The Israeli occupation authorities have been carrying out stormy settlement activity around the historic Deir S´man fortress west of Kafr al-Dik, west of Salfit.
According to eyewitnesses, this activity caused the tightening of the ring from the four sides on the archaeological fortress except for a dirt road leading to it from the south. Witnesses confirmed the construction of new settlement units, which destroyed the citadel´s land from its four sides, and that walls and old stones were bulldozed in favor of settlement expansion outside the ancient citadel, which has become difficult to enter. According to local sources, the settlement of "Lishm" which encircles the monastery of Samaan from its four sides has drained accessories and land around the ancient fortress from outside. She added: "The settlement has only kept the castle from the inside, and was depleted agricultural and pastoral lands belonging to the towns of Kafr Dik and Rafat and Deir Balot, which significantly reduced the land area of ​​these towns." Deforestation by occupation or occupation in that area is considered a "war crime under international law". The Statute of the International Criminal Court provides that the deliberate destruction of historic buildings constitutes a war crime. UNESCO considers that the protection of life and the protection of culture are essential and interdependent in periods of conflict and in situations where cultural heritage is at risk. Palestinian sources in Salfit called for the importance of establishing awareness of the importance of the history of archeology among the Palestinian public and to make a difference in people´s perception of heritage by highlighting its historical value and the speed of preserving archeological sites, especially near the settlements. And demanded to expose the violations of the occupation against archaeological sites, civilization and Palestinian history. The people of Kafr El Deek village called on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Committee to approve the inclusion of the village or the ancient Citadel of Simeon as part of the World Heritage List. The settlement activist, Khaled Maali, said in an interview with Quds Press that the occupation continues settlement expansion at the expense of a historic fortress west of the city of Salfit. "The occupation is carrying out a settlement expansion west of the village of Kafr Deek, to build new settlement units belonging to the settlement of Lishm erected on the land of agricultural citizens." He pointed out that the occupation continues the process of settlement construction in that area at the expense of the fortress "Deir Semaan" archaeological, indicating that the process of dredging and construction of the settlement led to encircling the castle from the four sides, and at the expense of the surrounding squares. The Palestinian activist said that the occupation opened a dirt road that leads to the ancient citadel and surrounded it and some wells and archaeological sites with the fence, "all this away from the media and gradually." He stressed that the Israeli targeting of Salfit comes from its strategic importance, "because it contains more than 25 settlements, the occupation aims to expand at the expense of the Palestinian territories." And the monastery of Samaan, a Byzantine archaeological village, sits on the top of a hill 350 meters above sea level, with an area of ​​its archaeological site of about 3 dunums. It lies 3 kilometers north-west of Kafr al-Dik village, midway between the villages of Kafr al-Dik and Deir Balut, west of Salfit, an area that dates back more than 1600 years.
