One year after the Israeli war, Gaza grapes grow again

Palestinian farmer Khalid Shamalakh harvests his grapes hoping he will be compensated for the losses he made last year because of the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip.

Shamalakh, 38, whose farm is approximately eight dunams (0.008 square kilometres), said his land was damaged during the Israeli war and he hopes this season will be better than the previous one.

While picking grapes, Shamalakh spoke to the Anadolu Agency, saying: “We could not harvest the grapes last year because of the Israeli war. There was a great danger as the Israeli occupation targeted farmers and damaged large areas of farms during the 51-day war.”

He continued: “There were ground, air and sea attacks last year, but this year is quiet and we move around our farms safely.”

Last summer, Israel launched a 51-day war on the Gaza Strip killing approximately 2,260 people and wounding more than 11,000. Thousands of farmlands were damaged.

Shamalakh expected Gaza to produce enough grapes this season, saying that larger quantities were expected to be on sale soon. He said prices will fall because of the increased supply.

Fayez Abu-Shamalah, an official in the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture, said approximately 6,700 dunams (6.7 square kilometres) of farmland were being used to grow grapes.

The ministry estimated that the Israeli war caused $550 million in losses to farmers.