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The questions of this interview are divided in two parts, the first part aims to form a picture on the humanitarian, social, cultural status of the Palestinians before Nakba, and the other part aims to convey the suffering of the Palestinians refugees during the Nakba, and in the refugee camps and the diaspora.
We are now at the house of Haj Abu Mustafa, the first question is;
+Can you introduce yourself with your full name please?
-Ibrahim Mustafa Ibrahim, this is my full name.
+With the Family name; last name, please?
-Taha Al-Sheikh
+Tell me the date of your birth?
-1914
+What is the name of your hometown/village?
-Imwas
+Imwas was in which city district?
-It was at the district of Al-Lydd, or Jerusalem.
+We will get to this subject later on during the interview, what is your father’s full name?
-Mustafa Ibrahim Nasser.
+What is your mother’s full name?
-Ruqaia Mohammad Ali.
+Can you tell us about your hometown?
-like what?
+How far was Imwas from the city of Jerusalem?
-It was 28 kilometers away from Jerusalem.
+What are the names of the nearby villages? And let’s go through them by directions; let’s start by the Northern borders; what are the closest villages to Imwas?
-From the North?
+Yes, please?
-From the North; Khirbet Ajanjoul, and then Al-Borj.
+How far are these villages?
-these villages are all close to one another, 3 or 4 kilometers, from Ajanjoul to Salbit there are three or four villages, but the distance is no more than seven to eight kilometers.
+And from the East?
-We are not yet through with North; we mentioned Al-Borj, Beer Main, Beit Shanne, Salbit and Al-Buweira.
+And from the East?
-We can say; Beit Nuba, and Yalu. Beit Nuba is located at the North-East and right after Der Ayyoub
+How far are these villages from Imwas?
-Four Kilometers.
+And from the South?
-Beit Mahsir, but it’s a bit far.
+Approximately how far?
-Maybe more than 10 kilometers.
+And from the West?
-We are still talking about the South; Beit Jeez is located on the borders of our village, in between our Village and Beit Jeez is no more than 200 Kilometer. And Deir Muhaisen, Saidoun, Abu Shusheh and Al-Qubab.
+How far away from Imwas are these villages, approximately?
-Abu Shusheh and Saidoun are a bit far; perhaps 8 kilometers or more, as for Al-Qubab it’s five kilometers far.
+And from the West?
-Al-Qubab is from the west.
5:19
+Can you mention the main roads that connected Imwas to the city of Jerusalem and the rest of the Palestinian villages?
-Imwas is located at a crossroads, a road that extends further east to Jerusalem and another road heading west to Gaza, and it’s a paved road from the period of the British Mandate and even at the era of the Turkish-referring to the Ottoman Empire. Also there is the Western Road that reaches to Al-Lydd and Al-Ramlah and Yafa, and a road that goes north reaches to Ramallah.
+the dirt roads and the sub-roads that connects Imwas to the nearby villages, do you remember it?
-Yes, I do, but these roads were not named, we used to say for example; Salbit Road, X Road, Y Road.
+Imwas; before the 1948 which was at the Al-Ramlah District, Was there any colonial settlement of the Jews?
-Never, None, No Jewish ever set foot at the soil of Imwas.
+We want to go back in memory to a 100 or 200 years before Nakba, what did the elders of your family used to say, the family of Al-Sheikh, how did they come to Imwas and was it before one hundred years or thousand years?
-I think that the history sometimes doesn’t make sense. There is a shrine of one of the grandfathers, we used to be Sufis, and the shrine belonged to your grandfather “Abu Gosh”, there’s a sign on the shrine, but along the years it became hard to read because it was no longer clear/readable. Many people who were specialized in archeology used to come to this place. And if we talk about lineage, the lineage of my father and grandfather, we can say that Mustafa Ibrahim Naser Mustafa Ismail Ahmad, our lineage extends to 50 or 60 names, it goes back to Al-Abbas, Hadret Al-Abbas, God bless his soul, and the lineage stops here. It goes back to Prophet Mohammad peace and blessings be upon him, for example: to Qussai Bin Kilab bin X and Z until it reaches our master Ibrahim (Abraham).
+Since how many years Al-Sheikh family lived in Imwas and Palestine?
-My family-God only knows- as you know the people of Imwas and other areas arrived to Palestine with the Muslim conquests, for example, from Imwas to a village named Lifta there’s an area called Barialk
And then Silwad, and the surrounding is called Al-Husseinieh, which was a part of Abdelfattah Darwish (an area name), our area was considered Yemani and Hebron was considered Qaisi, and this is how things used to be, when the Qaisis propose to a woman from the Yemani area, a fight would happen if the bride didn’t wear red. This is how the arab tribes were at that time.
+What you meant Haj Abu Mustafa that your family Al-Sheikh is not new to Palestine and Imwas?
-Yes, exactly. My family has lived there since ages, the root of Abu Gosh family goes back to Imwas and the village of Abu Gosh used to be called Inbawi village.
+How old is Imwas Village?
-Imwas was Kherbeh: (the ruins) which was a part of Abu Gosh village, and all those who lived in it used to be farmers, and the landlords used to give it to the farmers to work in it, and plow the land, and Threshing it in the Threshing floor they would come to take their earned share and then return to Abu Gosh. For example my grandfather from my father’s side is buried in Abu Gosh not in Imwas, he has not lived in Imwas, and in 1322-1323 AH (Islamic lunar calendar) there was a battle amongst them, 120/130 years have passed already, and the consequence of this battle, Imwas and Abu Gosh were split among people, and both were combined into one village.
+Can you divide Imwas into quarters before the year of 1948?
-Haret Al-Sheikh (quarter/neighborhood).
+in which side is it located?
-In the western side, followed by Abu Qtaish family from the west and east, and Hassan Family from the south, and Khalil family from the North and Hamda family from the east. These are the five neighborhoods.
+I meant the neighborhoods not the family names?
-the neighborhoods are named after family names, Haret Hassan Family, Haret Al-Sheikh family, Haret Khalil family.
+How many schools were in Imwas?
-Two schools, a school for boys and a school for girls.
+Where were these schools located?
-the boys’ school was close to the church in the southern side of the town.
+How far was the school from the center of the village?
-Approximately 200 meters.
+Can you recall the name of the school’s principal, or the names of the principals’ who have filled this position over the years?
-Mahmoud Abdelhamid Abu Gosh, then after him Ali Bedwan, and then there was another principal which name I can’t recall, and then Mustafa Khalil Al-Qaisani, and then Yacub Abdelrahim.
+Was this school a part of The “Ministry of learning” (دائرة المعارف); (previous name of The Ministry of Education?
-Yes
+Can you recall the names of some of the teachers?
-Yes, Ibrahim Jibreel, Ibrahim Al-Adham, and many others.
+Where was the school located in Imwas?
-it was at the western side of the village.
+Can you recall the name of the Principal?
-the principal’s name was Rabab, I don’t know where was she from, which village or city.
+The boys’ school had which grades?
