DEIR RAFĀT – JERUSALEM DISTRICT
31°46′21″N / 34°57′38″E
1948: Population 499; Houses 157
Occupation date: July 18, 1948
Occupying forces: Harʼel Brigade
Occupying operation: Second-stage Operation Dani
Post 1948: In September 1948 most of the village and monastery of Deir Rafāt was blown up.1 In 1948, Kibbutz Tzor‛a was founded by members of the Palmach (Palmāḥ, the elite fighting force of the Haganah) on village land. The Giv‛at Shemesh educational institution was established on village land in 1954.
Today: Rubble from the former houses and shifted stone terraces blanket the site. Giv‛at Shemesh has become a drug rehabilitation center. A portion of the village site is occupied by Bedouins of the al-Sani‛ tribe, who rent land from the nearby monastery.
Official Israeli name: None. The village does not appear on contemporary maps of Israel.