Statistic/Fact	Value
Israeli occupation date	May 10, 1948
Distance from district center	26 (km) West of Jerusalem
Elevation from the sea	588 (meters)
Map location	See location number #9 on the map
Israeli military operation	Operation Makkabi
Israeli attacking brigade	Har'el Brigade
Defenders	Local militia & Arab Liberation Army
Exodus Cause	Military assault by Jewish troops
Village remains after destruction by Israelis	The village was mostly destroyed with the exception of two houses, see Pictures section for details.
Ethnically cleansing by Israelis	Bayt Mahsir was completely ethnically cleansed, however, few of its inhabitants were allowed to stay. Those who were allowed to stay were the exception. Currently, many of the Mahasreh refugees live in Amman, Jordan, who mostly live in Jabal al-Taj neighborhood.
Land ownership before occupation	Ethnic Group Land Ownership (Dunums) Arab 15,428 Jewish 0 Public 840 Total 16,268
Land usage in 1945	Land Usage Type Arab (Dunum) Irrigated & Plantation 1,348 Area planted w/ olives 1,340 Planted W/ Cereal 6,225 Built up 77 Cultivable 7,573 Non-Cultivable 8,618
Population before occupation	Year Population 19th century 450 1922 1,367 1931 1,920 1945 2,400 1948 2,784 Est. Refugees 1998 17,097
Number of houses	Year Number of houses 1931 445 1948 645
Schools	Bayt Mahsir had three schools. Two schools for boys (one elementary and the another secondary), and the third was an elementary school for girls.
Notable people from town	The villagers took pride in the fact that the last Imam of its mosque, Shaykh Khalil As'ad, was a graduate of al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.
Religious institutions	One mosque
Shrines/maqams	The village had two shrines for couple of unknown individuals.
Archeological sites	Bayt Mahsir contains several Khirbat including: al-Huwaytiyya, al-Masi, Khatula, and al-Sallam.
Exculsive jewish colonies on town's lands	Beyt Me'ir and Mesillat Tziyyon
Related Maps	خرائط تفصيلية للمحافظة View from satellite Help us map this town at WikiMapia
More Information	Language External Links Arabic PalGates Hebrew Nakba in Hebrew   Nakba-Online

Bibliography and References

Town Today

According to the Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi, the village remaining structures on the village land are:
"Several village houses have been spared, and are for the most part interspersed among the houses of the settlement of Beyt Me'ir. Two large, rectangular-shaped, almost identical houses built of limestone rise above the Israeli settlement's cabin-like residences. The remains of a flour mill, a metal machine with flywheels fitted over a stone structure, can still be seen. There is a wild forest of old trees on the eastern edge of the village site, on top of the mountain. The tomb of al-' Ajami, together with other graves, are among the trees."

• Nakba Oral History Podcast: Interview with Hamoudeh Ibrahim Qteit
• Nakba Oral History Podcast: Interview with Abdel al-Razzaq al-Mahsiri