-it used to include grades from 1-10.
+and Girls’ school?
-To the 10th grade too.
+Where would the students of Imwas continue their education after finishing the grades of Imwas schools?
-In Ramallah, whoever wanted to continue their education and receive Tawjihi certificate (highschool) they would head to Ramallah; specifically Al-Bireh, and there was also Al-Sakakini school, the students used to go to Ramallah because it was closer but if there wasn’t enough spots they would go to Jerusalem.
+How many Mosques were in Imwas?
-Two mosques.
+Where were the mosques located?
-the first was at the northern side of the village, in the Al-Sheikh family square.
+How far from the center of the village?
-the whole village from the church area to the north doesn’t exceed 500 meters, and to the Eastern North side, it’s about 1 kilometer.
+So, the first mosque is at the Northern side?
-Yes, and the second is at the Southern side.
+Do you remember the name of the Muezzin(crier for prayers)?
-Yes, Sheikh Othman Abdel-Rahman Al-Khateeb.
+And as for the Imam?
-The Imam and the Muezzin (prayer crier and Imam are the same person)
+And in the other Mosque?
-the same Imam too, sometime he would be the Imam in any of the mosques. And if he was absent another person would be the Imam.
+Are there any shrines in Imwas?
-Yes, the Shrine of Abu Obaida, and the Shrine of Moath Bin Jabal.
+ Where is the Shrine of Abu Obaida located?
-next to the cemetery, at the south of Imwas.
+How far was the shrine from the center of the village?
-No more than 20 meters.
+And the location of the shrine of Moath Bin Jabal?
-it was at the top of the mountatin, almost half a kilometer.
+I want to remind the audience that Haj Abu Mustafa was the Mayor of Imwas Village since 1943.
Who were the mayors of the village before you became the Mayor?
-Before me there was two mayors; one was Deeb Ali, And Abu Samir Al-Mukhtar-(Arabic word for Mayor), and Abdulaziz Mustafa Hussein Bargash.
+At the year of 1943 you became the Mayor, were you the only Mayor of the village?
-No, there were two.
+Can you name him?
-Yes, Ahmad Deeb Ali Abu Gosh.
+In the village; did you have a clinic/health center? Where would the patients go for treatment?
-No, we used to go to the health center in Der Latroun for treatment.
+How far was Der Latroun from your village?
-Less than one kilometer.
+Was there a paved road from your village to Der Latroun?
-The Der Latoun was on the road to Jerusalem, so we used to use buses.
+Where is the cemetery located?
-at the southern part of the town.
+Was it the only cemetery?
-the only cemetery, but some people use to burry the dead next to the shrine of Moath, and there was a saying that this cemetery was ancient, from the time of Abu Obaida and it was wide, more than 20 or 30 kilometers, and on the west side of the village we have bought a piece of land and created a new cemetery.
+In which year did you open the new cemetery of the village?
-at the year 1943.
+Was there any water springs in the village of Imwas?
-Yes, there was the spring of Ali Ismail, and the spring of Nimer Abu Gosh Family, and others, whenever there was rain a lot of springs would run.
+What is the most famous water spring in Imwas?
-The spring of Ali Ismail.
+Where is it located?
-at the north of the village.
+Was the water of the spring used for drinking or for livestock?
-it wasn’t like that, the owner of the land would cultivate and utilize the surrounding lands, people used to go there sometimes, and they would build a wheel/pulley (water lifting old device), there was two wells.
+We will talk about the wells
-Yes, there were two roman wells, one for drinking and the other was for watering the herds.
+Where is the first well located?
-At the west side of the village.
???And the second well is located 50 meters away from the first, the bottom well’s water is a little salty, and the one on the top has freshwater, of which we drink from and we use to water the herds from the bottom one. Then the water was draining from the side of the bottom well, so we dug a 6 meter deep whole, until we hit a spot of tiles that belonged to the Roman Era, we thought that there was groundwater, but there wasn’t. it was deeper than 20 meters. And from the eastern side there was a rock and above it water spring stems, it was not from the land but it was from the rock itself. And when the water was scarce there, the fresh-water well was at the monastery, and they had drawn water for the church adjacent to the village.
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The second part of the interview
+I will give Haj Abu Mustafa the opportunity to present the information he has about Imwas in case he forgot anything about it in the first part of the interview.
-I don’t think I forgot anything.
+Can you mention some details about the history of Imwas, and the important events that took place in Imwas?
-According to what I used to hear, it was said that all the people who lived at our village came with the Islamic conquests, before the Islamic conquests there was the era of a king of which the ruins and remains of the time he existed in the area, there was a king, of which the people of Imwas have rebelled against, so they burnt the village and demolished it, Imwas was demolished three times before this incident, I don’t know the exact sequence of the events.
+I want to go back to the topic of the valleys in Imwas?
-there was a waterfall called “Ain Nini”
+Where was this waterfall located?
-at the Southern side of the town, and there was also a valley called Al-Fawwar Valley.
+Where was it located?
-In the North
+How far was it from the village?
-Approximately 2 kilometers or a little more.
+it’s known the people of Imwas village were farmers and herdsmen, where were the grazing area in Imwas?
-at the same area, the land was rugged, but not mountainous, the village of Imwas was located at the foot of Mount, and from the mount the distance to Jerusalem was close, and from Imwas to Jaffa the land was plain and rock-free, there was some rocks that you can find at the hills sometimes, and there are some Roman ruins of which people couldn’t tillage so they used it for grazing, and also the Bedouins of Beir Al-Sabe’ would come to graze the herds in Imwas too.
+And about the orchards?
-People used to grow grapes, apricots, peaches and plums.
+Do you remember where these orchards were located?
-the orchards were located at the west side of the village as well as the east side too.
+Do you remember who these orchards belonged to?
-Of course, all of the villagers were owners of the grape orchards, because the east side of the town is a mountainous area which can’t be used for agriculture. It was about 2000 dunum, all of which was planted with grape vines, and in the west side of the village there was those who grew peaches and plums, one of them was Al-Abed Al-Sheikh and others, the east and north side were planted with grapes, figs, peaches, plums and olives.
+How did you water the trees?
-We didn’t water trees.
+So it was a rain-fed agriculture?
-Yes, we had a land which we used twice a year in the winter, we used to plant it with potato before the rain would fall, and in February we use to collect the crop, the potato was excellent; the length of the potato was more than a span, and after February we would tillage and fertilize and then plant zucchini. We use them twice a year, we did not water them, and then we grow grapes, we cut grape leaves and plant, olives as well, peaches and apricots, we would utilize it twice a year, but we didn’t water it. And then we would grow grape and cut the grape leaves and plant olives as well as plums and apricots.
+Can you please explain what rain-fed agriculture is? You depended on the water of the rain, isn’t that true?
-the agriculture depended on the moist soil, when we used to tillage it in the summer we used to find it cold and moist.
+Was there a barber shop in Imwas?
-No, there was a barber who had a shed/cabin close to his house.
+Do you remember his name?
