West Bank village, proudly self-reliant, now faces wartime hostility [from Israel]

 

Farkha's Mayor Mustafa Hammad points to Israeli settlements and outposts he worries may soon cut off the village form its farmland, April 24, 2024

By Taylor Luck Special correspondent

• Fatima AbdulKarim Special contributor

May 24, 2024 | FARKHA, West Bank

While most villages across the beleaguered West Bank lie dormant, Farkha buzzes with activity.

Farmers plant summer vegetables and wheat, blacksmiths weld iron gates, women prepare jarred pickles and jams for sale, and dozens gather in the recently opened cafe.

This Palestinian village, which a year and a half ago was found to be witnessing a revival built on self-sufficiency and an everyone-pitches-in philosophy, is faring better than most amid Israeli settler attacks, military road closures, and a suffocated economy.

Why We Wrote This

A story focused on

Community

Long before the war in Gaza erupted, Monitor reporters covering the West Bank found a remarkable story of self-sufficiency in Farkha, a village frustrated by inattentive local governance. The war has brought new threats, so our reporters returned.

Yet the feel-good vibes and flurry of activity mask a harsher reality: Farkha is under threat.

While its indigenous concept of Al Ouneh – collective philanthropy and communal farming – is keeping it afloat, residents say that this is not enough to shield the village from the closures and a legion of armed and organized far-right settlers.

Residents say that in a war, it takes more than a village.... READ MORE  https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2024/0524/west-bank-farmers-israel-settlers-war

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