Palestinian Omar Hajajleh may have a private gate for his home in a village in the occupied West Bank, but that is not a luxury. That gate is located under the Israeli separation barrier that separates him and his family from the rest of their village.
Israel began building its separation wall in the West Bank in 2002, at the height of the Palestinian uprising, to prevent operatives and militants from reaching its cities.
But the circular wall road, which runs around and across the West Bank, cuts off some Palestinian communities.
With regard to the Hajajleh house, the wall cuts it off from his village, Al-Walajah, near Bethlehem, which is part of the West Bank lands that Israel occupied in the 1967 war.
Omar Hajjajleh, 53, who lives in the house with his wife and three children, said: “A feeling of what I want to say to you means that you are inside a prison. Leave a prison. I mean, imprisonment ... some times it will be easier.
After he petitioned the Supreme Court of Israel, Omar Hajajleh reached a settlement in 2013 according to which the Israeli Ministry of Defense erected a tunnel and a remote operating gate under the concrete wall, allowing them to reach the village.
This subway that passes under the ground is currently the only entrance to the house of Hajjleh.
Omar says that his family needs permission from the Israeli army to use the remote control to open the gate and transport the children to school or go to the grocery store.
He added that Israel could deny him the device of opening the gate remotely if he violated a series of conditions, including receiving guests without coordinating their visit in advance with the army.
Regarding the morale of his children, Omar said, “We are as much as possible, as much as our strength, as much as our will, and as long as we stand steadfast. Our children are the most important thing and the most important need is that this is our land only, it is our land, this is our home one day we cannot give it up. ''