In Pictures

Gallery|Israel-Palestine conflict

Volunteers help Palestinian citizens of Israel harvest amid Gaza war

Since the war began, Israel has suspended work permits for about 130,000 day workers from the occupied West Bank.

Volunteers tie up cucumber plants in a greenhouse in Baqa al-Gharbiya.
With a great labour shortage since the start of the war, Palestinian citizens of Israel and Jewish volunteers from different groups took the initiative to help Palestinian farmers pick their crops in northern Israel to save what could be saved. [John Macdougall/AFP]

By AFP

Published On 18 Dec 2023

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In Baqa al-Gharbiyye, an hour’s drive from Haifa, city folk have temporarily traded pens for boots to aid farmers facing a labour shortage exacerbated by Israel’s war on Gaza.

The volunteers hailing from different backgrounds have come together during their leisure time to lend a helping hand to Palestinian citizens of Israel who are farmers like Marwan Abu Yassin for the harvest.

Palestinians with citizenship account for about 20 percent of Israel’s population, descendants of Palestinians who remained after mass expulsions at the time of Israel’s founding in 1948.

“I had 16 Thai workers, but nine left the country because of the war, and I had 15 workers from the West Bank who no longer come to Israel because of the roadblocks,” said Abu Yassin, 55.

Meanwhile, since the war began, Israel has suspended work permits for about 130,000 day workers from the occupied West Bank.

On October 7, Hamas fighters from Gaza stormed across the militarised border into Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking some 250 people captive, according to Israeli figures.

Israel retaliated with a devastating air and ground offensive that has killed more than 18,700 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, about 70 percent of them women, children and  elderly, according to the Ministry of Health.

Ibrahim Mawasi, responsible for coordinating volunteer work on farms deprived of Palestinian workers, ties up cucumber plants in a greenhouse in Baqa al-Gharbiya.
Ibrahim Mawasi, responsible for coordinating volunteer work on farms deprived of Palestinian workers, ties up cucumber plants in a greenhouse in Baqa al-Gharbiyye. [John Macdougall/AFP]
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Volunteers tie up cucumber plants in a greenhouse in Baqa al-Gharbiya.
It was the farmers themselves who launched calls for volunteers, said the 65-year-old. 'A week after the war, we got together and decided to mobilise all the people who wanted to save agriculture,' he said. [John Macdougall/AFP]”
This picture shows a view of greenhouse farms in Baqa al-Gharbiya.
On his farm, Abu Yassin normally cultivates 150 dunams (about 15 hectares) of land. This season, however, he can only work about 50, with only seven employees, while also having costs to maintain the rest. [John Macdougall/AFP]
A volunteer ties up cucumber plants in a greenhouse in Baqa al-Gharbiya.
In his fields, volunteers pick cucumbers and place seedlings on stakes, among others. [John Macdougall/AFP]
A volunteer harvests cucumbers in a greenhouse in Baqa al-Gharbiya.
Yusef Sader, a retired physics teacher, said he knew the work would leave him exhausted, but was happy to have given 'a little boost to the farmers'. [John Macdougall/AFP]
Volunteers harvest cucumbers in a greenhouse in Baqa al-Gharbiya on December 9, 2023.
For Guy, 56, an Israeli Jewish social worker who did not give his surname, volunteering for the harvests was 'very important for good relations between Jews and Arabs'. [John Macdougall/AFP]
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A volunteer ties up cucumber plants in a greenhouse in Baqa al-Gharbiya.
Since the war began, Israel has suspended work permits for about 130,000 day workers from the occupied West Bank. [John Macdougall/AFP]
A volunteer ties up cucumber plants in a greenhouse in Baqa al-Gharbiya.
The Israeli government's war cabinet is torn over whether to allow the return of Palestinian workers, with some suggesting workers be brought in from places like India. [John Macdougall/AFP]
This picture shows a view of greenhouse farms in Baqa al-Gharbiya.
The farm sector has also lost many from its other key source of labour - Thais, who numbered some 30,000 before the war. [John Macdougall/AFP]
A volunteer ties up cucumber plants in a greenhouse in Baqa al-Gharbiya.
Many have fled the country after October 7 attack, which saw 34 Thai nationals killed, 19 wounded and 24 taken captive, all of whom have since been freed, according to Thai authorities. [John Macdougall/AFP]