They did not wait for permits to return to work in the occupied interior. Instead, they made the decision to find a source of income for themselves and their families by returning to agriculture. This decision was driven by the need to protect the land and economic reasons. Thus, 75 workers who had previously worked in Israel turned to cultivating various types of vegetables in greenhouses in the village of Beit Dajan in the Nablus Governorate.
In Beit Dajan, a village located east of Nablus and about 10 km away from it, dozens of workers refused to give up. The village spans 360 dunams of urban area, with a total land area of 48,000 dunams, part of which falls under Area C. These workers have cultivated vegetables on more than 100 dunams of land in private greenhouses. This effort is a direct challenge to the occupation's policy of preventing them from returning to work in Israel following October 7, and in response to the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip and the continuous siege on the West Bank.
Speaking to the Palestine News Network (PNN), Abu Jeash said, "I worked in Israel for 10 years, but after October 7, I found myself jobless. I was without work for four months with no prospects of returning to my job in Israel. Then, I had the idea of turning to agriculture. I initially proposed the idea to my family, who liked it and encouraged me. I then discussed it with the other 75 workers, who also welcomed the idea. We approached the village council and informed them of our desire to engage in agriculture, particularly since there is a considerable amount of fertile land in the village, albeit classified as Area C, lacking road networks, water pipelines, and electricity."
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