Farkha

Farkha (Arabic: فرخة‎) is a Palestinian village located in the Salfit Governorate in the northern West Bank, 30 kilometers south of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it had a population of approximately 1,336 in 2007.[3]

Farkha
Municipality type D (Village council)
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicفرخة
Farkha, 2016
Farkha
Location of Farkha within Palestine
Coordinates: 32°04′11″N 35°8′56″E
Palestine grid164/164
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateSalfit
Government
 • TypeVillage council
Elevation587 m (1,926 ft)
Population
 (2007)
 • Total1,336
Name meaningFurkhah, from personal name[2]

Location

Farkha is located 3.2 kilometers (2.0 mi) west of Salfit. It is bordered by Salfit to the east and north, Qarawat Bani Zaid and Bani Zaid ash Sharqiya to the south, and Bruqin village to the west.[1]

History

Pottery sherds from the Middle Bronze Age, Iron Age I and IA II, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Crusader/Ayyubid have been found here.[4] An Ayyubid text in the village mosque, first noted in situ by D.C. Bamraki, dates it to 1210 CE.[5][6]

Pottery sherds from the Mamluk era have also been found here.[4] The village is seem to be the birthplace of the Muslim scholar Abdullah al-Farkhawi (d. 1415).[7]

Ottoman era

In 1517, the village was included in the Ottoman empire with the rest of Palestine, and in the 1596 tax-records it appeared as Farha, located in the Nahiya of Jabal Quba, part of Nablus Sanjak. The population was 17 households, all Muslim. They paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues and a fixed tax for people of Nablus area; a total of 2,800 akçe.[8] Pottery sherds from the early Ottoman era has also been found here.[4]

In 1838, Furkha was noted as village in the Jurat Merda area, south of Nablus.[9]

In 1870, Victor Guérin on his travels noted Farkha as a "considerable" village, located on a mountain peak.[10]

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Furkhah as: "An ancient village in a very strong position on a steep hill-top. The houses are of stone, and there are three sacred tombs, including Haram en Neby Shit, on the south. The fountain of Ain Yambua, in the valley, gives a supply of fine water, and there are two other springs east of the village. The place is evidently an ancient site. The hills around it are very steep and rocky."[11]

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Farkha had a population of 210 Muslims,[12] increasing in the 1931 census to 304 Muslims in 54 occupied houses.[13]

Tawfiq Canaan mention the custom of Mafazeh at the top of the ascent of Farkah; “a traveller after climbing a high mountain raises a heap of stones, or throw a stone on an existing heap, saying at the same time prayer as a mark of thanks to God that he has overcome a difficulty."[14]

In the 1945 statistics the population was 380 Muslims[15] while the total land area was 5,675 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[16] Of this, 1,753 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 1,301 for cereals,[17] while 14 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[18]

Jordanian era

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Farkha came under Jordanian rule.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 564 inhabitants.[19]

Post-1967

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Farkha has been under Israeli occupation.

After the 1995 accords, Israel and Israeli settlements got 80% of the water from the Western Aquifer, leading often to severe shortages of water in Farkha.[20][21]

After 1995, 48% of village land is defined as Area A land, 21.6% is Area B, while the remaining 30.4% is defined as Area C land. As of 2013, the plans for the Segregation Wall would isolate the village from much of its land behind the wall.[22]

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gollark: Where? I don't see anything hugely insultuous.
gollark: Inductive proof apiomethods.
gollark: ?charinfo 𰻞
gollark: Eventually apioforms will of course attain this status, due to our ongoing memetic engineering.

References
  1. Farkha village profile, ARIJ, p. 4
  2. Palmer, 1881, p. 229
  3. 2007 PCBS Census Archived December 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. p. 112.
  4. Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 456
  5. The full text of the inscription is: "Basmalah. They only shall manage (visit, perform the umrah to) Allah’s places of worship who have believed in Allah and the Last Day. (Q, 9:18; trans. Bell) This blessed mosque was renewed particularly by the funds of the inhabitants of the village known (by the name of) Farkhah that belongs to the sub district of the divinely protected town of Nābulus, as a pious deed for the sake of Allah—the exalted—and seeking His approval. Those who assumed charge of the work were Mansūr b. Abū al-Fawāris and Kāmil b. Sinān (or Sayyār) and Nāsir b. Muhammad who are all in need for Allah’s compassion. And the most exalted the great Amīr Bahā' ad-Dīn Alūdākh(?) b. 'Abd Allah has endowed for it from the (income of the) fasal of the aforementioned village every year three Tyrian dinars seeking the approval of Allah and (hoping to) gain the abode of the world to come. And this took place on the full moon of the month of Shawwāl the year 606 (=12.4.1210) and may Allah bless Muhammad." Sharon, 2004, pp. 188 -200
  6. Sharon, 2005, pp. 127–140
  7. Sharon, 2004, p. 188
  8. Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 134
  9. Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, pp. 82-83, Appendix 2, p. 127
  10. Guérin, 1875, p. 159
  11. Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 284
  12. Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Nablus, p. 25
  13. Mills, 1932, p. 61
  14. Canaan, 1927, p. 76 and note 4. Cited in Sharon, 2004, p. 189
  15. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 18
  16. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 59
  17. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 106
  18. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 156
  19. Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 26
  20. Farkha village profile, ARIJ, p. 15
  21. Israel incapable of telling truth about water it steals from Palestinians, by Amira Hass, Jun. 22, 2016, Haaretz (Archived)
  22. Farkha village profile, ARIJ, p. 17

Bibliography
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