In a gripping testimony detailing life as a resistance fighter under occupation, Raafat Al-Jawabra, a former fighter in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of the Palestine Liberation Movement (Fatah), reveals his journey from his childhood in the camp to the ranks of the resistance.
Al-Jawabra said – during his testimony in the program “Diary of a Fighter”, broadcast on the platform “Al-Jazeera 360” – that he was born in the camp of Al-Aroub, north of Hebron, to parents who were born in the village of Iraq Al-Manshiya, Al-Majdal district, in 1986, and moved to live in the governorate of Bethlehem at the age of 12, Al-Jawabara began to get used to the sound of gunshots and the smell of tear gas, which shaped his first political consciousness.
Regarding his first direct experience with the occupation soldiers, he explained that it happened when he was 7 years old, when he was arrested for carrying a book containing the Palestinian flag. Al-Jawabra describes this experience as “frightening” for a child of that age facing the violence of heavily armed soldiers, which left an impression deep inside him.
During their childhood in the camp, the children’s games simulated the bitter reality, as they were divided into two teams: one representing the occupying army and the other representing the resistance and the demonstrators. These games, in addition to their influence on the older youth, automatically nurtured in them the spirit of national struggle, which paved the way for the resistance fighters to become involved in resistance work.
Prison experience
Al-Jawabra confirmed that his uncle played a central role in his upbringing and the development of his patriotic sentiment, as he was his role model and source of security, explaining that the arrest and martyrdom of his uncle came as a great shock to him and deepened his sense of injustice and the need to resist.
The prison experience was a turning point in Al-Jawabara’s life. In Al-Dhahriya Prison in 1988, he witnessed the martyrdom of his comrade Ibrahim Al-Mutawar under torture. This painful experience reinforced his insistence on resistance. realized that the prisoner was always looking for ways to express his anger and confront the occupation.
Al-Jawabra said that his membership in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades was a natural result of his upbringing in a home that loved struggle and freedom, noting that he and his comrades experienced difficult days during the Second Intifada and the Israeli “Defensive Shield” operation, interspersed with resistance operations and heavy losses.
With deep sadness, Al-Jawabara confirms that the martyrdom of his brother Issam during the siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in 2002 is one of the events that marked him the most. He recounts how Issam refused to leave the church to seek treatment after his injury, and when he finally left, he was tortured and killed, reflecting the brutality of the occupation and the resistance fighters’ determination to endure.
Freedom Road
Regarding life in prisons, he explained that it is a harsh and painful experience “because the prisoner lives in very difficult conditions, surrounded by barbed wire and towers, in a narrow space,” but despite the feeling of oppression and torment, Al-Jawabara confirms that hope and faith in the cause contribute to the steadfastness of the prisoners.
Al-Jawabara concluded his speech by stressing the importance of continuing the struggle and resistance against the occupation, comparing the Palestinian people to a tree that is thousands of years old and has withstood all storms and has not surrendered, stressing that the Palestinians, despite all the suffering, are still steadfast and remain on their land.
After his struggle experience, Al-Jawabara emphasizes the importance of participating in civil and political life, stressing that his experience of running for local elections after his release from prison is a message that freedom fighters are also capable of serving their people in other fields, which reflects the development of resistance thinking and its integration into political and civil work.
To watch the full episode, you can follow it here Link On the “Al Jazeera 360” platform.