Hanajira

Its territory stretched north-south between Deir al-Balah and Gaza and east to the lands of the Tarabin bedouin,[1] straddling the Hejaz Railway line.

The Bani Attiya tribe of Wadi Araba sought to exploit the lack of state authority and encroached upon the territories of the Negev Bedouin tribes, including the Beersheba plains, without the permission of Salman Ali Azzam al-Huzayl, the Tiyaha chief of the area.

[6] The Palestine Exploration Fund reported that in the late 19th century, the Hanajira grew tobacco and watermelons at Khirbet Emkemen between Khan Yunis and Rafah.

He served with the British Army during World War I,[8] and after the Mandate's establishment, he was appointed to the Tribal Court and the Advisory Council of the High Commissioner.

In April 1948 Sheikh Freih al-Msaddar was among the notables who welcomed volunteers from the Muslim Brotherhood coming from Egypt to fight Israeli forces in Palestine.

Members of the Hanajira tribe in Beersheba. Seated third from left is Sheikh Freih Abu Middein, chief of the Hanajira tribe. Standing in the center is Aref al-Aref , Palestinian journalist and later mayor of East Jerusalem
Tribal chief Sheikh Freih Abu Middein, during his mayoral term in Beersheba , early 1920s
1908 map of Bedouin tribes inhabiting the Negev Desert. Al-Hanajira is spelled "Arab al-Hanagreh" in the map