Even though generations have changed, the pain of displacement and unfinished lives has not changed for the Palestinians who had to dismantle the houses they were born, raised and built with their own hands in Khurbat al-Saruc, to the west of the city of Jenin in the north of the occupied West Bank.
Residents of the hamlet of Khurbat al-Saruj, after decades of residence by Palestinian families forcibly displaced during the Nakba (Great Catastrophe) in 1948, were forced to leave the area again, moving their homes and agricultural facilities, due to Israeli evacuation notices.
According to the statements of the residents of the region who spoke to the AA correspondent, approximately 50 Palestinians took shelter in the houses of their relatives in the nearby town of Al-Yemun after the Israeli administration requested the evacuation of the area, claiming that the area in question was "state land".
Unmanned and unfurnished houses, some parts of which were dismantled by their Palestinian owners for fear of demolition, and land leveling and settlement building activities initiated by the Israelis who usurped Palestinian lands in the region were reflected on AA cameras.
"They uprooted us from our birthplace"
Palestinian Mahdi Abu al-Hica made a statement to the AA correspondent while examining the remains before having to leave the place where he spent 58 years and where he was born and raised.
Abu al-Hijah stated that Israel notified the residents of the hamlet on October 23 that they had to evacuate their homes and agricultural facilities, giving them time to move their properties, otherwise it warned that construction equipment would be sent for demolition.
Palestinian Abu al-Hica said that the residents first started looking for places to shelter their animals, then moved their houses and moved their belongings and property to their relatives and acquaintances.
Abu al-Hijah stated that it was not easy to find a place to house sheep and goats, but emphasized that this was a priority for the residents before other properties were moved.
Expressing the gravity of what happened, Abu al-Hica said, "You have been producing, building and creating yourself here all your life; suddenly you are asked to give up all of this." he said.
Abu al-Hica noted that during the years he lived in the hamlet, he had never heard of anything prohibiting building or residing here, and added that the residents spent years developing their homes and sheepfolds according to their needs.
According to Abu al-Hijah, Israeli authorities justified the evacuation because the hamlet was located on areas considered "state land" within the "Area C" of the West Bank.
In accordance with the Second Oslo Agreement signed in 1995, the West Bank was divided into three regions: "A", "B" and "C". Area A is completely under Palestinian control, Area B is under Palestinian civilian and Israeli security control, and Area C, which constitutes approximately 60 percent of the West Bank, is completely under Israeli control.
Abu al-Hica stated that they noticed the presence of Israelis and shepherds who usurped Palestinian lands in the mountains surrounding the hamlet and began to observe their movements in the region.
Refreshing his childhood memories, Abu al-Hijah recalled the days when he walked to schools in Yemun town and the families of the hamlet would come together on special occasions and in the evenings.
Palestinian: "They uprooted us from our place of birth. We would all sit together in the evenings, every special day would bring us together. These are unforgettable memories." he said.
Describing the view of his house after its evacuation as "painful", Abu al-Hica said that returning to the place and seeing the houses empty and dismantled leaves a person with deep sadness.
"I was born here, I made my home here"
The situation of 47-year-old Palestinian Majdi Adil Khalil Abu al-Hijah, who had to leave the hamlet where he was born and raised throughout his life and left behind the house he had built with years of labor, is no different.
Palestinian Mecdi said, "I was born here, I built my home here, I have never lived anywhere else." he said.
Emphasizing that moving to another place was not easy, Mecdi stated that he had to leave his house, which he had spent years building and lived in for many years.
Stating that the hamlet is a place where he feels peaceful and safe, Mecdi said that despite the pain caused by the scenes of dismantling and destruction, he still returns here to check his house and the remaining properties.
He stated that his connection with the place is not limited to his house, but extends to the memories of his family and grandparents who lived here, as well as the visits of his relatives who came from Yemun town to experience nature and tranquility.
Stating that leaving the hamlet made him feel like he had left a fundamental part of his life behind, Mecdi said that every time he returned here, he remembered what he had lost and the life he was used to.
A new migration that refreshes the memories of Nakba
The displacement of the residents of Khurbat al-Saruc has a special meaning. As a matter of fact, some of these families took refuge in this region after being exiled from their towns within Palestine during the Nakba, and the following generations found themselves faced with a new exile experience after decades of settlement.
While the hamlet was previously home to houses, sheepfolds, and agricultural facilities, nothing remains but uninhabited and unfurnished buildings; Families had to move to their relatives' homes in the nearby town of Yemun.
The evacuation process took place simultaneously with the land leveling and settlement construction activities recorded by the AA camera in the region. This situation raises concerns about the future of the lands that the residents are forced to abandon.
Thus, after decades of Nakba, in which their families were exiled from their towns, the residents of Khurbat al-Saruc found themselves in the middle of a new migration, leaving behind the houses they had built over the years and the memories associated with the place where they were born and raised.
