The village was situated in an area underlain by volcanic
rocks that sloped toward the al-Hula Plain to the north. A secondaiy road
linked al-Wayziyya to a highway leading to Safad and Tiberias. A shrine for a
Shaykh al-Wayzi lay about 0.5 km from the site; to the west of the shrine there
was a stone Quarry. The bulk of the villagers were Bedouin, who earned their
livelihood from animal husbandry, and to a smaller extent from crop
cultivation.
The capture of al-Wayziyya occurred in April or May
1948, within the scope of Operation Yiftah. Nearby Mughr al-Khayt was hit by mortars on 2 May, while villages
to the north were evacuated in late April in anticipation of al-Haganah attack.
It probably fell some time before the final assault on Safad on 10 May, as
Zionist forces pushed into the city’s hinterland before encircling and
occupying it.
There are no Israeli settlements on village lands.
Zionists established the settlement of Machanayim in 1939, 1.5 km southeast of the village site.
The Village Today
The
shrine of Shaykh al-Wayzi is the only remaining landmark. Rubble from
destroyed houses is scattered over the site. Grasses, together with
Christ’s-thorn, eucalyptus, and pine trees, grow on the surrounding land, which
is used by Israelis primarily as pasture.
Source(s):
al-Khalidi.
All
That Remains