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.
