Wadi al-Far'a

Not to be confused with Wadi al-Far'a (river).

Wadi al-Far'a
Other transcription(s)
• Arabic	وادي الفارعة
• Also spelled	Wadi al-Fari'ah (official) Tarza'a (unofficial)
Wadi al-Far'a Location of Wadi al-Far'a within the Palestinian Territories
Coordinates:
Governorate	Tubas
Founded	1960s
Government
• Type	Village council (from 1996)
Area
• Jurisdiction	12,000 dunams (12.0 km2 or 4.6 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Jurisdiction	2,340
Name meaning	"Valley of the Branches"

Wadi al-Far'a (Arabic: وادي الفارعة‎‎) is a Palestinian village in the Tubas Governorate in the northeastern West Bank located five kilometers southwest of Tubas. It has a land area of 12,000 dunams, of which 337 is built-up and 10,500 are for agricultural purposes. It is under the complete control of the Palestinian National Authority and is adjacent to the Far'a refugee camp. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Wadi al-Far'a had a population of 2,340 inhabitants.

Archaeology

Wadi al-Far'a is close to a number of Heavy Neolithic archaeological sites of the Qaraoun culture. Three nearby Heavy Neolithic sites discovered by Francis Turville-Petre between 1925 and 1926 are called Wadi Farah, Shemouniyeh and Wadi Sallah.

An archaeological mound situated near the village, Tell el-Far'ah (North), has been identified as the location of biblical Tirzah. The tell has occupation layers from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. It is called Tell el-Far'ah (North) in order to distinguish it from Tell el-Far'ah (South), an archaeological site south of Gaza.

History

Wadi al-Far'a was historically known as Tarza'a and its current name comes from its geographic location, being near the Far'a spring. The village's land was previously owned by residents of nearby Talluza who used it as farmland. In the 1960s, residents from Talluza settled in the area and established a separate village. In 1996, Wadi al-Far'a was officially declared separate from Talluza and was granted its own village council under the Tubas Governorate.

Demographics

In the 1997 census by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Wadi al-Far'a had a population of 1,713 inhabitants. Males constituted 51.3% and females constituted 49.7% of the population. In 2006, it grew to 2,341 rising by 32.5%. There are six main families in the village: al-Janajreh (30%), al-Barahameh (30%), as-Salahat (30%) the Darawhsheh, Shanableh and Balatya represent the remaining 10%.

External links

• Wadi al Far'a (Fact Sheet), The Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem. February, 2006