BEIT JIBRĪN – HEBRON DISTRICT

31°36′27″N / 34°53′44″E

1948: Population 2,819; Houses 576

Occupation date: October 27, 1948
Occupying forces: Giv‛ati Brigade
Occupying operation: Operation Yoav

Post 1948: In 1949 former members of the Palmach established Kibbutz Beit Guvrin on part of the village site, where its public houses used to stand. The first residents were members of the Yetzivim and Bnei Horin youth groups, Jewish immigrants from Turkey and Romania, respectively. In 1989 the Beit Guvrin National Park was established on part of the village site.

Today: The ruin of the mosque has been partially buried and the house of the mukhtār remains open and gutted on a hilltop nearby. Behind the mosque one empty Palestinian house stands beside the remains of the cemetery. Several other houses have been occupied by the kibbutz. In 2013 the area of the Beit Guvrin caves, which includes the village site, was made a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Official Israeli name: Beit Guvrin (the ancient name of the place). The former village of Beit Jibrīn no longer appears on the contemporary map of Israel.