Sataf

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title: "Sataf" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["arab-villages-depopulated-during-the-1948-arab–israeli-war", "district-of-jerusalem", "archaeological-sites-in-israel", "springs-of-israel"] topic_path: "philosophy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sataf" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
nameSataf
native_nameصطاف
native_name_langar
settlement_typeVillage
image_skylineSatafNov062022 04.jpg
imagesize200
image_captionRemains of Sataf village
etymologyfrom a personal name
pushpin_mapMandatory Palestine
pushpin_mapsize200
coordinates
grid_namePalestine grid
grid_position162/130
subdivision_typeGeopolitical entity
subdivision_nameMandatory Palestine
subdivision_type1Subdistrict
subdivision_name1Jerusalem
established_title1Date of depopulation
established_date1July 13–14, 1948
established_title2Repopulated dates
area_footnotes
unit_prefdunam
area_total_dunam3,775
population_as_of1945
population_total540
blank_name_sec1Cause(s) of depopulation
blank_info_sec1Military assault by Yishuv forces
::

| name = Sataf | native_name = صطاف | native_name_lang = ar | settlement_type = Village | image_skyline = SatafNov062022 04.jpg | imagesize = 200 | image_caption = Remains of Sataf village | etymology = from a personal name | pushpin_map = Mandatory Palestine | pushpin_map_caption = Location within Mandatory Palestine | image_map = | map_caption = A series of historical maps of the area around Sataf (click the buttons) | pushpin_mapsize = 200 | coordinates = | grid_name = Palestine grid | grid_position = 162/130 | subdivision_type = Geopolitical entity | subdivision_name = Mandatory Palestine | subdivision_type1 = Subdistrict | subdivision_name1 = Jerusalem | established_title1 = Date of depopulation | established_date1 = July 13–14, 1948 | established_title2 = Repopulated dates | area_footnotes = | unit_pref = dunam | area_total_dunam = 3,775 | population_as_of = 1945 | population_total = 540 | blank_name_sec1 = Cause(s) of depopulation | blank_info_sec1 = Military assault by Yishuv forces Sataf (Arabic: صطاف, Hebrew: סטף) was a Palestinian village in the Jerusalem Subdistrict depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was located 10 km west of Jerusalem, with Sorek Valley (Arabic: Wadi as-Sarar) bordering to the east.

Two springs, Ein Sataf and Ein Bikura flow from the site into the riverbed below.

A monastery located across the valley from Sataf, i.e. south of Wadi as-Sarar, known by local Arabs as Ein el-Habis (the "Spring of the Hermitage"), is officially called Monastery of Saint John in the Wilderness.

Today it is a tourist site showcasing ancient agricultural techniques used in the Jerusalem Mountains.

History

Chalcolithic period

Remains of a 4,000 BCE Chalcolithic village were discovered at the site. The related traces of agricultural activities number among the oldest in the region.

Byzantine period

Most ancient remains date to the Byzantine period.

Mamluk period

The first written mention of the site is from the Mamluk era.

Ottoman period

Sataf was noted in the Ottoman tax records of 1525-1526 and 1538–1539, as being located in the Sanjak of Al-Quds. According to archaeological work, the village originated in the late 16th century, with the use of several cave−dwellings. Later, houses were erected in front of the caves.

In 1838 it was described as a Muslim village, located in the Beni Hasan district, west of Jerusalem.

In 1863, Victor Guérin found a village of one hundred and eighty people. He further noted that their houses were standing on the slopes of a mountain, and that the mountainside was covered by successive terraces. An Ottoman village list from about 1870 counted 38 houses and a population of 115, whereby only men were counted.

In 1883, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described Setaf as "a village of moderate size, of stone houses, perched on the steep side of a valley. It has a spring lower down, on the north."

In 1896 the population of Sataf was estimated to be about 180 persons.

British Mandate period

By the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Sataf had a population of 329; 321 Muslims and 8 Christians. All the Christians were Roman Catholic. The 1931 census lists 381 inhabitants; 379 Muslim and 2 Christian, in a total of 101 houses.

