Farwana

The village of Farruna stood on level terrain in the Baysan Valley, along the main road connecting Baysan to Jericho. Its name may derive from the Arabic root f-r-n (to bake bread), possibly referencing the area’s hot climate, characteristic of the Jordan Valley.

The village homes were constructed from mudbrick, closely packed together and separated by narrow alleys. Surrounding the village were agricultural lands irrigated by local springs. In 1944/1945, a total of 3,847 dunums was allocated for cereal cultivation, and 12 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.

Approximately 300 meters southeast of the village lay Tall al-Sarim, a large mound containing ruins of an ancient city composed of upper and lower sections. This site is sometimes identified with Rehob, which served as an Egyptian administrative center in Palestine during the second millennium BCE. Excavations conducted about 200 meters south of the mound uncovered graves dating to the late third or early second millennium BCE.

In 1969, remains of a Jewish synagogue dating to the third century CE were discovered northeast of the village site.

Occupation and Depopulation

Farruna came under attack in mid-February 1948, during fighting near the Jewish settlement of Tirat Zvi. According to the Falastin newspaper (issue dated 19 February 1948), Zionist forces attempted to encircle the village from the north and east, but local resistance fighters repelled the attack. The report added that the attackers blew up three houses before retreating.

Israeli historian Benny Morris notes that on the night of 10–11 May 1948, units from the Golani Brigade attacked and captured Farruna, along with the neighboring village of al-Ashrafiyya. These actions were preparatory steps for the final assault on the city of Baysan, which took place on 12 May 1948.

Farruna was likely one of eight villages in the Baysan district that, according to the Associated Press, fell on 13 May 1948. Morris writes that the villagers fled across the Jordan River as Israeli forces advanced, and that Haganah engineering units immediately began demolishing the village, resulting in its complete destruction.

The Village Today

Today, only crumbling walls and the floors of some houses remain. The site is overgrown with wild vegetation and includes archaeological remains. Surrounding lands are now cultivated by Israeli farmers.

Zionist Settlements on Village Lands

In 1951, the settlement of Regav (ID: 196206) was established north of the village site, on village lands.

The experimental farm known as Havat Eden (ID: 196208) was established to the west, also on former village land.

The settlement of Ein Hanatziv (ID: 197208) was founded in 1946, northeast of the site, on land traditionally part of the city of Baysan.

Sde Trumot (ID: 196205) was established in 1951, west of the village, on land that belonged to the depopulated village of al-Samiriyya.