Bronze Age to Early Islamic period Ceramics from the
Late Bronze Age and the
Persian period have been found here. A building, a winepress and ceramics from the
Byzantine period have been found, as have
Early Islamic remains. as has a building with a
kiln and pottery dating to the 18th–19th centuries. The
mosque of the village was built by Shaykh Ahmad al-Rahhal. A two-line poem inscribed in
nashki script, dated the construction of the mosque to 1207 H. (1792/93 CE). The village appeared as an unnamed village on the map of
Pierre Jacotin, compiled in 1799. During the early 19th century, under the rule of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt (1831–1840), Zarnuqa experienced an influx of migrants from Egypt, contributing to demographic growth and shaping aspects of village life. Archaeological findings, including imported Egyptian
ballāṣ jars reused in
local burials, reflect material ties between the
Egyptian settlers and the existing population. The burial included
Egyptian-made ceramic vessels and traces of grain, suggesting possible
ritualistic practices. This discovery provides valuable information on the cultural and religious dynamics of the region during that era. In 1863,
Victor Guérin found that Zarnuqa had 300 inhabitants and that it was surrounded by tobacco plantations. A
sanctuary was dedicated to a
Sheik Mohammed. An Ottoman village list from around 1870 counted 107 houses and a population of 267, though the population count included men only. Passing by, in 1871,
Charles Warren described travelling in the area: "We passed through olive groves and gardens past Zernuka, until crossing over some undulating hills we came across the village
Akir..." In 1882, the
PEF's
Survey of Western Palestine described Zarnuqa as a large
adobe village "with cactus hedges around it and wells in the gardens." In 1890, the region between Zarnuqa and Ramle, a stretch of 10,000
dunams, was described by Zionist sources as an uncultivated wasteland. In March 1892, a dispute erupted between the shepherds of Zarnuqa and the Jewish farmers of the newly established
moshava of
Rehovot, which was finally resolved in the courts.
British Mandate In the
1922 census of Palestine conducted by the
British Mandate authorities, Zarnuqa' had a population of 967 inhabitants, all
Muslims, increasing in the
1931 census to 1,952; still all Muslims, in a total of 414 houses. In 1926, the
Jewish National Fund purchased land from residents of Zarnuqa, and by 1931 had established on that land the first
workers' moshav (
moshav ovdim), known as
Kfar Marmorek, now a suburb of Rehovot, in which ten
Yemenite-Jewish families evicted from
Kinneret in 1931 were resettled. In 1929, Zarnuqa had 1,122 dunams of citrus orchards and most of its economic growth derived from citriculture. In 1934, Zionist writer
Ze'ev Smilansky attributed the modernisation of the village to its proximity to Rehovot and land sales to Jews by both
effendis and
fellahin. Advanced farming technologies were introduced under the tuition of their Jewish neighbors. In the
1945 statistics, the village was counted with
Gibton, and together they had a total population of 2,620; 2,380 Muslims and 240 Jews.
1948 and aftermath At the beginning of December 1947, the residents of Zarnuqa considered entering into a non-belligerency pact with Rehovot but apparently it was not formalized. In April 1948, Arab irregulars moved into the village. The Dar Shurbaji clan was in favor of the village surrendering its weapons and accept protection by
Haganah but others objected. Women, children and the elderly were evacuated to the nearby village of
Yibna, leaving the Shurbajis and several dozen armed men from other clans. Zarnuqa was depopulated on 27–28 May by the
Givati Brigade during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. One account in
Al HaMishmar described how a soldier fired with a
Sten gun at three people (one old man, old woman and a child) and how the villagers were taken out from the houses and had to stay in the sun, in hunger and thirst, until they surrendered the weapons they claimed they did not have. They were then expelled towards Yibna. In total, six died and 22 were taken prisoners. The day after, the inhabitants returned and recounted that the Yibna villagers saw them as traitors. The Zarnuqa villagers saw their village being ransacked by Jewish soldiers and nearby settlers. They were expelled again and the houses were demolished the month after. The family of the Shaqaqi brothers,
Fathi (one of the founders of the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad) and the political scientist Khalil Ibrahim, was from Zarnuqa. They fled in the face of rumours of massacres of Palestinians by
Yishuv troops and expected to return after the hostilities ended. They were not permitted to come back. After the establishment of
Israel, the Zarnuqa
ma'abara was established on the site to house Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe and
Arab lands. ==Notable resident and their descendants==