in an attempt to keep the village from getting involved with the hostilities in the 1948 Palestine war. Israel After the initial Israeli successes in the central Galilee during the first stage of Operation Dekel, units of the Haganah's Sheva Brigade moved westward and captured al-Damun, among other Arab localities, in the second stage of the operation on July 15–16, 1948. However, Palestinian historian, Aref al-Aref, dates its capture earlier in May 1948, following the fall of Acre. Israeli historian Benny Morris reported that inhabitants were demoralized by the fall of Acre and then Nazareth, and so fled during the bombardment that preceded the attack on the village. The remaining residents were expelled and al-Damun itself was completely destroyed according to both historians. Following the war the area was incorporated into the State of Israel. The village's land is now used for agriculture by residents of the Yas'ur kibbutz, which itself was built on the land of al-Birwa. According to Palestinian historian, Walid Khalidi, in 1992, the site was "overgrown with thorns, cacti, olive trees, and pines. Stone and concrete rubble is scattered around it. The structure that formerly protected the central water source and regulated its flow stands untended and is collapsing in several places. The cemetery is extant, although the markers over a few graves are collapsing." British historian Andrew Petersen writes that the village had a number of eighteenth or nineteenth-century stone houses, some which had decorated facades. See also Depopulated Palestinian locations in Israel References Bibliography p. 89 External links Welcome to al-Damun, palestineremembered.com al-Damun, Zochrot Survey of Western Palestine, Map 5: IAA, Wikimedia commons Al-Damun, from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center Al-Damun , Dr. Moslih Kanaaneh Remembering al-Damun, Zochrot , Saturday, 15.8.09, By Umar Ighbariyyeh, Zochrot Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War District of Acre