Jenin, occupied West Bank – A man sits cross-legged on a worn floral floor sofa, a keffiyeh wrapped tightly across his face to protect his identity.
He is a resistance fighter who lives in the Jenin refugee camp – the site of a violent and deadly two-day invasion by Israeli forces earlier this month – and he is not taking any chances.
His thick-set arms cradle a large automatic weapon, its glistening metal body standing in contrast to the dark interior of the apartment. His hand is wrapped tightly around the rifle’s handle with his trigger finger outstretched.
But behind the battle-hardened fighter’s imposing frame lies a man who once dreamed of having a normal life, a life he had only glimpsed through the TV set.
The 29-year-old had worked for the local government before, three years ago, he joined the armed resistance to Israeli occupation of his Palestinian homeland.
“We knew nothing about life outside of the Jenin camp,” the fighter, who did not wish to be named for security reasons, says of his life before joining the resistance. “We have never seen a swimming pool or a sea in our lives.”
Link from www.aljazeera.com