Worsel
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src: http://soundcloud.com/slippery-soles/nowwhere-near-al-bassa
1938 massacre
In 1938, during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, the village was the scene of a massacre committed by British soldiers. On September 6, 1938, four soldiers of the Royal Ulster Rifles (RUR) were killed when their armoured car ran over a land mine near the village. In retaliation, British forces burnt the village down. After that, perhaps a few days later, about 50 Arabs from the village were collected by the RUR and some attached Royal Engineers. Some who tried to run away were shot. Then, according to British testimony, the remainder were put onto a bus which was forced to drive over a land mine laid by the soldiers, destroying the bus and killing many of the occupants. The villages were then forced to dig a pit and throw all the bodies into it. Arab accounts added torture and other brutality. The total death toll was about 20.[27]
1948, and aftermath
The village was situated in the territory allotted to the Arab state under the 1947 UN Partition Plan. It was captured by Yishuv´s Haganah forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, in Operation Ben-Ami, on May 14, 1948. Al-Bassa's defenders were local militia men. Following its capture, the Haganah's Palmach forces concentrated the villagers in the local church where they shot and killed a number of youths before chasing the villagers out.[29] One witness to the expulsion said that it was preceded by soldiers shooting and killing five villagers inside the church, while another said seven villagers were shot and killed by soldiers outside the church.[28]
Al-Bassa was completely destroyed by the Israelis with the exception of a few houses, a church, and a Muslim shrine, still standing today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Bassa
1938 massacre
In 1938, during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, the village was the scene of a massacre committed by British soldiers. On September 6, 1938, four soldiers of the Royal Ulster Rifles (RUR) were killed when their armoured car ran over a land mine near the village. In retaliation, British forces burnt the village down. After that, perhaps a few days later, about 50 Arabs from the village were collected by the RUR and some attached Royal Engineers. Some who tried to run away were shot. Then, according to British testimony, the remainder were put onto a bus which was forced to drive over a land mine laid by the soldiers, destroying the bus and killing many of the occupants. The villages were then forced to dig a pit and throw all the bodies into it. Arab accounts added torture and other brutality. The total death toll was about 20.[27]
1948, and aftermath
The village was situated in the territory allotted to the Arab state under the 1947 UN Partition Plan. It was captured by Yishuv´s Haganah forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, in Operation Ben-Ami, on May 14, 1948. Al-Bassa's defenders were local militia men. Following its capture, the Haganah's Palmach forces concentrated the villagers in the local church where they shot and killed a number of youths before chasing the villagers out.[29] One witness to the expulsion said that it was preceded by soldiers shooting and killing five villagers inside the church, while another said seven villagers were shot and killed by soldiers outside the church.[28]
Al-Bassa was completely destroyed by the Israelis with the exception of a few houses, a church, and a Muslim shrine, still standing today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Bassa