-Sheikh Ismail Al-Helu, he had a shed/cabin on the main street.
+Was there butchery in Imwas?
-Yes, Hussein Ali Hussein, Mahmoud Mustafa Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, Diab Hasan, Mahmoud Abdelaziz, these four were the butchers.
+Was there an oven in Imwas?
-Yes, there were two; one in the north and another in the south.
+Do you know the names of the oven Owners?
-Mahmoud Mustafa Ibrahim and Mahmoud Ahmad Al-Abreiyeh.
+We will move to another topic; we want to ask about the archaeological monuments in Imwas village, and by archeological monuments we mean ruins.
-in the north, in the gardens we used to find ruins of houses and ovens, People were digging and excavating, when the archaeologists came, they said that in the place of our village there was a city and it was burned.
+So, in the north there were gardens, and from the other sides?
-from the east there were wells but it had no water, and also the ovens, we can tell where it was from the soot traces.
+And from the other sides?
-in the south there was Khirbet Alsafar, Khirbet Al-Jdairi, Khallet Al-Khirbeh and others.
+How far were these ruins/khirba from the village center?
-About four kilometers.
+And these ruins/khirab and archeological monuments, are from which era?
-The Roman era.
+So, the history of Imwas is connected to history of the romans that lived in Imwas.
-even the olives in Imwas, they call it Roman olives, and that’s what people passed down to us.
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+How old are these olive trees?
-these olive trees go back to the era prior to the Islamic conquests.
+Can you mention the family names تذكر أسماء العائلات والحمائل في عمواس وأفخاذها
-Abu Gosh Family, Abu Qtaish Family, Ahmad Hassan Family.
(Hamoula (close family lining from the same great grandfather; counting 5 generations),
+What are the ******** fakhath of Abu Gosh Family,
-Dar Ahmad Hasan, Al-Haj AbdelRahman, Al-Sheikh, Al-Asfar, Abu Mahmoud, Hassan, Abdelnabi, Hamda, Al-Hajouj, Abu Issa, Khalil and Khalil has two Fakhath; Abu Khalil and Al-Ghouleh.
+Can you mention the agricultural crops that were used to be produced in Imwas?
-Most of the crops were wheat corn and malt, we used to produce 80 Kantar (old measurement unit that equals 100-145 kilo) of corn, and in some years we used to sell more than 60 Kantar of wheat.
+what about the livestock produce in Imwas?
-We used to use the animals for tillage
+What about the livestock production in Imwas?
-We used to have livestock, some people used to buy cows, mules and camels.
+What were the main productions of the livestock?
-it was he who owns a cow whom had products.
+Were the agriculture crops enough for the consumption of the village, or was there excess?
-there was an excess, whoever owned a land had excess, but for the farmers; that don’t own the land, they would split the production between both; the farmer and the land owner, so it was no longer enough.
+regarding the excess, where did you market it?
-we used to bring a tradesman from Al-Ramla or Jaffa and he would buy it, I remember once we took 25 Kantar of sesame to Jaffa, it was sold for four Dinars, and now one kilo is sold with 2 jds.
+Was bartering used in Imwas? For example; exchanging wheat for grapes, or corn for something else?
-people depended on shopping/purchasing, grapes and figs were eaten, and when we transferred it we used to transfer it on the camels. There wasn’t a person in our village which didn’t grow grapes, most people envy each other, they grow grapes to eat it, every day they used to bring a huge bowl filled with grapes and figs, and for the leftovers they use it to make jam, but most of the excess was not sold, it was given to be made into jam, just like what the people of Hebron used to do, and we also made molasses and sometimes we would make jam out of quince, the excess grapes were not really an excess, it was mostly cooked and made to be into jam because people had a sweet tooth.
+Was there an Olive oil press in Imwas?
-No
+Where did you use to press the Olives?
-In Der Latroun.
+Where did you use to grind the grains?
-We used to sell the overproduce/oversupply of the wheat, but the malt we used to overproduce too, but we had cows, mules and camels we used to feed it the malt, these livestock cost the farmer a lot to feed, and if we reaped 50 Kantar of malt we used to keep it to feed the livestock, mules need two pounds of malt in a night, as well as camels and bulls.
+there wasn’t any wheat mill (referring to the tool which they used to grind wheat using the old method)?
-the wheat mill was in Der Latroun, there was a wheat mill that produced the best quality of flour, they used to grind daily more than 30-40 Kantar.
+Do you remember the owner of the wheat mill?
-Abdulrahman.
+let’s go back to Imwas; do you remember the name of the priest that was in the church of Imwas?
-his name is Arnoud.
+Was he Greek?
-No, he was Irish.
+Can you mention your profession before Nakba?
-I was a farmer; I used to work in agriculture.
+And what was the profession of your family?
-It wasn’t my family’s occupation, it was the whole village, we used to work in agriculture, we had no interest in any other job, and we didn’t look for any job, when any person grows up starts to learn to tillage and harvesting, people didn’t look for another job.
+Before the year of Nakba 1948, Was there any cultural or sports or social clubs?
-No, we didn’t succeed at that; we had an association, at the time of the British Mandate, there are was a person in charge whom I think was from Hebron, he was the head of the council, he had a gathering for the villagers and slaughtered and made feasts and invited people, but the nature of our village’s people is a little difficult; after they initially approved they started changing their minds, some of them didn’t want to pay, so the idea didn’t succeed and there weren’t any clubs, and then after the Nakba 1948, our land was taken by force and people were displaced and became homeless, some used to own 1000 Donum, but were left with less than two, the Zionists took over their land, our village which extends to over than 50 thousand donums, its people were left with a thousand Donum, the rest was occupied/taken, and they continued to occupy the rest peace by peace until they reached the houses in the west side of the village, we used to be assaulted, and people were killed for trivial reasons, a cow that was grazing or a bag of hay (any kind of which was used to feed livestock).
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Third Part of the interview
+We have reached the question which asks about the existence of sports or cultural or social club in Imwas village, and going back to talk about Imwas village, and to try explaining the existence of a church in Imwas although the majority of the villagers are Muslims.
-All of them are Muslims.
+All; so what’s your justification of the existence of a church in Imwas, and what was said in the historical narrative?
-the church, as it was said, that Christ came with his students/disciples and they entered the church and stayed there during the night, and this church is considered a holly place, and worshipers used to come to it. Many foreigners from the west used to visit the church, there sometimes was more than a hundred car, all coming from France and Great Britain, this land is holly and there are a lot of ancient ruins, a lot of Roman ruins, and we sometimes used to find some antiques, lots of tit, whenever it used to rain, we used to find many and the children used to collect it.
+Can you mention what are your possessions; your possessions as a family too in Imwas village?
47:00
-it’s located in Al-Khalaileh, Latroun, Imwas, Abu Gosh and Nitaf.
How much was the specific area/space?+
-the entire village is about 2000 donum.
+What are the estates you own?
-we used to have 6 “Rib vault” “cross”
+Can you please explain further?
