Nakba #59 - Hassan Ibrahim al-Najjar

1948 “My father had binoculars that I was allowed to borrow. Through them I could see how the Zionists burned down the Bedouins’ tents on the outskirts of Ṭabariyya (Tiberias). Some of the Bedouins died, others fled. Then the Zionists advanced into Ṭabariyya. They fired at our house. We had only old pistols and knives and a single automatic weapon to defend ourselves against their modern weapons. Fifteen soldiers from al-Urdunn (Jordan) came to our aid. But the Zionists blew up their headquarters and the soldiers fled. The next day I went out to see what was left. Everything lay in ruins. I discovered a body in the rubble. It was George, who had been guarding the headquarters. The following day his family came asking for him. The situation became too dangerous. We fled and took shelter in a classroom in a girls’ school. Mother gave us potatoes to eat. Then a bullet went through the window and hit the wall on the other side of the classroom. Luckily, everyone was safe because we were sitting on the floor eating. Gradually the Zionists began shelling Ṭabariyya with artillery; the entire school shook. On one occasion a teapot filled with boiling tea fell to the floor and burned my foot. I still carry the scar today. My parents decided that we should leave the school and make our way to the town center, 1.5 km away. My older brother carried me on his shoulders. British soldiers and some priests offered to evacuate everyone to al-Nasira (Nazareth). They brought buses. Samcha, a Jewish settler from Kiryat Gat, came riding his horse to our village. He told us that we could stay in the village and that we would continue living together in peace. The villagers told him that this was our land and that the Jews should leave Palestine. Samcha insisted, but he was attacked and forced to flee. Shortly afterwards Haganah began shelling us, especially at night. It was impossible to sleep. The Jews also received help from British soldiers. Eventually we were forced to leave the village. We took what we could on a horse, a camel, and a donkey. It was my grandfather, my father, my two uncles, and me. In total we were 20 family members who were forced to flee. We went to Thkrein, a neighboring village seven kilometers to the east. Then we continued to Bayt Jibrin, at the foot of Jabal al-Khalil (the Hebron hills). It was already overcrowded with refugees sitting on the ground under the olive trees. We had only been in Bayt Jibrin for ten days when the Jews began attacking us. We moved further up to the next village, Idhna, higher up in Jabal al-Khalil. There we and many other families had to live in a barn together with cows. It was terribly cramped; there was no water, no toilets. We lived in the barn for three months. Then we were attacked by the Israelis. It had begun to snow and we did not even have shoes when we fled higher up to the village of Taffuh. There were old underground caves where we could take shelter. After three months in the caves, we went to the UN camp Fawwar. It took us a day to get there. In the camp we lived in tents. When it rained, water leaked in. When it snowed, the tents collapsed under the weight. We had no firewood. It was a very hard life.” Israel allowed us to visit our village Summayl. We rented a bus and went there. The houses were still standing. We sat down in front of our house and cried. Later the Israelis destroyed our house.” 2022 “UNRWA helps us with food and firewood here in the camp. But many are unemployed; we have no money.” Reflection “I pray to God that we will defeat the Israelis and the Americans. We have been killed by American weapons.”