On December 17, 1951, a soldier from an Engineering Corps company reported to an Israel Police station with a request to make accommodation arrangements for 18 soldiers who would be blowing up structures in the village of Iqrit. The village was conquered in October 1948, and its residents were told to vacate their homes for a short while.

Iqrit, a Christian Palestinian village in Western Galilee, was captured on October 31, 1948, the second day of Operation Hiram, without resistance. Several days later, the IDF ordered residents to leave the village with a promise they would be able to return to their homes within a few days. In practice, the ban on returning was not lifted, and villagers were kept away from their homes for months. Residents of the neighboring village of Biram, captured one day before Iqrit, suffered a similar fate.

In 1951, the internally displaced residents of Iqrit and Biram petitioned the High Court of Justice, demanding to be given permission to return to their homes and have their lands restored to them. The court accepted their position and ruled there was no legal impediment to their return. The state, however, persisted in its opposition and blocked their return to their villages by issuing “evacuation orders” against them. About three months later, on December 25, 1951, Iqrit was completely destroyed – all the structures in the village were blown up, with the exception of the church that remains standing to this day.

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Report of Eilon Police Inspector,
December 17, 1951

Letter from Arab Affairs Advisor to Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office,
June 29, 1977