Lauren Booth – Survivor Recounts Brutality And Murder – Eyewitness Accounts
AI: Summary ©
The speaker describes the history of Lyd, a village in the West Bank. He describes the conflict between the Israeli army and Jewish soldiers, leading to many deaths and injuries. He describes the struggles of the village and how it affected their relationships with their neighbors.
AI: Summary ©
The city of Lyd is very famous for
its thyme, because the size of the fruit
is the largest fruit in the world.
Lyd had a lot of fruit trees, such
as apricot trees and green almonds.
The Israeli forces used the villages, which were
around Jaffa, to attack us.
The Israeli soldiers knocked on the door and
said that everyone over 15 or 16 years
old should go outside and wait in the
square.
Anyone who is late will be killed.
Hundreds of young people were waiting in line.
An officer came and said, you should go.
And the young men said, you stay.
We found out later that my father had
returned.
He was scared on the road.
19,000 Palestinians lived in Lydda, but its
population had been swollen by refugees from Jaffa
and outlying villages.
Orders for the expulsions to take place came
from the first Israeli Prime Minister David Ben
-Gurion and leader of the terrorist group Haganah
Yitzhak Rabin.
The population of Lydda did not leave willingly.
What followed would become known as the Lydda
Death March.
The men of the town fought for a
few hours armed with old rifles, then took
shelter at the Darmish Mosque.
They surrendered, but were massacred by the Jewish
forces.
176 bodies were found in the mosque.
Those fleeing the massacre had their belongings looted
by Jewish soldiers.
Some who were slow to hand over their
valuables were also killed.
We walked through the mountains.
There were thousands of people.
When Lydda fell on the villages, we went
and found soldiers.
They were wearing blankets.
Every time someone passed, they took their belongings.
I walked with the people.
I was weak because I was hungry, I
couldn't sleep, and I was thirsty.
I felt dizzy and fell to the ground.
Then I saw people watering me.
They gave me water.
I woke up and drank it.
I walked for about 10-12 kilometers.
I walked through the mountains.
I looked behind me and saw people coming
out of Lydda.
We were in a high area.
I saw people walking through the mountains.
The first to reach Lydda was a village
called Niallin.
Niallin in the West Bank.
The last to reach Lydda was a village
called Lista.
When I reached Niallin, I saw people carrying
buckets of water.
They were watering people.
I grabbed a bucket and started drinking.
The water came out of my nose.
I woke up as if I was drunk.
What happened?
Where am I?
Where is my mother?
Where is my father?
Where is my brother?
No one was there.
It was night.
It was summer.
It was summer.
If it had been winter, we would have
died.
When we reached Ramallah, we didn't know anyone.
We didn't have money.
My mother didn't have anything.
She only had a ring.
I don't know how the Jews found the
ring.
We sold the ring and bought food to
eat.
While I was walking, I saw a friend
of mine.
I used to play with him in the
neighborhood in Jaffa.
I asked him how he was.
He said he was fine.
I asked him how his mother and father
were.
He said his father didn't come.
I asked him if he had money.
He said no.
My friend had 4 pounds.
He gave me 3 pounds and told me
to bring him 1 pound.
My aunt in Gaza was in trouble.
She sent people to tell us to come
to her.
The house was small.
There was only one bedroom, a kitchen, and
a bathroom.
We needed a lot of food.
My aunt didn't have enough money to feed
us all.
It was a very difficult life.
We had a lot of hope.
People would say, you'll be back in a
week or two.
We lived in hope, but it was a
false hope.
We live in a world full of injustice.
There is no justice.
The biggest crime in history from the day
of Adam to this day is the expulsion
of the Palestinian people from their land and
bringing in a foreign people who fled and
left us.
When you look at the situation, you know
it's not appropriate for us to go back
to our country.
I have hope that I will be able
to return.
But the hope is in our children and
grandchildren.