Editing Caesarea Maritima (section)

====1947–present====
The [[1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine|civil war in Mandatory Palestine]] began on 30 November 1947. In December 1947 a village notable, Tawfiq Kadkuda, approached local Jews in an effort to establish a non-belligerency agreement.<ref>Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA92 92]</ref> The 31 January 1948 [[Lehi (militant group)|Lehi]] attack on a bus leaving Qisarya, which killed two and injured six people, precipitated an evacuation of most of the population, who fled to nearby [[al-Tantura]].<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite book | editor = Charles Tripp | author1 = Research Fellow Truman Institute Benny Morris | author2 = Benny Morris | author3 = Morris Benny | date = 2004 | title = The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited | publisher = Cambridge University Press | page = 130 | isbn = 978-0-521-00967-6 | oclc = 1025810122 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA130}}</ref> The [[Haganah]] then occupied the village because the land was owned by the [[Palestine Jewish Colonization Association]] and, fearing that the British would force them to leave, decided to demolish the houses.<ref name=autogenerated1 /><ref name=Morris129130/> This was done on 19–20 February, after the remaining residents were expelled and the houses were looted.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> According to Israeli historian [[Benny Morris]], the expulsion of the population had more to do with illegal Jewish immigration than the ongoing civil war.<ref>Morris, 2008, pp. 94–95.</ref> In the same month the 'Arab al Sufsafi and Saidun [[Bedouin]], who inhabited the dunes between Qisarya and [[Pardes Hanna-Karkur|Pardes]] left the area.<ref>{{cite book | editor = Charles Tripp | author1 = Research Fellow Truman Institute Benny Morris | author2 = Benny Morris | author3 = Morris Benny | date = 2004 | title = The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited | publisher = Cambridge University Press | pages = 129– | isbn = 978-0-521-00967-6 | oclc = 1025810122 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA129}}</ref>

In 1952, the Jewish town of [[Caesarea (modern town)|Caesarea]] was established {{convert|1|-|2|km}} to the north of the ruins of the old city, which in 2011 were incorporated into the newly created Caesarea [[National parks and nature reserves of Israel|National Park]].

In 1992, Palestinian historian [[Walid Khalidi]] described the village remains: "Most of the houses have been demolished. The site has been excavated in recent years, largely by Italian, American, and Israeli teams, and turned into a tourist area. Most of the few remaining houses are now restaurants, and the village mosque has been converted into a bar."<ref>Khalidi, 1992, p.184</ref> Since 2000, the site of Caesarea is included in the "Tentative List of World Heritage Places" of the [[UNESCO]].<ref name="UNESCO" />