Al-Tina

Al-Tina, or Khirbet et-Tineh was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine. The village was located between the Shfela and southern Israeli coastal plain. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on July 8, 1948, by the Givati Brigade under Operation An-Far. It was located 20. km south of Ramla. The hill on which the village was built stands today next to the Kiryat Mal'akhi – Yoav railway station and next to Highway 6. Archeological excavations at the site revealed the remains of a Byzantine settlement.

==History== Based on the archaeological excavation in the eastern foot of the hill on which the village used to stand, a settlement was established in the site as early as the Byzantine era. Pottery, glassware and coins allowed the researchers to date this settlement to a short period between roughly 375 to 425 CE. The excavation has revealed remains of what may be a storehouse, with many broken wine jars. The structure included a drainage system that collected water from its roof to somewhere beyond the excavation limits. The region is abundant with water and thus the hill serves as a good place for settlement. Elie Haddad who headed the excavation suggested that this abundance of water is hinted in the name of the village, "the fig tree", as it requires a large supply of water to grow. The identity of the Byzantine inhabitants remains unknown and based on the study, the site remained unsettled until the Ottoman period.