Nablus -
In the heaviest settler attack on the town of Hawara, south of Nablus in the West Bank, on Sunday evening, Palestinian Sameh Hamdallah Al-Aqtash, or "Sheikh Sameh" as he was known by the people of his village, was martyred.
Like a thunderbolt, the news fell on everyone who knew Sheikh Sameh (37 years old) or heard about him, as he is known for his calmness and love for charitable work and his initiatives until an Israeli bullet killed him, which did not allow him to reach the nearest medical center, as his brothers and friends said during his funeral.
He came to defend his family.. so they killed him
Regarding the details of what happened, Rashdan al-Aqtash says that his brother prayed dinner with them in the mosque of the village of Za'tara near Hawara, and left for his house, which he recently moved to in the neighboring town of Beita, after the occupation prevented him from building in his village because it is located in Area C, which is under Israeli security control.
About an hour later, the incident intensified on Hawara Street, where settlers launched violent attacks targeting the burning of citizens' homes and vehicles.
Meanwhile, other groups of them were attacking the village of Za'tara, so Sheikh Sameh went with dozens of young men to repel the attack, and they actually succeeded in doing so the first time, but the security guard of the nearby "Taffouh" settlement, and with him the occupation soldiers, came again and attacked the village, "so the soldiers started shooting directly at us." Let a fatal bullet hit the side of my brother Sameh, and he will rise as a martyr,” Al-Aqtash says.
Sheikh Sameh continued to bleed for about half an hour, as the roads were closed due to the attacks of the occupation and settlers, and his family had to transport him in a vehicle and then carry him on the shoulders for hundreds of meters through a dirt road until the arrival of the ambulance that took him to the medical center in the town of Huwwara, which is less than two kilometers away.
He was buried and buried at dawn
The body of the martyr remained lying in the medical center for hours after the occupation siege and settler attacks prevented the movement of citizens, ambulances and civil defense vehicles, until his family was able to transport him and bury him in his village at around 3 am.
The martyr was hastily buried amid a state of fear and anticipation that the settlers would attack the small village, which has a population of only about 100 people and is inhabited by 16 families descending from one family from the neighboring village of Beita.
The martyr, Sameh Al-Aqtash, is married and has 5 children.
He studied until the tenth grade before leaving school to work and excel in the blacksmithing profession that he became famous for.
His brother Rashdan says, "His works have reached the cities of the West Bank as a whole." He added that the martyr, although he is the youngest of his brothers, is considered their "adviser" due to his wisdom, erudition, and experience.
Preacher and philanthropist
Sheikh Sameh Al-Aqtash is known for his love, his good deed, and his endless initiatives. After his martyrdom, a picture of him spread during his stay a few days ago in Turkey following the recent earthquake.
And about that, his brother says that Sameh, and on the day after the earthquake, he collected money from the good people in his village and its surroundings, and he also contributed, then he traveled to the Turkish city of Bursa, where his brother is also present, and he collected the money again and bought blankets, tents, and luggage for those affected, and drove it through two trucks and presented it Then he worked within the rescue unit in the affected area, where he arrived, and stayed there for 10 days.
He and his wife also arrived in this area about 5 years ago, and they stayed for 40 days on a trip that they dedicated to calling to God, something he used to do constantly in his village and without a place, and until a few days he and his neighbors in Za’tara took the initiative to pave the road that leads to their homes.
After his return from Turkey, Sheikh Sameh did not skimp on the people of his mother village, "Beita" and its municipality, which has a partnership and twinning relationship with Turkish municipalities, and gave them advice and experiences gained from his participation in rescue operations, and they agreed to purchase the necessary equipment in crises.
And the martyr Sheikh Sameh also has humanitarian initiatives, as he is a volunteer within the Palestinian "Al-Jahful" team of four-wheel drive vehicles in rescue operations for stranded citizens, especially during the winter season.
He suffered the oppression of the occupation
Like other residents of Za'tara, his relative Anas Al-Aqtash told Al-Jazeera Net that Sheikh Samih suffered from the oppression of the Israeli occupation, which notified him of demolishing the blacksmith's workshop he owned in 2013 under the pretext that it was unlicensed, so he confronted that in the Israeli courts.
"For this reason, the occupation prohibited him from building inside his village."
Sheikh Sameh was buried as the first martyr in Za’tara and in the events of Hawara, and was buried according to his will that he wrote and which he renewed every 3 months, that he be shrouded in the Ihram garments, that two religious men wash him, and that they sit at his grave after burying him a little, and that one of his brothers takes care of his debts.
He also recommended monotheism and worship of God, and he kept repeating that while he was injured before his martyrdom, saying: “There is no god but God, Muhammad is the Messenger of God, take care of my children,” that is, take care of them.