-Six “Rib vault” “cross”, the vault is 8 meters long and the width is 8 meters, and on top of it there are six vaults, built with concrete, built in the year 1933, and the first vaults were built at the era of the Ottomans, the other three vaults were built in 1924, and then in 1933 they built six on top of it, after that I built my house next to it, on a piece of land that was made of 7/8 donums, it was on the street directly, the street that takes you to Ramallah, we owned the entire land, and I also built a small house made of two rooms and kitchen and toilet, for the purpose of getting my eldest son marries, before Nakba with 15 days, before we were displaced from our own house and lands by force.
+Can you describe the Vault, how does it look like?
-it’s made of angles, the vault is 1.25 meters and it’s built out of Earthen plaster, we had no concrete earlier, there are four angles/corners, and on top of it a dome is built, the foundations are raised from the angles/corners to construct a dome for the vault, to make it like a mosque dome, they used special stones for that which are known to be used for this purpose, then its placed in a unique way, and its pinned using the Earthen plaster, it’s a special and hard process. And when they destroyed the village there were witnesses who witnessed what happened, and I asked them what happened to the vault? Because we had vaults built, on the northern side of the village from the beginning to the end of it was buried with the vaults all in the same structure. The witness said that the occupiers destroyed all of the houses made of concrete and the rest which was built with wood and likewise, but the houses which are made of vaults like the house of Deeb Ali, Nimer Abu Gosh, Obeid, Mohammad Taha, all of their houses were made of vaults. The occupiers tried to destroy/demolish it with tanks but couldn’t, so they built a chain of mines, and bombed it, and the dust of demolition filled the whole sky.
+We will come to the details on each of the incidents that Imwas your village witnessed later in the interview, now can we mention the names of famous personals of Imwas village before 1948, whether they were scientists or they went to study at Al-Azhar or Mujaahid; A Muslim fighter?
-Let me tell you the following, in Imwas you won’t find a single person who graduated from high school, because of the Abundance of the work in agriculture by the time a boy turns 12 years old, he drops out of school to got to work in agriculture, there was no time for education or school, but after the new government took over and after the occupation of our land, it was a must for people to go and get a degree instead of raising livestock, now every family has two or three or even four educated college graduates, the situation is different than it was before, before we didn’t have people going to Al-Azhar or other places to study, even our religious essential information was average.
+Was there any Mujaahidin; A Muslim fighters that participated in Imwas, that participated in the revolution of 1935 or 1929? Or any of the events of Hittin?
-there was little participation.
+Do you remember the names of the participants?
-I don’t remember, some clashes used to happen from time to time, once we have received news that jews attacked Qalonia, and some of the young men went to fight the aggressors in Qalonia.
+That is heroic, they were doing their duty?
-those which their activism were detected he was arrested for a whole year.
+Do you remember any of their names?
-Lots of people.
+Names please?
-I don’t remember, my uncle was one of them, his name is Naser Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, and one of them was Abdelhafiz Abdelaziz.
+since you became mayor on the year of 1943, what was the names of the notables of Imwas? Whom it was their tasks to reconcile between people and reconcile the relationship?
-whoever became a notable person of village truly deserved the title, but whoever came after didn’t deserve it, a person would be ashamed to sit with them, all of them were elders who couldn’t accept getting old. (using it as a bad adjective)
+Can you mention their names?
-there was the committee members; Mousa Barghash, Hasan Issa, Al-Abed Al-Ghouleh. They were five or six people which I used to deal and sit with.
+What were there most important duties or activities that they used to do?
-most importantly they were responsible for the schools and road issues, in the village we had a school from the era of the British mandate that was built the year 1922, and teaching started in this school on the year 1923, and they made me leave it on the year 1929, the principal’s name was Al-Sheikh Ahmad Al-Ouri.
+Do you remember any of your classmates?
-Yes, I remember all of them.
+Can you say their names?
-my colleague in being a mayor Ahmad Abu Ghosh, Mahmoud Mohammad Ibrahi, Ibrahim Salim, they all die.
+which grade did you finish at this school?
-I studied till the sixth or seventh, no more.
+regarding the notables of the village, in the subject of reconciliation between people, what were their role?
-Nothing, when there was a fight or a misunderstanding they would reconcile and mend their relationship, my father used to reconcile their problems.
+What was Imwas famous for? Jaffa was famous with Oranges, what was Imwas famous for?
-with agriculture.
+before Nakba, were you able to visit Palestinian cities?
-Yes.
+Can you mention the names of the cities you visited?
-Jaffa, Lydd, Ramleh, Jerusalem.
+What do you remember of Jaffa?
-the French hospital, Dajani Hospital, Ajami hospital, Bashir Hospital, we used to visit Jaffa a lot, on daily basis we would go either to Jaffa or Jerusalem, I know Jerusalem like I know my own village, I have walked through all of the sides of Jerusalem, whether the ones populated by Palestinians, or the ones the occupation took over.
+What were your impressions after visiting these cities?
-we used to go to the cities in the purpose of doing something or visiting someone, we had no business in the cities.
+How were the religious or social celebration; like Eid-e-Miladunnabi: the birth date of prophet Mohammad, Al-Fitr Eid, Eid Al-Adha in Imwas?
-people used to go for prayers at the shrine of Moath bin Jabal, and mostly my father would be the Imam of the prayed, and after that people would gather and sit down and talking about Allah, and other celebration were weddings.
+We will talk about the weddings later on, now we are talking about the religious seasons, did Imwas people participate in these celebrations?
-people loved the Eid-e-Miladunnabi: (the birth date of Prophet Mohammad), the Imam/Sheikh would read of a paper in his hand and people would repeat after him.
+in the season of prophet Saleh, and Prophet Moses?
-[he laughs and jokes saying]: they used to deceive simple farmers with some bad pistachios.
+you have told me earlier that your father was a founder of a Sufi order, did he go out in such occasions? What did they do? Raise flags or what?
-they used to raise flags and go to visit the shrine of prophet Moses, Prophet Rubin and Prophet Saleh, I was to young back then and I didn’t go with them. But when I grew up I started to go with them, Ramleh is not far from our village, it’s a stone's throw away from our village, and that’s why our visits were daily to Ramleh or Jaffa.
+I want to ask about the social heritance, customs and traditions; we will start to talk about marriage, what are the traditions in Imwas, starting from the moment of the proposal to the bride?
-When the father of the groom finds a right girl for him, whether if it was a daughter of one of his friends or his acquaintances, or any girl from the village, he would propose to marry the girl through asking her father, and if the father of the bride said yes, he would go again with a group of men to propose officially and then they celebrate the engagement.
+I want to talk about the details, so if the agreed to the marriage and the marriage contract was signed, and they specified the date of the wedding ceremony, how many days do the celebrations continue?
-one day.
+at your village; you didn’t have “amal alsamer” (a type of traditional singing)
-Yes, we had that a long time ago.
+I am asking about your village before Nakbeh?
-Yes, that existed for sure.
+How was it? Can you describe it for us?
