To that little village standing northeast of Gaza and not far from Asqalan, Lina Abdullah returned to the hometown of her parents to be the first to come back to Beit Affa since its occupation in 1948.
Feelings rushing back and recalling memories narrated by father and relatives have completed the picture in her mind. After hours of walking inside her ethnically cleansed village between the old cactus trees and shattered remains,
Lina returned to her family with strong feelings for the right of return as well as a bunch of mallow.
Beit Affa is 29 km away from Gaza, surrounded by Al-Sawafir land, Ibdis and Iraq Suwaydan. In July 1948, more than 200 Egyptian and Sudanese soldiers gave their lives while defending her land, and 37 members of Zionist gangs were killed.
In 1953, a Zionist settlement called ‘Yad Natan’ was erected on her land.