Kasla, Jerusalem

Kasla was a Palestinian village in the Jerusalem Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on July 17, 1948 by the Harel Brigade of Operation Dani. It was located 17 km west of Jerusalem. 
History.
The village was ancient, with antique remains incorporated into houses.
The Canaanites, Israelites and Romans referred to Kasla as the city of Chesalon. Kasla has several khirbas including a shrine for a local sage known as al-Shaykh Ahmad.
Ottoman era.
Kasla was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared in the tax registers under the name of "Kisli", or "Kisla," as being in the "nahiya" ("subdistrict") of Ramla, which was under the administration of Gaza Sanjak. It had a population of 11 household; an estimated 61 persons, who were all Muslims. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 25 % on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, fruit trees, sesame, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 1,280 akçe. All of the revenue went to a waqf.
In 1838, "Kesla" was noted as a Muslim village in the "el-Arkub" district, southwest of Jerusalem.
In 1863 Victor Guérin described it a being situated on a ridge, while an Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed "Kesla" with a population of 83, in 29 houses, though the population count included men only. It was also noted that to was located 3 1/2 to 4 hours west of Jerusalem.
In 1883, the PEF's "Survey of Western Palestine" described "Kesla" as "a small stone village in a conspicuous position on the top of a rugged ridge, with a deep valley to the north. There is a spring to the east, and two more in a valley to the south. This is the site of Chesalon."
In 1896 the population of Kesla was estimated to be about 207 persons.
British Mandate era.
In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, "Kasala" had a population of 233 Muslims, increasing in the 1931 census to 299 Muslims, in 72 houses.
In the 1945 statistics, the village had a population of 280 Muslims, while the total land area was 8,004 dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 440 were used for plantations and irrigable land, 2,265 for cereals, while 10 dunams were classified as built-up areas.
1948, and aftermath.
Kasla, along with four other villages, were overtaken by the Israeli Harel Brigade on 17–18 July 1948 in Operation Dani. The villages had been on the front line since April 1948 and most of the inhabitants of these villages had already left the area. Many of those who stayed fled when Israeli forces attacked and the few who remained at each village were expelled.
In 1992 the village site was described: "Wild grass covers the entire site and grows amid the rubble of the stone houses, which is difficult to distinguish from the rubble of ruined terraces. Almond trees grow on top of the mountain and cactuses grow along the site’s southern slopes. Northeast of the village, two carob trees are surrounded by the remains of a vineyards. On the slopes, thick wild grass grows on several terraces, which are still intact."