On a high hill located between Nablus and Tulkarem the Safareen town comes into sight reciting a history of struggle for survival.
Head of Safareen Village Council Talal Shaqour said no more than 1000 people have remained in the village adding that the number is expected to go down in the next few years due to the tough socio-economic situation inflicted by the Israeli restrictions and closures.
Safareen located some 20 kilometers away from southeastern Tulkarem province is extended over an area of up to 1000 dunums.
Over 22000 residents of Safareen fled to Tulkarem province while nearly 8000 have sought shelter in Jordan according to data by the Village Council.
Former head of Safareen’s Village Council Eid Mahmoud attributed the mass exodus in a statement to the PIC to the dire living conditions endured by the residents.
According to Shaqour the village has been grappling with tough crackdowns by the Israeli occupation forces and settlers due to its proximity to a settlement thoroughfare and also to the historic Samara hamlet whose archeological monuments have been permanently targeted by Israel’s “antiquities thieves”.
