DEIR YASĪN – JERUSALEM DISTRICT
31°47′1″N / 35°10′48″E
1948: Population 750; Houses 144
Occupation date: April 9, 1948
Occupying forces: Irgun (also known as Etzel, or IZL) and the
Stern Gang (also known as Leḥi, or LHI)
Occupying operation: Planned as part of Operation Naḥshon;
independent attack by the Irgun and the Stern Gang
1948: On April 9, 1948, the Irgun and the Stern Gang troopers entered Deir Yasīn in order to expel the inhabitants. Encountering unexpectedly strong resistance, the attackers detonated several houses and shot down individuals and families as they left their homes and fled down alleyways. They apparently also rounded up villagers, who included militiamen and unarmed civilians of both sexes, and murdered them, executing prisoners in a nearby quarry. Between 100 and 120 villagers died that day. The troops subsequently transported the remaining villagers in trucks in a victory parade through West Jerusalem before dumping them in the Musrāra Quarter, outside the Old City walls. The news of the massacre spread throughout the country in the following days, and served as a turning point in the war.6
Post 1948: In 1949 Jewish immigrants were settled near Deir Yasīn in a neighborhood called Giv‛at Shaʼūl. In 1951 Kfar Shaʼul Mental Health Center was established on the village site, using village structures.
Today: Several houses, occupied mainly by the Kfar Shaʼul Mental Health Center, remain on the hilltop. The old village cemetery lies beside a ring road.
Official Israeli name: None. Deir Yasīn does not appear on contemporary maps of Israel.