Far'ata: Attack by 50 Settlers

This roof of a home in Far'ata is a fairly typical one.
Families build up rather than out to save land.

After passing through a flying checkpoint [The Israeli occupation army stops and checks IDS at random.] on the road leading to the village of Far'ata, the MPTer and Zakiraya, MPT Palestinian contact, were warmly welcomed by a Far'ata village family. The family served them several rounds of drinks and snacks. The cool drinks were much appreciated on this very hot May day. The Palestinian village of Far’ata, population 700, is located about six miles south of the village of Jit.

The village has a grade school. The older students go to high school in the nearby village of Immatin. Far’ata village lost land in 2002 to the Israeli outpost of Havat Gil’ad, which lies to its north. The villagers are now under constant attack by the settlers of the outpost.

[To see the Havat Gil’ad home page go to http://havatgilad.rjews.net/index.html ]

[To view a propaganda video on Havat Gil’ad click on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDNs-wgIUeQ ]
[For a Guardian article on the outpost read
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/oct/17/israel ]

This is part of the illegal [illegal even under Israeli law] outpost of Havat Gil'ad. Additional caravans [simple housing] were added to this in the last 2 months.
Only six or seven families live here now. Outposts eventually become settlements.
Credit for photo http://www.pbase.com/rdavid/image/64609379

Two years ago, some Far’ata villagers were beginning early in the day to harvest olives not far from Havat Gil’ad. Zakiraya, a Jit villager who works with Rabbis for Human Rights, had been called to accompany the Far’ata villagers. An Israeli army jeep came to a group of villagers, questioned what they were doing and when the villagers responded that they were harvesting olives, the army jeep left. A few minutes later an Israeli settler rode in on horseback, then left. Then 50 settlers from Havat Gil'ad and other West Bank settlements came to attack this group of Far’ata villagers. Five villagers were seriously injured, one suffered a head injury after being beaten by a metal pipe. He was taken to an Israeli hospital for a mandatory ten days of treatment. He went home after two days, but rested in his home without working for one month.

This man suffered a head injured when hit by a settler with a metal pipe. He was hospitalized and then spent one month in bed rest.

Palestinian newspaper photo of the stone throwing between settlers and villagers.

Palestinian newspaper photo of the man injured
when hit by a settler with a metal pipe. His mother is beside him.

This past week, when Palestinians farmers from Far’ata were plowing their land, Israeli settlers from Havat Gil’ad came to stop them. The Israeli occupation army arrived and ordered the villagers to stop plowing or they would shoot them. The villagers had plowed only a few minutes before the incident occurred and could do no more that day and perhaps none in the future. The Israeli District Coordinating Office [DCO] has not allowed these Palestinians to plow their fields in the rainy season [December - April], which is the best time to plow. The DCO continues to allow little or no plowing.

The Israeli settlers added new trailers or caravans to the outposts in the last two months. These caravans are roughly constructed houses whose purpose is to claim the land for a new settlement, hence the word outpost.

Every week ten or more Israeli settlers, many of them armed, from Havat Gil’ad come on horseback or walk into the village at any time of the day or night. They harass villagers and often steal or shoot goats. The people of Far’ata try to confront the settlers. Groups of villagers try to move the settlers out of the village. However, what can a few villagers do against armed settlers?

The lighting is terrible in this photo, but ...
in the lower half of the photo shows the illegal outpost of Havat Gil'ad.

Looking out from the hilltop village of Far'ata, the illegal Israeli settlement
of Qedumin lies to the north and west.

Downhill from Far'ata to the west is the village of Immatin.
Far'ata youth attend high school in Immatin.

For information on a January 2008 attack on an elderly shepherd by settlers from Havat Gil’ad and more details on the outpost, click on http://imeu.net/news/article007498.shtml