RAMALLAH, West Bank — Hassan Manasara, 86, and his wife, Jamila, 82, live a primitive life in a 100-year-old cave located on family-owned land on the southern side of the village of Wadi Fukin near Bethlehem, facing the Israeli Jewish settlement of Beitar Illit.

Manasara has a big house in the center of Fukin, but he left it to live in an isolated cave with his wife about 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) away from their home. They did this to safeguard their land, which is threatened by expropriation by Israel. The patch of land where the cave is located is a home for old people who cultivate the land and own livestock — which has been deterring Israeli bulldozers from carrying out works in the area, especially as many neighboring areas have been bulldozed by Israel.

“Two years ago, we received a warning from the Israeli authorities that this land will be expropriated for the construction of a wall and the expansion of the settlement on its side. Since that day we have been living here,” Jamila Manasara said.

The octogenarian couple, their sons and grandsons tried to build another small house on the land they own, but the Israeli Civil Administration refused their request and threatened to demolish whatever they build. The solution, therefore, was to live in the cave.