as being built of adobe brick and surrounded by gardens. British Mandate era In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Qatra Islam had a population of 640; 639 Muslims and 1 Orthodox Christian increasing in the 1931 census to 822, all Muslims, in a total of 175 houses. During its existence as a village in the British Mandate of Palestine it was referred to as Qatrat Islam to distinguish it from the Jewish settlement of Qatrat Yahud or Gedera, as it is called in Hebrew, established in the late 19th century. In the 1945 statistics the population was 1,290, all Muslims, while the total land area was 7,853 dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, Arabs used 291 dunams for citrus and bananas, 215 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards, 4,320 dunums were allocated to cereals, while 26 dunams were classified as built-up urban areas. 1948, and aftermath Qatra was captured by Israel's Givati Brigade in May 1948. The operation was according to Plan Dalet. Plan Dalets guidelines to the Givati Brigade gave its leader, Lt. Col. Shimon Avidan, wide discretion. In order to "stabilise" his lines, the plan stated that ´you will determine alone, in consultations with your Arab affairs advisers and Intelligence Service officers, [which] villages in your zone should be occupied, cleansed or destroyed.´ During May to early June, Avidan moved to expand his area of control westwards and southwards as part of Operation Barak. It was during these operations that they encountered the village of Qatra. The village offered no resistance. The Givati troops entered and conducted an arms collection operation on 5–6 May. About 60 weapons were handed over - but a Jewish officer was shot and killed (either by an Arab or by friendly fire) while searching one of the houses. Three Arabs were then taken hostage and Givati demanded the name of the killer, and the handover of any foreign irregulars and additional weapons. The Haganah reoccupied the village and its entire population were either intimidated into flight or expelled on 17 May. The IDF trucked about 200 refugees staying in Majdal, originally from Qatra, towards Ramla in the summer of 1950. The operation in Qatra (and a similar operation in the nearby village of Aqir) was characterised by looting and brutal behaviour. The HIS officer who accompanied the troops later highlighted several