Summil

The village of Simil stood atop a sandy hill located in the coastal plain, surrounded by several valleys. It was connected by secondary roads to the main highway between al-Majdal and Bayt Jibrin, near the road junction close to the village of Iraq al-Manshiyya. Additional roads—some paved and others unpaved—linked Simil to neighboring villages.

It is believed that Simil was established by the Knights Hospitaller in 1168, during the Crusader period, as a defensive outpost for a previously constructed fortress in Bayt Jibrin. According to local belief, the village was named after Samuel, a Crusader involved in its founding. It was also historically known as Birkat al-Khalil (the Pool of Hebron), as its tax revenues were designated by Mamluk Sultan Barquq (d. 1399) to support the Sanctuary of Abraham (al-Khalil) in the city of Hebron.

In 1569, Simil was recorded as a village in the Gaza Subdistrict (Nahiya of Gaza) with 363 inhabitants. It paid taxes on various agricultural products, including wheat, barley, fruit, as well as on livestock such as goats and beehives.

When the American biblical scholar Edward Robinson visited Simil in the mid-19th century, he described it as a large village situated on a hill in the plain. He noted the presence of a large public well, 11 feet in diameter and 100 feet deep. He also observed a section of an ancient wall, possibly the remains of a fortress.

By the late 19th century, Simil had a semi-circular layout. During the British Mandate period, the village began expanding towards the southwest. It relied on the nearby town of al-Faluja, located 6 km to the southwest, for commercial, medical, and administrative services. Its population was entirely Muslim, and it had a mosque built on the ruins of a Crusader church. The houses were constructed primarily of mudbrick.

In 1936, a school was established in the village, and by the mid-1940s, it had 88 students. The residents obtained household water from a well 18 meters deep, known locally as al-Khalil. The village’s economy was based primarily on rainfed agriculture and sheep raising. Its main crops included grains, grapes, and figs. In 1944–1945, land use statistics showed:

• 16,093 dunums allocated for cereal crops, and

• 54 dunums irrigated or used for orchards.

Occupation and Ethnic Cleansing

Simil fell during one of the southward offensives launched by the Givati Brigade during the period known as the “Ten Days”—the interval between the first and second truces in the 1948 war, between 9 and 18 July 1948.

Although the exact date of occupation is unclear, the village likely fell during the early phase of the offensive, between 9–14 July. During this operation, Israeli forces succeeded in seizing large tracts of land south of the Ramla–Jerusalem road, displacing more than 20,000 people.

While Israeli military narratives later claimed that the inhabitants fled ahead of advancing troops, the official History of the War of Independence records several acts of cleansing in the area—Simil among the villages explicitly named. It is probable that the residents were expelled eastward, toward the Hebron region.

The Village Today

Today, remains of a wall—possibly once enclosing the village—can still be seen. Beyond that, the site is overgrown with mallow (khubeiza), a wild plant commonly used in Palestinian cuisine, along with other wild grasses. There are also Christ’s thorn bushes and dense cactus hedges. An old village road and a line of cactus plants remain visible.

A hut has been erected on the site, now housing an Arab family, likely employed in one of the nearby Israeli settlements. The surrounding lands are cultivated by Israeli farmers.

Zionist Settlements on Village Lands

Four Israeli settlements were established on lands that traditionally belonged to Simil:

• Kidma (Kedma), founded in 1946, located further to the north of the village site.

• Segula, Manoa, and Nahla, all established in 1953.

  • Nahla is located west of the original village site.

  • Segula and Manoa are nearby as well.

In 1968, the settlement of Pardesiyya (Verdon) was founded on additional lands that had belonged to Simil.