Sataf

Sataf
صطاف
Village
Remains of Sataf village
Etymology: from a personal name
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
A series of historical maps of the area around Sataf (click the buttons)
Sataf
Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 31°46′9″N 35°7′38″E / 31.76917°N 35.12722°E / 31.76917; 35.12722
Palestine grid162/130
Geopolitical entityMandatory Palestine
SubdistrictJerusalem
Date of depopulationJuly 13–14, 1948
Area
  Total
3,775 dunams (3.775 km2 or 1.458 sq mi)
Population
 (1945)
  Total
540
Cause(s) of depopulationMilitary assault by Yishuv forces

Sataf (Arabic: صطاف, Hebrew: סטף) was a Palestinian village in the Jerusalem Subdistrict depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was located 10 km west of Jerusalem, with Sorek Valley (Arabic: Wadi as-Sarar) bordering to the east.

Two springs, Ein Sataf and Ein Bikura flow from the site into the riverbed below.

A monastery located across the valley from Sataf, i.e. south of Wadi as-Sarar, known by local Arabs as Ein el-Habis (the "Spring of the Hermitage"), is officially called Monastery of Saint John in the Wilderness.

Today it is a tourist site showcasing ancient agricultural techniques used in the Jerusalem Mountains.