The following are the words of Abu Tarek from Nazlat Issa.

My name is Khalid Al-Salfiti. Originally from Salfit, I have been living in Jerusalem since I was 12, when I was orphaned. I came to Jerusalem to find work, and at the time, in the year 1962, the city was bustling. When I grew older, an acquaintance who knew me well gave me money to buy a shop in Jerusalem -the Old City- and until today this shop is my work and my income. It has allowed me to care for my family and to buy a home.

Omar Said -Abu Mohammad- is a farmer from Qalqiliya, and a father of five. Omar's story is an example of how farmers in communities that have their lands isolated behind the Wall suffer to reach their lands.



Omar owns eight dunums of agricultural land to the north of Qalqiliya city, the land is mainly planted with olive trees, and is the family’s main source of income.

***image1***Walaja is located south west of Jerusalem. The village was Occupied in October 1948, but Palestinian and Egyptian guerillas fought off the Israeli battalions and successfully defended their village. Several times they were able to force the Occupation troops to withdraw, but in the end the village was Occupied. (Al Khalidi, Wallid 1992: All That Remains). The village was then destroyed, and Aminadav settlement was built on its lands along with an Israeli park.

Al Bandak Stone, one of the oldest factories in Palestine, established in 1967, has been, like all Palestinian economic establishments, routinely targeted by Occupation forces in a continuing attempt to close down and destroy the factory. Al Bandak Stone has faced numerous assaults by Occupation forces over the last years, the most severe occurring during the invasion of Bethlehem in 2002. While the Occupation forces bombarded the nearby Aida Refugee Camp, they also targeted the factory destroying the ceiling and paralyzing one whole section of the facility.

We met Ziad in the street where he was trying to decide how to best place the used “caravan” he’d bought on a piece of land by the side of the street. He planned to move all of his merchandise from the shop to the caravan because he could no longer afford to pay rent for the shop. Ziad says:

***image1***My land is located in an area were many peoples lands where confiscated in 1993. During that year I was in prison, and when I was released in 1994 I gave all my time to protect my land from any further attempts to confiscate more. The Occupation forces tried different ways to prevent us from reaching our lands, they would shoot at us while we were heading to the land, or while working in it. Nevertheless we resisted and continued to go to our lands and plant our fields.

***image1***My land is located in an area were many peoples lands where confiscated in 1993. During that year I was in prison, and when I was released in 1994 I gave all my time to protect my land from any further attempts to confiscate more. The Occupation forces tried different ways to prevent us from reaching our lands, they would shoot at us while we were heading to the land, or while working in it. Nevertheless we resisted and continued to go to our lands and plant our fields.

***image1***We came to our lands on Sunday and Monday (March 7/8), and then I could not come again for two days as I was sick. We were a group of old women, but the minute we arrived to the lands and the soldiers saw us they stood in one line and they would not let us pass.

***image3***When somebody watches a tragic film for the first time, he feels surprised and sad, and when he watches the same film for the second time, he becomes less surprised and so on. However, the wall tragedy is a live one, its actions renewed daily, its pains and tears are real ones. In more than one and a half years watching the impacts of the wall, every time I visit a new location, or even the same location, I notice new horrible actions took place, as if I see or hear the story of the wall for the first time.

***image3***When somebody watches a tragic film for the first time, he feels surprised and sad, and when he watches the same film for the second time, he becomes less surprised and so on. However, the wall tragedy is a live one, its actions renewed daily, its pains and tears are real ones. In more than one and a half years watching the impacts of the wall, every time I visit a new location, or even the same location, I notice new horrible actions took place, as if I see or hear the story of the wall for the first time.

The following is a portion of a presentation/testimony given by Sharif Omar Khaled (Abu Azzam) at the symposium co-organized by PENGON/Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign at The Hague on Saturday, February 21. The symposium, also referred to as the Popular Hearing, sought to provide a platform at The Hague for affected communities to make their struggle known worldwide.