Fardisya

The village was situated on the northwestern slope of one of the hills in the coastal plain. From it, one could see the Mediterranean Sea to the west and Tulkarm to the north. It was located north of the town of Tayiba and connected to it by a secondary road. Another side road linked Fardisiya to the main Tulkarm–Qalqilya road extending west of the village. Fardisiya was recorded as existing in the Crusader period, known as Fardisi, and in 1596 it was a village in the Bani Sa‘b subdistrict of the Nablus district, with a population of 83. The villagers paid taxes on various crops such as wheat, barley, and olives, in addition to other products including goats and beehives.

The village was situated on a group of hills, with houses built along roads extending south and west, forming a triangular shape. At the western edge of the village was a mosque named after a religious figure called Sheikh Musa. To the north of the village was a spring from which the inhabitants drew drinking water. Several wells were also located near the village.

In 1944–45, a total of 384 dunams were allocated for cereal cultivation, and 187 dunams were irrigated or used as orchards, including 150 dunams planted with olive trees.

Occupation and Ethnic Cleansing

Between April and early May 1948, villages in this coastal sector, including Fardisiya, were subjected to increasing pressure from attacks by the Haganah and Irgun, along with orders to evacuate. The exact timing of Fardisiya’s depopulation is uncertain, but it is likely the inhabitants fled by early or mid-April at the latest. The village’s location amid a densely Jewish-settled area made it vulnerable to raids and other acts of intimidation. By mid-May, the Haganah had completed its objective of “cleansing” the coastal plain area extending from Tel Aviv to Zikhron Ya‘akov (a Jewish settlement south of Haifa) of all its Arab residents.

The Village Today

All the village houses were demolished except for one. Rubble is scattered throughout the site, especially around the remaining house. This house is rectangular in shape, with an arched entrance and arched windows on its eastern side. One of its rooms has collapsed and lost its roof. On the western side of the house is a grave marked by a headstone inscribed with Quranic verses. The village cemetery is located to the northwest of this grave. Nearby Fardisiya are some houses belonging to the adjacent Arab town of Tayiba.

Israeli Settlements on Village Lands

There are no Israeli settlements on the village lands. The settlement of Sha‘ar Ephraim (15188), established in 1953, is located north of the village site on lands traditionally belonging to the village of Fara‘un, which is close to the lands of Fardisiya.