| Farwana | |
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Farwana
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| Arabic | فرونه |
| Also Spelled | Khirbet Farwana, Rohob, Rehob, Tel Rehov |
| District | Baysan |
| Coordinates | |
| Population | 330[1] (1945) |
| Area | 4,996[1] dunums |
| Date of depopulation | 11 May 1948[2] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
| Current localities | Rechov |
Farwana (Arabic: فرونه) was a Palestinian village, located 4.5 kilometers (2.8 mi) south of Bisan, depopulated in 1948.
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Identified with the ancient city of Rehov, extant during Egyptian rule over Canaan in the second millennium BCE, archaeological sites located on the former village's lands include Tell es-Sarem (i.e. Tel Rehov)[3] and the remains of a synagogue from the third century CE.[4]
Identification of Tel Rehov with the Rehob of the Egyptian texts was based on the preservation of the name at the nearby Islamic holy tomb of esh-Sheikh er-Rihab (1 kilometer to the south of the tel) and the existence of the ruins of a Byzantine era Jewish town of the same name (Rohob), 1 kilometer northwest of Tel Rehov, mentioned by Eusebius as being in the fourth mile from Bisan.[3] Khirbet Farwana (Khirbet meaning "site of ruins" in Arabic) is also associated with Rohob.[3]
At the time of the 1931 census, Farwana had 72 occupied houses and a population of 286 Muslims.[5]
Farwana had a population of over 300 people when it was depopulated in the lead up to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.[4] Its Arab inhabitants, along with those of the neighbouring village of al-Ashrafiyya fled to Jordan with the approach of the pre-state Israeli forces of the Golani Brigade during Operation Gideon on 11 May 1948.[4][6] The following day, the more than 72 houses that made up the village were completely destroyed.[4] Farwana's inhabitants never returned to the village, and they and their descendants make up one small part of the current population of more than 4 million Palestinian refugees worldwide.
The Jewish localities of Rechov, Chawwat Eden, and Ein HaNatziv were established on the former lands of Farwana.[4]
