Bayt Jirja

Bayt Jirja
بيت جرجه
Beit Jerja
Farmers near Bayt Jirja threshing wheat in 1940
Etymology: The house of the highway
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
A series of historical maps of the area around Bayt Jirja (click the buttons)
Bayt Jirja
Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 31°36′11″N 34°34′51″E / 31.60306°N 34.58083°E / 31.60306; 34.58083
Palestine grid110/112
Geopolitical entityMandatory Palestine
SubdistrictGaza
Date of depopulationdate unknown
Area
 • Total
8,015 dunams (8.015 km2; 3.095 sq mi)
Population
 (1945)
 • Total
940
Current LocalitiesNone

Bayt Jirja or Beit Jerja (Arabic: بيت جرجه) was a Palestinian Arab village 15.5 km Northeast of Gaza. In 1931 the village consisted of 115 houses. It was overrun by Israeli forces during operation Yo'av in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Bayt Jirja was found depopulated in November 1948, during "clean up sweeps" to expel any partial inhabited villages and destroy village housing to prevent any possible re-occupation in the area. The village was completely destroyed after the occupation and only one tomb remains.