-Yes, Men used to line up and sing, but I haven’t memorized the songs the used to chant.
+Can you tell us about “Zaffe”? : (procession/parade made for the bride and groom during the wedding ceremony.
- Men used to dance Dabke: (a form of Palestinian folk dance, and women used to chant.
+Can you give us a description of the bride’s dress?
-the bride would stay at her father’s house, until people gather for the feasts, and after they finish dinner, they give “Nqout”; which is a gift of money that is given to the bride and groom, and then people go to the house of the bride to take her.
+How did the bride’s parade look like?
-the parade was good, things happen peacefully without getting hurt or someone cutting our parade off, we are not like the mountain of Hebron (he laughs), Sheikh Bakri-may he rest in peace- he used to study at the campus(perhaps meaning the campus of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, I have witnessed the distribution of inheritance of people in Hebron, people used to put the good cow and the girl with bad reputation together in the same share, and the bad piece of land with a good girl. (He is pointing the bad traditions related to marriage along with the distribution of the inheritance which leads to great disagreements in the future).
+So when the bride leaves her parents’ house, did she ride a camel or a mare (female horse)?
-Yes, she rode a mare.
+Do you remember any of the lyrics of the songs of Zaffe or alsamer (weddings) ?
-I don’t remember, I haven’t memorized any of it.
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+How did the family of Sheikh, used to throw wedding in your village Imwas?
-We had a specific kit we used, which were made of flags that we lift during the march of Zaffe, and then they would go back to our house, which was the Mayor’s house, and our house was the meeting site whether in weddings or in funerals.
+I want to ask you about the pilgrims of Imwas, those who used to head to the holly lands (Mecca in Saudi Arabia; Islam's most sacred site, the Ka'abah, located in the Holy Mosque there) to perform the pilgrimage, how they threw farewell for pilgrimage?
-We used to take them to a certain location, of where they ride their vehicles, we would kiss them goodbye, out of respect people used to say goodbye.
+Which road did they use to take to get to the holly lands (referring to Mecca)?
-My father went to the Pilgrimage back in 1930s, with a person or two from the village, he took a vehicle from Ramleh station to the Suez Canal, and from the Suez Canal to the Toor Mountain, then to Yanbou’ then to Mecca, and they did the ceremonies of Pilgrimage, and that trip lasted for three months, because afterwards they went to Al-Madina Al-Monawara and visited the shrine of Prophet Mohammad, they rented two camels, each one of the them rented a camel, and the trip took about 12 days to Mecca and 12 days back. And from Mecca they used to ride a ship back to Suez Canal, then to the Lydd station again, right before Nakba the government started to run special trucks for the pilgrims, and it was a daunting experiences, to take the way from Imwas through Ma’an in Jordan and arriving to the holy land, and since the road was all desert, the car wheels used to get stuck and the trip would slowdown a lot.
+before 1948, was there any transportation method which the pilgrims used to use to get to the holly lands?
-What I remember is that my father went on the pilgrimage trip on 1930 and then afterwards none of the people of Imwas went to do the ceremonies of Pilgrimage, until the world war two, others went to Pilgrimage through the Lydd station road.
+How were families with newborn children congratulated?
-whoever knows that a friend had a newborn child, he would go to visit and congratulate him.
+and as for the male circumcision (which considered an event to celebrate)?
-there was nothing special but that the friends and relatives would visit and congratulate them.
+and in the funerals, what was the ceremony of the funeral?
-when someone dies, the people of the village gather, dig a grave and bury the dead, and they are distributed among groups according to the family name, when someone dies from a certain family, the other family’s duty would cook for them \, and this tradition is still followed until these days, the families used to feel that they owed each other, and when population numbers increased, only the Hamoula (close family lining from the same great grandfather; counting 5 generations), and when the population grew larger, only the closer family members would do their duty and support them.
+the funeral lasted for how many days?
-three days.
+when the people of Imwas hear the news of a martyrdom of one of the villagers or another village or surrounding city, how did the families take it?
-we would mourn him just like the dead, but the martyr is not washed.
+Do you remember any of the folk sayings that were said in such occasions?
-there is nothing specific.
+We will now go to the second part of the questions after we finished the first, what do you remember from the revolution of 1936?
-at the beginning, if there was any organization, then the Zionist wouldn’t have been able to occupy anything, but there was chaos, half of people were reckless, before the revolution the Arab Army came, and when there was a Convoy people would come from Hebron to the mount of Nablus, and then they would quickly gather at Bab El-Wad, and they would be one single heart,
When the rescue army came, their leader was Mohammad Al-Mahdi, and then they asked about the Mayor and I went, I found him in the street with two small tanks, I welcomed him, and he asked if I knew the Camp next to the Monastery, (and camp refers to place where the make weapons and store it. And I answered saying yes, and then he asked me about the manager of the camp, I told him I knew him too, he asked if I knew his name, I said yes:his name was Rosol, I know because I invited him and his wife twice to my house, and he was a respectful man, and the he handed me an official letter to give to him to let him know that we will take control of the camp, I asked him about who will receive it, he said us and we will tell you about it soon, it was a huge miss. And then I went to Rosol and told him of what happened, and he told me that we needed forces to protect the camp, and the Zionists weren’t capable of coming at night to attack the camp, we decided to withdraw on that night, and it’s possible that the Zionist would come to occupy it, and I told him there was 200 armed men.
+before 1948, do you remember the name of the radio stations you used to listen to the news from?
-We had a radio that the government brought and placed at the mayor, we would go to Artouf village to charge the battery, and it was like a car’s battery.
+What were the radio stations you listened to?
-Middle East Radio Station.
+How did you hear about the partition resolution?
-I read about it in the newspaper.
+Which newspaper were you reading?
-Al-Ard Newspaper owned by Sheikh Suleiman Al-Farouqi, and Al-Serat Newspaper owned by Hashem Al-Sabe’, I used to remember all of their names and I forgot them, there was more than 5 or 6 newspapers.
+Do you remember the date of the attack on Imwas 1948?
-of course I remember.
+In which month was it?
-it was at the first month, when the fourth battalion entered our village, I think that happened in July or August.
+of which year?
-1948
+Where were you at the time the attack on Imwas started?
-I was at Imwas, in my house.
+Can you tell me, how did the village defense committees was formed?
-the leader of the battalion Hamed Salman
+my question is about the village families committees?
-they were part of the army, we were armed with 50 rifles, and we used to go with the army to the outskirts of the village, we would guard the borders along with the army, the attack happened at 10 pm and ended at 10 am in the morning, and lots of Jews were killed, no less than 4 thousand.
+the weapons the villagers had, how did you get it?
-the Arab Army gave it to us.
+you didn’t buy the weapons?
-we bought weapons yes, we had 200 rifles but most were broken, not working.
+Was it bought with the donations of the village families?
-No, each person used to buy from his own money.
+Can you tell us about the encounters that used to happen with the Zionist gangs, before the last attack?
