PHOTOS: Agriculture on the Edge – Farming on the Gaza Border

Jerusalem, 26 August, 2020 (TPS) -- TPS photographer Eitan Elhadez-Barak visited a community farming for their livelihood under the stress and threat of arson terrorism and rocket attacks from Gaza. Kibbutz Nir Am is less than 3 kilometers from the Israel-Gaza border.

Ofer Lieberman (pictured above), Director of Agriculture at Kibbutz Nir Am, told TPS, “It’s not just balloon terror. It’s Qasams. Threats of anti-tank fire.  So the terror here is across the board. It’s very hard to deal with. For example, the cows behind me. We can’t take them out to pasture for fear of fires. That God forbid they’ll get caught in a fire they can’t escape from. That means we have to enclose them here and also feed them, which are extra costs.

Beyond that, there’s the situation with the crops in the field where this week we were told we can’t go near the fenceand areas west of Road 232 and work there for fear of sniper and anti-tank fire. Luckily they started with the balloons after we finished harvesting the wheat. At the same time our large pastures are being burned. Groves and orchards. And unfortunately we are once again seeing the incompetence of the government in dealing with this issue.”