Between Acre and Lebanon: Arab Villages on the Coast of the Westren Galilee during the Mandate

Abstract

In this article the author examines the social and economic history of Palestinian Arab villages in the Western Galilee during the British Mandate. He tries to answer three main questions: first, the nature of the social and demographic structure; second, economic sources and the changes they went through; and third, the political situation in the region toward the end of the British Mandate, and the relations between the Arabs and their new Jewish neighbors.

In the social sphere, the article sheds new light on the Arab villages along the northern coast. Interestingly, although they were close to Haifa and Acre, and situated in a key location between Palestine and Lebanon, they have not merited academic attention in Western Galilee historical research. 

The study found that the region was highly developed and economically stable. The main branch was agriculture, and most of the land was intensely cultivated for export crops. 

The article shows that Arab-Jewish relations were well-regulated and included commercial contracts. The region seems to have remained quiet until the 1947 UN Partition Resolution. This was the beginning of escalation which soon developed into an all-out confrontation that utterly changed the human landscape. Only two small Arab villages survived of the original eleven, and the inhabitants of the other villages were either expelled or fled.