37. Market
Ramallah, West Bank - Palestine
2016
Giclée print on Hahnemühle photo rag paper
42 x 30 cm
$300
5/5 edition (+ AP)
Market produce in Ramallah, the administrative capital of the Palestinian Authority. The West Bank's agriculture industry formally employs around 13% and informally 90%' of the population (1). Despite this, the agriculture sector is the most impoverished sector of the Palestinian economy. The reasons behind this are firmly rooted in the occupation and include restricting exports (Israel controls all foreign borders with the West Bank), confiscation of land (such as for military firing zones and settlements) and limited access to water (due to destruction of wells and diverting water to settlements).
Olives are the mainstay of the agricultural sector and the biggest produce export. However, destruction of olive trees by the military and settlers as well as restricted access to lands (because of the separation barrier) remains a constant problem for many communities in the West Bank. There have been estimates to suggest that 800,000 olive trees have been destroyed in the West Bank since 1967.
Olive trees are also something which connect family members access past generations and to the land of their ancestors. The uprooting of olive trees is not merely damaging on economic terms but also to identity.
Agriculture in Palestine - a post-Oslo analysis