1941

“On the eastern side, up toward the mountain, we had planted olive trees and almond trees. On the western side, close to the coast, we grew wheat, corn, and other grains. To the north was the Jewish settlement of Gat, where mostly Polish Jews lived. They tried many times to persuade my father to sell the land, but he refused. He did not want to sell to Jews.

But we were poor and needed money. Instead, my father sold to Azzi, an Egyptian. He bought the land from us but then sold it on to the Jews. Azzi was a traitor. He exploited us. The Zionists also bought land from other nearby villages, including Summil, Jusayr, and Zayta. In the end, they managed to expand their small settlement to 600 hectares.”

1948

“We were besieged by the Israeli army for nine months. Our village was defended by 900 Egyptian soldiers, including Abdel Nasser, and 200 volunteers from Sudan. I met Nasser many times. He lived in my aunt’s house. He later became president of Misr (Egypt).

The Israelis attacked the village from all directions, despite suffering heavy losses each time they attacked.

In February 1949, Israel entered into the so-called Rhodes Agreement with Egypt. The Egyptian army withdrew to the Gaza Strip, which meant that ‘Iraq al-Manshiyya came under Israeli control. The Israelis demanded that we leave the village, but we refused. After two months, they returned.

I was with my parents when we were forced out of our house and gathered together with four other families in a house outside the village. They emptied the village and searched every house. After some time, two young Palestinians went back into the village, but they were shot dead by the Israeli military. There were UN observers from France and Sweden present. They summoned the Israeli leadership and complained about the conduct of the military. I heard it myself, because I was serving the coffee.

The Israelis drove us away in their trucks. This happened in three stages over one week in April 1949. My family was taken away in the last trucks. This happened during the daytime, and the military told us that we could take all our belongings with us. But since we had been under siege for almost nine months, we did not have much left to take.

‘You can take the stones too,’ a soldier said.

We were driven east toward al-Diffa al-Gharbia, toward Tarqumia. The Jordanian army was waiting for us at the border and drove us onward to the Arroub refugee camp, which the Red Cross had prepared a few months earlier. We were told by the Red Cross staff that this was only temporary and that we would be able to return after a couple of weeks.”

Reflection

“One day we will return, even if it takes hundreds of years. What was taken by force will be taken back by force.”