Post: Village of Far’ata Faces Escalating Colonists’ Attacks Since Start of Year

Gaza: Far'ata village, located east of Qalqiliya Governorate, has witnessed a significant escalation in colonists' attacks since the beginning of the year, with ongoing assaults targeting Palestinian residents, their lands, and property in an attempt to impose a new reality and push them to leave their lands. According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, resident Mohammed Shana'a described purchasing a plot of land in the eastern part of the village with the intention of building on it. However, the increasing colonist attacks prevented him from doing so, forcing him to put the land up for sale after accessing it became increasingly dangerous due to ongoing colonists' attacks targeting anyone present in the area. The attacks extend beyond landowners to farmers who depend on their lands for their livelihood. Farmer Abdul Muati Rizq recounted his experience, explaining that his two-dunum plot, essential for his family's vegetable cultivation, has become inaccessible. The fear of being targeted wh ile accessing the land or harvesting crops has forced him to significantly reduce his agricultural activities. Resident Hijazi Yameen highlighted that residents' homes have also become direct targets of colonist attacks. His house has repeatedly been subjected to stone-throwing and waste dumping, instilling fear and anxiety among his family members. He called for protection for residents and an end to these attacks. Rula Abdel Aziz, a member of the Far'ata village council, reported that attacks by colonists from the Havat Gilad and Yitzhar colonies, built illegally on residents' lands east of the village, have escalated unprecedentedly since the beginning of the year. The close proximity of these colonies, only 200 to 300 meters away, leaves residents under constant threat. Abdel Aziz noted around 400 attacks against the village since the start of the year, with July witnessing the highest number at 40 attacks. These attacks resulted in the seizure of around 300 dunums of village land, the destruction of a nother 150 dunums, primarily olive trees, the burning of 20 vehicles, damage to around 50 homes and facilities, and 40 direct attacks against residents, including stone-throwing and gunfire. The attacks have focused on the eastern and southern areas of the village, particularly where the Abu al-Joud shrine is located. Colonists claim ownership of the site and regularly perform religious rituals there. They have installed caravans, sheds, livestock pens, and erected colonial tents in the southern part of the village, preventing around 35 families from accessing and cultivating their lands. Colonists have employed various intimidation tactics against residents, such as placing dead pigs outside homes and stealing electricity from the village's power network to provide electricity to seized lands. Recently, they brought in concrete blocks as part of preparations to install an agricultural gate, further restricting residents' access to their lands. Abdel Aziz emphasized that the attacks aim to force Palestinia n residents off their land by preventing cultivation and grazing, paving the way for seizure and colonial expansion. The newly established colonial outposts are part of the Havat Gilad colony's ongoing expansion policy. Far'ata village, home to around 1,200 residents and spanning approximately 1,760 dunums, is bordered by the villages of Immatin to the north, Jit to the south, and Awarta and Osarin, in Nablus Governorate, to the southeast. Its proximity to several colonial outposts has made it increasingly vulnerable to escalating attacks by colonists.