Az-Zeeb

Az-Zeeb or al-Zib (Arabic: الزيب‎) was a Palestinian Arab village located 13.5 kilometers (8.4 mi) north of Acre on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Mentioned in the Bible by its ancient name Achzib, evidence of human settlement at the site dates back to the 18th century BCE. By the 10th century BCE, it was a propersous and fortified Phoenician town. Conquered by the Assyrian empire in the 8th century BCE, it was subsequently ruled by the Persian empire. During the rule of the Roman empire in Palestine, it was known as Ecdippa. Arab geographers were referring to it as az-Zeeb by the early Middle Ages.

The Crusaders established a fortress named Casal Humberti there in 1099 and there are descriptions of it and the village of az-Zeeb by Arab chroniclers in the 12th and 13th centuries, just prior to and during the rule of the Mamluks in the region. Incorporated into the Ottoman empire in the early 16th century, by its end it formed part of the subdistrict of Akka. Its inhabitants cultivated various crops and raised livestock on which they paid taxes to the Ottoman authorities.

At the time of the British Mandate in Palestine, most the families in az-Zeeb made their living from fishing and agriculture, particularly fruit cultivation. Just before the official end to Mandate rule on May 14, 1948, az-Zeeb was attacked by captured by the Haganah's Carmeli Brigade. The town was depopulated and razed to the ground. The Israeli localities of Sa'ar and Gesher HaZiv were established on the village lands in 1948 and 1949. A domed mosque from the village has since been restored and serves as a tourist site, and the house of the last mukhtar is now a museum.