-before the Arab Army came we weren’t attacked, there were battles in Ramleh, Lydd, Jaffa, but our village was not attacked. The first arrival was a company/brigade made of 25 soldiers, and their leader/captain was Abdel-Majid Al-Ma’aitah, I went to meet with him, I talked to him, and I said: Sir Abdel-Majid-he had one star on his shoulder (referring to his rank in the army) you can see what’s happening, we are in danger, and many of the villages and the surrounding towns were all occupied, only Imwas from the road Jaffa-Jerusalem was still not occupied, the people of the villages that were occupied/stolen lands are not less masculine than us (he means that we don’t have more weapons/force to stop the occupiers better than the other areas, he wanted to say that these are secret military matters, and I said: “nothing is secret anymore”, then hes asked about the number of the armed men in the village, and I told him they were around 200 and he asked me to summon them, I summoned them and we went, he then split these armed men between Latroun and Imwas, at that night the Zionists attacked Latroun, the Zionists didn’t have weapons, so these 25 armed men were capable of responding to the attack, some of them were dead, after a few days the forth and the second battalions came, the second battalion settled in Yalu, and the forth battalion settled in Imwas, and then Imwas was attacked 13 times in order to control the road of Bab El-Wad because the Arab Army was in charge of that road.
+How did the people of Imwas the attack?
-when the attack first took place, like everyone else the held their rifles like the army, and in the battle they fought next to the army, and on that night they took a captive from our village.
+Do you remember the name of the captive?
-his name was Hasan Qaddoura.
+when the attack started, did you have any fortifications?
-No, no fortifications and no
استحكامات
+Can you elaborate further on how the people of Imwas faced the attack, and what were the outcomes?
-the went back after the first attack, I want to speak a word of truth sincerely, the man of the Arab Army were true men, this is not fawning because I accompanied them, I walked with them and stayed up late with them. The first attack was a minor battle, and the major battle was behind the Monastery at the sunset time, the night of the battle there was a person his name is Qasem Al-Ayed he was the leader of the battalion, and there was another battalion leader his name was Abdullah Salim, and another his name was Kamel Abd Al-Qader, Mohammad Mahasneh was the assistant of the leader, and Mahmoud Mohajir, Habes Al-Majali, the battle took place at ten pm, they went into the Latroun next to the Monastery, and they Mohammad Al-Maytah thwart/fought back 24 occupation soldiers-both males and female soldiers, with four tanks, they were all killed, the Arab Army beat them because the battalion which was in Yalu controlled the road of Bab EL-Wad and then when things got rough they tried to withdraw from the west side which is naturally a plain land, then they shot an artillery, I was with them, I went with them, I saw their bodies with my bare eyes, some were Decapitate, some bodies had no legs, some bodies were cut in halves, and the estimation from the Arab Army is that 800 soldiers were martyred, and then as the days went and they called it a ceasefire/truce, and then several attacks happened but it wasn’t as brutal as the battle I have told you about.
+Do you remember if in this battle there were martyrs from Imwas’s people?
-Yes, Sa’eed Al-Amreieh, Issa Abu Aqleh and Abdullah Hasan Al-Saeed.
+Was there martyrs from the Arab Army?
-Yes, but I don’t remember names.
+What are the consequences of Deir Yassin massacre on the people of Imwas?
-Dear Yassin is not close to our village.
+I mean, what happened in Deir Yassin?
-we were all at ache, but we couldn’t do anything.
+Did the Mujahidoun(Islamic fighters) help in the defense of Imwas?
-No.
+Have you helped the villages or the surrounding areas when they were attacked?
-When the battles happened at Bab El-Wad people would come to help.
+Where did the help come from?
-from everywhere, from all around, from Nablus to the mountain of Hebron, people came to help, more than 2000 came to help.
+before you left the village, did refugees came to your village?
-Yes, many people came, from Al-Qubab, Innaba, Abu Shushe, and the villages which are close to our village, from Ramleh and Lydd, where our village was a center to sneak in, many used to sneak into Ramleh and Lydd and others from our village, and they would bring whatever they could benefit from or benefit from its value, they brought tillage tools: (Tillage tools such as chisels, field cultivators, or disks) anything they could smith.
Fifth part of the interview
+I want to ask about the martyrs of Imwas, can you mention some of those who have martyred in Imwas in the battles and the clashes that happened with the Zionist gangs and in the attacks that Imwas was under?
-Yousef Abu Aqleh, Sa’eed Al-Amriyeh, Mohammad Al-Abed Barghash, Tawfiq Al-Abed Barghash, Abdullah Hassan Al-Sa’eed, Ali Ismail,Zeinab, I don’t remember the last name of Zeinab, and (he spends time through looking at the names in one of the documents that have the martyrs names, and he starts to say names);
Ali Ismail Abdullah,
Nimer Mustafa Abu Khalil,
Sulaiman Al-Qubabi,
+these names are enough, but you mentioned Fatima Haj Hussein, How was she metyred?
-She was in a ditch when an attack happened, and then several random attacks would happen, and random shootings, she was hit by a bullet, and she was martyred.
+you say that she was at a ditch, you mean she was fighting with men?
-Yes, Yes.
+After the series of attacks Imwas had faced, What happened?
-Nothing but ruins happened.
+Can you mention the incidents that happened after the series of the attacks that happened?
-Nothing happened but ruins, the killing and the attacks continued.
+Can you tell us about the truce that happened?
-the tuce continued for about a month, and after that the battles resumed, and they took over Lydd and Ramleh, and then they asked for another truce.
+Do you remember when the first truce was?
-it was almost in October or September on the year 1948
+How long did the first truce last for?
-one month
+What happened next?
-the fighting stopped/there was a ceasefire, and after a month the fighting was resumed, and the enemy took over Lydd and Ramleh, and some of the other villages like A janjoul, Al-Burj, Salbit, Al-Qubab, Innaba, Jamzo, Beit Nabala and Al-Madya.
+and after that?
-the fighting stopped.
+Do you remember the withdrawl of the British Army from your area?
-it was at the end of 1948, the british army were in the Camp, they sold the camp first, and a man named Al-Haj Mahmoud from our village bought it and moved it to Ramleh, and he lost all his money, because Ramleh fell under the occupation
+How far was this British camping area far from your village?
-the war started at the end of 1939, almost around the 40s they established the camp, there were two military camps.
+How far was it?
-the distance was no more than half a kilometer.
+Do you remember any incidents that happened with the British Occupation force?
-There used to be 4 or 5 Imwas people working at the camp, and no problems occurred.
+Do you remember if the British occupation forces had helped/served assistance to the Zionist gangs?
-I don’t know, because at our area, we had no Jews.
+you said that before they took over Lydd and Ramleh the fighting stopped, in which month of the year this happened in 1948?
- before September, it was at the summer, all that happened, happened between the month of July or August.
+after the villages around Imwas fell in the occupations’ hands, how was the situation inside the village like?
