Photo Essay: The colonial violence that goes unreported in Palestine

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Photo Essay: The colonial violence that goes unreported in Palestine
References to 'cycles of violence' dominate the mainstream media's coverage of Palestine, but this ignores the violence of Palestinians' daily reality living under Israeli colonialism.
https://mondoweiss.net/2023/05/photo-essay-the-colonial-violence-goes-unreported-in-palestine/?


PALESTINIAN FARMERS LINE UP AT AN ISRAELI MILITARY GATE IN WEST BANK VILLAGE OF HABLAH TO REACH THEIR AGRICULTURAL LAND LOCATED BEHIND THE ISRAELI COLONIAL WALL, IN MARCH 2023. (PHOTO: AHMAD AL-BAZZ, ACTIVESTILLS)

News of bloody 'cycles of violence' has dominated mainstream media coverage of Palestine-Israel since at least the beginning of 2023. But this reporting ignores the routine daily reality of the Palestinian population living under the rule of Israeli colonialism. This form of violence, which Palestinians endure daily, almost never makes it into international news headlines.

On a rare calm morning in March, I headed to the Qalqilya area of the West Bank to document one small aspect of this violence. I wanted to show how Palestinians start their day and commute to their farms and workplaces outside the Qalqilya bantustan. It involves traveling through Israeli checkpoints if you're lucky enough to obtain the required military movement permit from the occupation authorities.


THOUSANDS OF PALESTINIAN WORKERS CROSS THE ISRAELI EYAL CHECKPOINT IN QALQILYA, WEST BANK, ON THEIR DAILY TRIP TO WORKPLACES IN ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS AND PALESTINIAN TOWNS BEHIND THE ISRAELI COLONIAL WALL, IN MARCH 2023. (PHOTO: AHMAD AL-BAZZ, ACTIVESTILLS)


THOUSANDS OF PALESTINIAN WORKERS CROSS THE ISRAELI EYAL CHECKPOINT IN QALQILYA, WEST BANK, ON THEIR DAILY TRIP TO WORKPLACES IN ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS AND PALESTINIAN TOWNS BEHIND THE ISRAELI COLONIAL WALL, IN MARCH 2023. (PHOTO: AHMAD AL-BAZZ, ACTIVESTILLS)


THOUSANDS OF PALESTINIAN WORKERS CROSS THE ISRAELI EYAL CHECKPOINT IN QALQILYA, WEST BANK, ON THEIR DAILY TRIP TO WORKPLACES IN ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS AND PALESTINIAN TOWNS BEHIND THE ISRAELI COLONIAL WALL, IN MARCH 2023. (PHOTO: AHMAD AL-BAZZ, ACTIVESTILLS)


THOUSANDS OF PALESTINIAN WORKERS CROSS THE ISRAELI EYAL CHECKPOINT IN QALQILYA, WEST BANK, ON THEIR DAILY TRIP TO WORKPLACES IN ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS AND PALESTINIAN TOWNS BEHIND THE ISRAELI COLONIAL WALL, IN MARCH 2023. (PHOTO: AHMAD AL-BAZZ, ACTIVESTILLS)

These 11 photographs from both the Hablah gate, near Qalqilya, and Eyal Checkpoint in Qalqilya are where Palestinians head to their farms and workplaces every morning, despite the unstable situation.


THOUSANDS OF PALESTINIAN WORKERS CROSS THE ISRAELI EYAL CHECKPOINT IN QALQILYA, WEST BANK, ON THEIR DAILY TRIP TO WORKPLACES IN ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS AND PALESTINIAN TOWNS BEHIND THE ISRAELI COLONIAL WALL, IN MARCH 2023. (PHOTO: AHMAD AL-BAZZ, ACTIVESTILLS)


THOUSANDS OF PALESTINIAN WORKERS CROSS THE ISRAELI EYAL CHECKPOINT IN QALQILYA, WEST BANK, ON THEIR DAILY TRIP TO WORKPLACES IN ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS AND PALESTINIAN TOWNS BEHIND THE ISRAELI COLONIAL WALL, IN MARCH 2023. (PHOTO: AHMAD AL-BAZZ, ACTIVESTILLS)

These scenes reflect the Israeli colonial policy of control and exclusion and occur outside of the "violence" that gets reported in the news. The violence in these photos would not end even if the current Israeli "escalation" in the West Bank were to end.


PALESTINIAN FARMERS LINE UP AT AN ISRAELI MILITARY GATE IN THE WEST BANK VILLAGE OF HABLAH TO REACH THEIR AGRICULTURAL LAND BEHIND THE ISRAELI COLONIAL WALL IN MARCH 2023. (PHOTO: AHMAD AL-BAZZ, ACTIVESTILLS)


PALESTINIAN FARMERS LINE UP AT AN ISRAELI MILITARY GATE IN THE WEST BANK VILLAGE OF HABLAH TO REACH THEIR AGRICULTURAL LAND BEHIND THE ISRAELI COLONIAL WALL IN MARCH 2023. (PHOTO: AHMAD AL-BAZZ, ACTIVESTILLS)


PALESTINIAN FARMERS LINE UP AT AN ISRAELI MILITARY GATE IN THE WEST BANK VILLAGE OF HABLAH TO REACH THEIR AGRICULTURAL LAND BEHIND THE ISRAELI COLONIAL WALL IN MARCH 2023. (PHOTO: AHMAD AL-BAZZ, ACTIVESTILLS)


PALESTINIAN FARMERS LINE UP AT AN ISRAELI MILITARY GATE IN THE WEST BANK VILLAGE OF HABLAH TO REACH THEIR AGRICULTURAL LAND BEHIND THE ISRAELI COLONIAL WALL IN MARCH 2023. (PHOTO: AHMAD AL-BAZZ, ACTIVESTILLS)



Ahmad Al-Bazz
Ahmad Al-Bazz is a Palestine-based independent journalist and documentary filmmaker focusing on Palestinian-Israeli affairs.