Al-Mas'udiyya


Al-Mas'udiyya, was a Palestinian Arab village in the Jaffa Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on December 25, 1947. It was located 5 km northeast of Jaffa, situated 1.5 km south of the al-'Awja River. The village used to be known as Summayl.

History

In 1799, it was noted as an unnamed village on the map that Pierre Jacotin compiled that year.
An Ottoman village list from about 1870 showed that Samwil had 23 houses and a population of 62, though the population count included men, only. It was noted as a Bedouin camp, 4,5 km north of Jaffa centre, and 1 km from the sea.
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Summeil as an ordinary adobe village, which had a large well, and a cave.

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Mas'udiyeh had a population of 443; 437 Muslims and 6 Christians,, increasing in the 1931 census to 658; 654 Muslim and 4 Christians, in a total of 127 houses.
In the 1945 statistics, the village had a population of 850; 830 Muslims and 20 Christians.
Al-Mas'udiyya had an elementary school founded in 1931, and in 1945 it had 31 students.

1948, aftermath

In 1992, the village site was described: "The area is part of Tel Aviv. All that remains of the village is one deserted house that belonged to Muhammad Baydas. Cactuses, castor-oil plants, and palm and cypress trees further mark the site. Nearby is the al-Mas'udiyya bridge – an arched, steel structure."