8 individuals live in a cave..the smallest settlement opposite a settlement street
Izbat Abu Adam.. One Palestinian family faces 4 settlements
The Aber Samaria settlement road confiscated a third of the land of "Abu Adam".
Emirates today
During the uprooting of the occupation mechanisms, the trees of Hajj Abdul Raouf.
Emirates today
100 square meters underground protects Salah's family from settlement.
Emirates today
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“I was born on this land, and I will stay inside it even if I have one meter left of it. 40 years ago, all my brothers left for the Arab countries, but I chose to stay with my father over leaving, and since that time I have not left this small spot surrounded by settlements, in order to preserve the legacy of the fathers.” And the ancestors of looting and confiscation ».
The Palestinian pilgrim Abdel Raouf Salah (71 years old) and his family consisting of seven members cling to his land, inside the “Abu Adam” estate (after his father’s nickname) located east of the village of “Sartah”, west of Salfit Governorate in the northern West Bank, as the smallest Palestinian population, according to the classification of the Central Bureau of Statistics. The Palestinian, who is in the middle of a large settlement, seized most of Salah's lands, which amount to 150 dunums.
Cave means survival
"Emirates Today" set out from the east of the village of "Sartah" in the north, passing through winding roads, to reach a high hill surmounted by two houses whose walls are dilapidated, their history extends back to the days of the Ottoman Empire, and their ownership belongs by inheritance to his father Abu Adam Salah, but the occupation prevents him from restoring both or one of them. decades ago.
In 2016, the land that welcomed the citizen Salah narrowed, as a result of the widening borders of settlement ambitions, and preventing him from expanding on his land, whether through construction or renovation, so some of his children and their small families were forced to resort to “Sartah” to live inside it, because there was no space to live on it in their father’s estate.
The Palestinian pilgrim Abd al-Raouf, the youngest son of the late “Abu Adam,” then went to search for a refuge that would protect him from the tyranny of the occupation, and would be his sanctuary for him and his children and grandchildren at his side, to stay inside his land, not to leave it, so he found nothing but the reclamation of an ancient archaeological cave close to his homes An area of 100 square meters, which has been his only shelter for several months.
Salah confirms in his interview with "Emirates Today" that his choice did not end his suffering, but rather was the beginning of a new tragedy that he and his family would gulp of bitterness. Between four settlements adjacent to his land for decades, and creeping towards it.
He added: “These settlements, which are the largest and most dangerous in Salfit Governorate, surround (Izbat Abu Adam) from four directions. From the east, the industrial settlements of Barkan and the residential Burkan, from the southern area, the settlement of Brukhin, and from the southeastern side, the settlement of Ariel, one of the largest settlements on the lands of Salfit, as well as the cities of the West Bank.
Extended settlement ambitions
The remaining few areas within the land of the Palestinian citizen Salah constitute a permanent coveted by the occupation authorities, as it is surrounded by so many settlements, and the settlement road that devoured 50 dunums of his land.
Haj Abdel Raouf says, "The occupation seeks by various means to seize entire lands, as it has returned them again to the targeting circle, which witnesses daily the occupation forces razing their areas and cutting down their trees, in order to serve the expansion of settlement projects."
And Salah goes on: "A few weeks ago, the occupation forces bulldozed vast areas of my land, and uprooted 200 olive trees over 100 years old, under the pretext of establishing water networks for the settlements that swallow our land."
A legacy for future generations
Despite the ugliness of what Haj Abdul Raouf is exposed to daily from Israeli attacks and settlement ambitions, he refuses to leave his land, and insists on staying inside the ancient cave, accompanied by the remaining children and grandchildren, until successive generations inherit the story of his land, and preserve it from looting and loss.
The Palestinian Salah says, “Before 1967, this land was spacious, we planted fruits and trees, and we lived in luxury and security, until the occupation invaded the West Bank cities, tore our lands, and dispersed our existence over them, and we no longer possessed our rights and property inside it except for crumbs, and despite that, the forces raced It is time for Israel to deprive us of it as well.”
Hajj Abdul Raouf adds: “I will not accept that the years of my life that I spent clinging to the land of my father and my grandfather are wasted, scattered, I will stand firm with my children and their children, we will challenge all schemes of seizure, bulldozing and confiscation, and we will not leave it, no matter how expensive the price is, because tomorrow I will leave the world, so that my grandchildren remain the link in defending our rights And our land until the last breath ».
Despite the ugliness of what Haj Abdul Raouf is exposed to daily from Israeli attacks and settlement ambitions, he refuses to leave his land, and insists on staying inside the ancient cave, accompanied by the remaining children and grandchildren, until successive generations inherit the story of his land, and preserve it from looting and loss.
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