist park, including a fuel station and a factory. The surrounding lands have been cultivated.

Zionist Settlements on Village Lands

In 1937, the settlements of Massadah (grid 206232) and Sha’ar Hagolan (grid 207232) were established southeast of the village site and eventually expanded into Samakh’s lands.

In 1949, the settlement of Ma’agan (grid 206234) was built on the village site. In the same year, the settlements of Tel Kanesir (grid 204234), founded in 1909, and Dgania Bet (grid 204235), founded in 1920, were located nearby but not on the village lands.