“My land is a matter of life or death for me. On its very soil I spent the most unforgettable memories of my childhood” said a Palestinian woman as she harked back to the years when herself and forebears lived in peace before the Israeli occupation of their land.
“Now things have changed. While people in other corners of the world wake up to the sounds of birds we the Palestinians wake up to the sounds of Israeli excavation machines and bulldozers leveling our lands” Nayefa al-Dik told a PIC news correspondent.
“The sounds of bulldozers digging our lands are like heavy strokes dealt to our heads and hearts” said Nayefa with tears in her eyes. “We no longer recognize our very land which used to be our only source of living. Today our land is struggling for survival while it faces up to Israel’s colonizing grips.”
Nayefa said she has been heading to her land located west of Kafr al-Dik town west of Salfit everyday to protect it from the Israelis.
“At times I find myself engaged with nobody else by my side in fistfights against dozens of heavily-armed Israeli soldiers and settlers who bulldoze my cultivated land in such a remarkably callous and sadistic manner” she added.
“Before the arrival of the Israeli settlers I used to jolt out of my bed as soon as the first rooster crows at the break of dawn” said Nayefa heaving a sigh of deep-seated sorrow. “I used to work on my land with great joy as if I were on cloud nine. I remember planting figs grapes and cherubs along with several other crops.”
“The Israelis have taken away my joy from me. As soon as they started the construction of three settlements—Peduel Alei Zahav and Leshem—west of Kafr al-Dik everything has gone upside down. Little by little the occupation bulldozers have started to swallow up parts of lands. I left no stone unturned to protect my land. However their equipment was far stronger than my vulnerable body.”
“We lived happily and peacefully until the Israelis took over our lands. Our life had been simple but full of the joy of life. Just standing on the land and contemplating the olive trees moving back and forth as they followed the puffs of air; the cattle as they gulped down the fertile herbs; and the fruitful trees as they made a natural mosaic of colorful fruits were moments of unparalleled joy.”
“Our land was more than a source of life for us. It is life itself” she concluded shedding the tears of extreme bitterness.
Like Nayefa dozens of Palestinians in Kafr al-Dik have had their lands seized from them by the Israeli occupation authorities and settlers who have turned the cultivated lands into industrial zones and contaminated the natural landscapes with chemical substances emerging from newly-constructed settlement projects.
