Deir Yassin is located 5.5 km west of Jerusalem at an elevation of 780 meters. Population records show growth from 39 residents in 1596 to 254 in 1922, 428 in 1931, 610 in 1945, and 708 in 1948. Arab land ownership totaled 2,701 dunums versus 153 dunums Jewish-owned.
The settlement originated as Khirbat Ayn al-Tut during early Ottoman rule, later renamed after a local sage, al-Shaykh Yasin. The village economy shifted dramatically during the British Mandate from agriculture to stone quarrying and processing, trucking services, and a bus company established in 1935. Social infrastructure included elementary schools for boys (1943) and girls (1946), mosques, a bakery, guest-houses, a social club, and a thrift fund.
On April 9, 1948, the Deir Yassin massacre occurred when armed groups assaulted the village. The massacre became a defining event of the 1948 conflict and was condemned by the Haganah, Jewish Agency, and Chief Rabbinate. In 1949, the settlement of Giv'at Sha'ul Bet was established on village lands. Today, Palestinian homes have been incorporated into Israeli structures, while the village cemetery remains threatened by surrounding development.
