a number of these villages, those in the jezreel valley, were inhabited by tenants of land which was sold by a variety of owners, some local and others absentee landlord families, such as the karkabi, tueini, farah and khuri families and sursock family of lebanon. in some cases land was sold directly by local "fellahim" (peasant owners). the sale of land to jewish organizations meant that tenant farmers were displaced.