Shaher Ismail al-Khatib, originally from Al-Burj, now resides in the Qalandia refugee camp in the West Bank.
Al-Burj was a Palestinian village located 14 km east of Ramle, near the highway to Ramallah. The village was depopulated in 1948. Its name, meaning "the tower," is believed to have originated from the Crusader castle, Castle Arnold, built on the site. Victorian visitors in the 19th century recorded seeing Crusader ruins near the village. Al-Burj was mostly destroyed, with only one crumbling house remaining standing. The inhabitants of Al-Burj were completely ethnically cleansed.