Wadi Qabbani — وادي قَبّاني
Known also as: Wadi al-Qabbani
Distance from Tulkarm
12 km
|
Year |
Arab |
Total |
|
1944/45 |
|
320 |
|
Year |
Arab |
Jewish |
Public |
Total |
|
1944/45 |
427 |
9276 |
109 |
9812 |
|
Use |
Arab |
Jewish |
Public |
Total |
|
|
19 |
1173 |
109 |
1301 (13%) |
|
|
408 |
8103 |
|
8511 (87%) |
Wadi Qabbani was located 1.5 km east of the coastal highway and was linked to it by a secondary road that passed through the village. It was named after a Lebanese family who owned most of its lands. The village was built on the archaeological site of Khirbat al-Shaykh Husayn, which contained artifacts that may date to Roman times. This khirba was a high point in the area and was bordered on the west and south by marshland. On the eve of the war, the village had three brick houses. In 1944/45 a total of 408 dunums were allocated to cereals.
Judging from the evidence from surrounding villages, Wadi Qabbani was probably occupied in the early months of the war. In March .and April 1948, the Haganah had a general policy of uprooting coastal communities north of Tel Aviv. Some time during 8-10 April, the Haganah General Staff issued orders to its units to clear away and, if necessary, expel Arab rural communities along the axis between Tel Aviv and Hadera, a large Jewish settlement some 40 km north of it. Since the village of Wadi Qabbani was located approximately halfway between the two points, it probably carne under the scope of those expulsion orders, as did nearby 'Arab al-Nufay'at. 
Kibbutz ha-'Ogen (143196) had been built in 1947 on the village site.
The village houses are gone. Two Christ's-thorn trees grow next to the former cemetery, which has been converted into a children's playground belonging to the kibbutz. No traces of the cemetery can be discerned.