-it was bad, people lost their lands, and the lands of Imwas was 5 thousand Donums, and it was a common land, it wasn’t registered, it wasn’t owned by anyone either, we have panted it for three to four years, but after two years the occupation continued to occupy the lands and to deduct parts of the land, until they reached the border of the houses at the sides of the village, we had nothing left of the western side lands of the village, as well as the southern parts too.
+You mean that the occupation forces had occupied most of the lands of Imwas on the year of 1948 but they didn’t enter the village itself.
-Yes.
+Can you explain how was the situation of Imwas and the people of Imwas during the years past the occupation?
-the situation was very bad, people lost their lands, and started to move around to look for a job, some went to Amman or other areas, people didn’t have job opportunities, I know people whom their children died of hunger, and not having livelihoods, for example, harvesters whom used to work at harvesting, after days in harvesting he would earn a Kantar of Wheat, after what happened, there was no lands to plant or harvest, where would such a harvester earn his livelihood.
+at this situation, Imwas was an advanced/frontline village at the truce line?
-We would walk by the village of Ajanjoul and Nuba until you reach Imwas at the forbidden buffer zone, which was about 10-12 kilometer.
+Did the village of Imwas form a starting point, of those who wanted to go back to their occupied villages or cities?
-No one could go back; some would sneak to get some groceries and home supplies, from Lydd and Ramleh,
+So Imwas was a passage for those who want to sneak?
-Yes, they would sneak at night and in the morning you’d find a market in Imwas.
+How long had this situation lasted for?
-it lasted for 3-4 years, until there was nothing left for these sneakers to bring, they stopped sneaking and the occupation tightened the grip of the guard And it became dangerous for anyone to go because of the fear of being killed, many people tried to sneak in and the occupation killed them.
+Do you remember any of the incidents that happened at that specific period that resulted in martyred of the people of Imwas or other villages?
-The people of Imwas used to sneak to Abu Gosh Village, they didn’t go to Lydd or Ramleh, Abu Gosh is located 14 Kilometers away from Imwas, people used to go there, one person used to carry a bag of wheat weighing 14 Kilometers and bring it to Imwas.
+Do you remember if any of the people of the village was shot/ was martyred during the sneaking process?
-Of course, I remember, Mustafa Zalat, Hasan Qasem, Abdelhamid Barghash, Sha’aban Mahmoud.
+after the procedures that were taken to limit the sneaking. How were things at Imwas?
-the entry process (meaning sneaking) continued, but it was very dangerous because there were many people who were killed because of their attempts.
+Did that continue until the year 1967?
-Before 1967, approximately 1965
+What happened afterwards?
-people started to go to Amman, others started to go to Ramallah to work, people used to look for any job opportunity to support their family.
+at the Naksa; 1967, what were the consequences of Naksa on the people of Imwas?
-nothing but devastation.
+explain to us what happened?
-15 people from Imwas were martyred in addition to those who were martyred from the Arab Army.
+on the year of 1967? Can you mention their names?
-No, in the year 1967, only one person was martyred while we were leaving the village, his name was Ahmad Hassan Al-Sa’eed.
+What happened exactly?
-a squad of 15 thousand Zionist soldier entered the village, we raised white flags, then people started to gather next to the wilderness near the mayors’ house, people thought that they wanted to count them or they wanted to see their ID, we left the village without anything, one of them told us that “you will now all go to Ramallah”, you will go out to the street and you will walk in lines, and if anyone leaves his line we will shoot him, you will take the road that goes through beit Nuba, Beit Luqia, Beit Our, don’t go near Beit Seer, because whoever goes near Beit Seer will be shot, and people started to walk, in my opinion we should have went back to fight them and kill them, I went crazy, and I wasn’t capable of thinking, but a person said to me, if we di what’s on your mind now, it will only result in the killing of 10-15 person, and their death will be your responsibility –(their blood will burden you/you will carry the weight of the responsibility of their death), then I was silent.
+Do you mean that the people of Imwas were forced to leave the village?
-Of course, they forced us out of house, a person came in armed with a Kalashnikov yelling at people, if you don’t leave your homes you will die, everyone left to the wilderness, there only ones who chose not to leave their houses were the elders, the occupation demolished the house on their heads afterwards (while they were still there).
+Do you remember their names?
-Yes, Nimer Mustafa Abu Khalil, Zeinab the wife of Mahmoud Saleh, Suleiman; of the village of Al-Qubab, Ahmad Hassan Al-Sa’eed and Ali Ismail.
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Sixth part of the interview
+Can you tell us on the suffering of the journey that Imwas people lived which began from the moment Imwas people were forced to leave their houses?
- the occupation army entered the village, and went to every house telling them that they must leave their houses, and they gathered us at an area called “Al-Bayader”, a soldier from the occupation forces came armed with Kalashnikov, said: “you will go to Ramallah, if any of you strayed from the road we choose for you we will shoot you” we left without breakfast, we had no clothes but the ones we had on, we couldn’t take the little money we had at our homes, because we were forced quickly out of our houses, we didn’t expect this to happen to us, as I told you, we thought they wanted to count us, or get some information, then we walked and got to Patoonia, we were around 100 people, we met the mayor of Patoonia when we arrived, and he asked us what will we do? And I answered: what will we do?
+What was the transport you used when you left?
-we went on foot, without transportation, with children and women, even there was this old woman, the aunt of Abu Zaid, who passed on the road.
+How did that happen?
-she passed away because of the high temperature, she was overweight, she died and was buried in the ruins.
+Did all the people of Imwas walk together or they walked apart?
-we walked altogether, all the people of the village except for the elders who couldn’t leave, but afterwards they evacuated some of them and the rest the occupation demolished the house on their heads afterwards (while they were still there). We stayed for one day in Patoonia, and on the next day they said; everyone could go back to their villages, so we went back, and of course the trip back was more difficult and harder, and when we reached to Beit Luqya, an occupation patrol stopped us and asked us; “if we can see the great dust in the sky?”, We said: ”Yes”, they said; “this is from Imwas, you can’t go there, it’s a military area now, you have to sleep now and tomorrow you can go back to Ramallah, we tried to talk to them but it was useless, I remember one of us spoke with them in English Language and the occupation officer pulled his weapon in his face, I don’t remember what he said to make him that angry, we slept the night and went back to Ramallah in the next day, after two days they started searching the people in Patoonya, even some of us didn’t have a bread loaf, we stayed in Ramallah, people used to help each other and sympathize with us because of what happened to us.
+What happened to the children?
-some children died.
+What was the reason behind their death?
-extreme hunger and thirst, and the burning sun, then the occupation military started to tell people, that whoever wants to go to Amman, they are ready to provide him with transportation, and they started to take people to King Hussein bridge, because they wanted people out for good, then people stayed in Patoonya for almost 20 days, I used to like going to Amman, but in that period I couldn’t stand going there, I sent my children and family, because two of my sons were signed in the public security there, and I didn’t know what to do; staying or going to Amman, but after all I couldn’t leave my family and stay alone and specially I had no job, what would I do, beg people for food every day? So I went to Amman and I sought to seek a living. What was I going to do, I didn’t own a land to plant or a house to rent, or anything.