In the 1945 statistics the population of Sataf was 540, all Muslims, and the total land area was 3,775 dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 928 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 465 for cereals, while 22 dunams were built-up land.

1948, aftermath

On July 13–14, 1948 the Arab village was depopulated by the Har'el Brigade, during Operation Danny. Sataf and the surrounding area became part of the newly created State of Israel.

A short time after the 1948 War, a small group of Jewish immigrants from North Africa settled for a few months in the village area, calling it Bikura. The village, which lasted only until the fall of 1950, was founded on the initiative of former Lehi commanded Natan Yellin-Mor. Subsequently, the IDF's Unit 101 and paratroopers used the site for training purposes.

In the 1980s the Jewish National Fund began the restoration of ancient agricultural terraces, and the area around the springs has been turned into a tourist site. A forest around the site was also planted by the Jewish National Fund.

In 1992, Sataf was described as follows: "Many half-destroyed walls still stand, and some still have arched doorways. The walls of a few houses with collapsed roofs are almost intact....The area around the village spring, which is located to the east next to the ruins of a rectangular stone house, has been turned into an Israeli tourist site. A Jewish family has settled on the west side of the village, and have fenced in some of the village area."

Shrine of 'Ubayd

The shrine (maqam) of 'Ubayd, southwest of the village site, contains a courtyard and three rooms.

Gallery

Image:Sataf,_Sataf.jpg|The hill (jabal) across from Sataf. September 1, 1945. Image:SatafNov062022 09.jpg|Ein Sataf (Ein El-Balad), 2022 Image:Ein Sataf14.jpg|Ein Sataf, 2009 Image:SatafNov062022 02.jpg|Ein Bikura (Ein E-Sharkia), 2022 Image:Bikura2.jpg|Ein Bikura, 2009 Image:Sataf 006.jpg|Sataf reconstruction Image:Sataf17.jpg|Agriculture in Sataf, 2009 Image:PikiWiki Israel 7596 ruins at the Sataf near Jerusalem.JPG|Remains of Sataf village

References

Bibliography

References

  1. Palmer, 1881, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/326/mode/1up 326]
  2. Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PR20 xx], village #354. Also gives cause of depopulation
  3. Adar, Yael. "Ancient Agriculture: Sataf - A Reconstruction". Gems in Israel.
  4. Toledano, 1984, pp. 280, 298. Toledano gives its location as 31°46′20″N 35°07′25″E
  5. Petersen, 2001, pp. [https://www.academia.edu/21620272/Gazetteer_6._S-Z 274]−275
  6. Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/123/mode/1up 123]
  7. Guérin, 1869, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongog02gu#page/3/mode/1up 3]-4
  8. Socin, 1879, p. [https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde01deut#page/160/mode/1up 160] also noted it was located in the ''Beni Hasan'' District
  9. Hartmann, 1883, p. [https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ#page/n930/mode/1up 122], noted 40 houses
  10. Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp03conduoft#page/22/mode/1up 22]
  11. Schick, 1896, p. [https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde19deut#page/n232/mode/1up 125]
  12. Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jerusalem, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n16/mode/1up 14]
  13. Barron, 1923, Table XVI, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n47/mode/1up 45]
  14. Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 43]
  15. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p25.jpg 25]
  16. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Jerusalem/Page-058.jpg 58]
  17. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Jerusalem/Page-104.jpg 104]
  18. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Jerusalem/Page-154.jpg 154]
  19. Nir Hasson. (23 June 2023). "This Murder Was Pinned on Palestinian Terrorists. Intelligence Docs Suggest They Were Jews". Haaretz.
  20. [http://www.alnakba.org/villages/jerusalem/sataf.htm Sataf] from the [[Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center]]
  21. Khalidi, 1992, p. 317
  22. According to [[Tawfiq Canaan]], [[Sheikh]] 'Ubayd "is said to kill any goat or sheep who enters his cave."Canaan, 1927, p. [http://digital.soas.ac.uk/LOAA003475/00002/108j 96]

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arab-villages-depopulated-during-the-1948-arab–israeli-wardistrict-of-jerusalemarchaeological-sites-in-israelsprings-of-israel