+Why did the occupation force treat people that way?
-as they said; they wanted all the other villages to see convoys of people of Imwas leaving in shame, because the people of Imwas used to operate defense acts against the convoys of Zionists and the convoys of the supplies that they received. I want to add another thing; groups of our youth were in Abu Gosh village and they stayed there, when I went to see them they said that the first orders were to demolish Imwas without evacuating its families, they wanted to demolish their houses on its people’s heads. And the communist party disagreed, and they said you can demolish the village but without killing its people, the Zionists wanted to get rid of the village and its people.
+if this was the reason, what do you call the actions they took against the people of Imwas?
-those actions they took were horrible, Hulagu( Hulagu Khan, a Mongol ruler) didn’t do what they did, or even the Tatars, when someone say Jews or anything related to them, I (inaudible, Haj Ibrahim dwells in tears)
1:56:50
........
+I salute you Haj Abu Mustafa, for narrating to us this part of history all of the generations should learn about, to know what suffering his grandfather experienced.
-(he continues to speak while he cries); when we first came to Patoonya I knew its mayor, he was my friend, he brought me Qumbaz: (traditional Palestinian clothing for men) to change, it was summer, I had on clothes made of wool I wore on a hurry when they forced us to leave our homes, and when we wanted to leave to Ramallah he brought a shirt, trousers and Qumbaz and he said to me: “change your clothes” I cried, I cried with heartburn, on that day I cried more than I cried the day my father died over what happened to us. (Cries)
+Did you try to go back to Imwas after what happened?
-I tried.
+How?
-the head of the monastery of Latroun came to visit us, and after that came the officer that was in charge of the occupation of Imwas, the monastery had a driver that lives in Ramallah whom we gathered at his house. The officer says: “every day you go to the military governor, what would the military governor do for you? Imwas is a military area and there’s nothing you can do, and the military governor can’t do anything for you, deal with it”.
+Which means you can’t go back to Imwas?
-Never, Access is denied because it is a closed area, we went on a visit on the year 1971, there were people we knew which had spies there too, they said let’s go meet the guard of the enemy’s property, we went and entered the place, and greeted them. I was with Hasan Abi Gosh and Ahmad Deeb his cousin, and another called Haidar, and many of the attendees who were there and I, we had knowledge in the issue of the lands, I used to tillage, plant, and work in the land, and I knew it best, the man in charge spoke and said: ”this is your land and it belongs to you”, and he was looking at a notebook he had in front of him, I said I wrote the information documented within this notebook 2000 donums are documented/registered in it, which are those left of the 50 thousand Donums you took over, Imwas’s land is 5 thousand donum, Latroun land is 10 thousand donum; 6 of which belonged to the people of Imwas, four thousand to the monastery and two are for the people of Latroun, and Khalaya Imwas (a name of a piece of land), which had a committee; at the committee there was someone named Shukri Shaker, and another name Abdel Hamid Abdul Aziz, and it had a title deed of it, and it was registered; 38 donums, he asked me if this “Khalaya” land was mine, I said:Yes it’s mine, do you think it’s yours, I was about to go mad from anger, he said; why are you so angry? It’s just a question, I said yes it’s our land, we have inherited it from our fathers and grandfathers thousands of years ago, you are pretending to be democrats and humane, and that you sympathize with those who are rightholders, you have showed us your truth this time, you say you want peace, and it’s all lies, and we also believe that the English were the worst falsifiers amongst enemies, but you are a thousand times worse, he said: you hear debates on the radios, and such debates are for local consumption, this village became a military area, and access to it is denied, if you want to go back there, you can give me the names of the land owners in the village, and we will buy the lands from you, and you can ask for any price you want”. But who would sell his land to them? I told him; “you have initiated a project in Beit Nakouba on the year of 1948 which is a small town next to Abu Gosh Village, and you gave the families that you put in there; for each family 15 Donums, every person who was married got 15 donums, why don’t you give each family of Imwas families 15 donums and we forgive you of taking the rest, he said:” No, Imwas is a military area, and access to Imwas is denied” “Why” “these are the commands” may God damn your father and your grandfather... he said: “you are really angry” I responded while being sarcastic: “there’s nothing to be angry about, you make me leave my village, demolish my house and you cut off my livelihood! Oh I should celebrate you with a ceremony whenever I see you!”
+That means you weren’t able to visit Imwas?
-I was able to go there once, and I saw it.
+What happened to it?
-the village was all demolished and wiped out, the priests were right and they didn’t lie, the said that at the beginning they took out the good furniture, and then the radios, the mattresses and the Jews came from Beit Mahsir and Beit Suseen’s side, and they picked the good pieces of furniture and likewise, and they took it in their cars, and the people of Imwas took what was left.
+After 1967; did you live at the camp?
-No, we didn’t live in the camp.
+Do the people of Imwas have an association or a Diwan (divan)?
-Yes, we have Diwan of Al-Sheikh Family.
+What are the main events held at the diwan?
-whenever theres a wedding ceremony or a funeral ceremony (called consolation) we gather there, because it’s hard for people to have a large number of guests at their houses or guest rooms, that’s why we bought this Diwan, with a hundred chairs, when someone dies, the family gathers in there for three days.
+After the year 1948, were you registered at the UNRWA registrations; (ration card)?
-No, they refused to register me, we tried a lot, they told us: “you were at our homeland, and you have no right of this”, there was one of the personals in charge; his name was Mohammad Nimer Al-Hawari, one of the Jaffa personals in charge of reufugees, I went to speak to him, he said: “they don’t want to register you”, I said: “Why?” after that he went with the delegation to the United Nations, and he went back to Tel Abib to Golda Meir-maybe he was sleeping with XXyyzz (he curses in anger)
+After what happened to the people of Palestine after Nakba, which you are a part of, and you have experienced this with all the details and sorrows, what do you have to say to your sons and grandsons, and to all the people of this land?
-As an old man; I say if there was a decision to go and fight and engage in armed resistance I would be the first one in the battlefield.
+Why?
-because what happened to us was unjust, we were assaulted and so was our homes and lands, whoever commits a similar crime, it’s halal to kill him, and dissenters from Arab countries say no it’s forbidden, because we are not at war.
+the right of return was guaranteed by the international law to every Palestinian refugee by decision/law number 194, we assure that the right of return guarantees to each Palestinian the right of return to his house and reclaim his assets, if you had the chance to go back, where do you stand?
-Do you think that USA, leaves the space for international law or anything else, I swear of if I could go back I would leave right now.
+Is there’s anything that would compensate you for your assets and land?
-Nothing in this world can compensate me, before we were forced out of our village, there was a person names Eiwenit Faron, he was the owner of a bus company in Jaffa, Jerusalem and Haifa. He was my friend, one time he said: I want to sell the land you have; its area was 42 Donums, we agreed on 1500 JD, and two years after that the land was gone with the rest of the lands.
+Haj Mustafa I want to thank you for your time and effort.
End of the Interview
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