Occupation has a way of making its presence experienced beyond its immediate manifestations — war machines and walls and checkpoints — and wounding everything it comes in contact with. The Israeli occupation has left scars on nearly all aspects of Palestinian society — both literal, physical tears in the earth and edifice. Where a million olive trees used to be rooted or tens of thousands of homes that used to be places to live and now are little more than a painful memory. However, in the midst of occupation is the energy to resist, a veiled hope for peace and justice, even at impossible odds. Like the occupation, the Palestinian struggle for liberation has also touched, in a way scarred, as have most aspects of Palestinian society. The above images taken in the summer of 2007 are a brief and incomplete look about the signs, symbols, scars, and dreams of occupation and liberation and the interaction between the two. These are the aberrations of occupation and the hopes of liberation.

From May to July 2007 Adam Beach traveled throughout the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Israel photographing various forms of nonviolent resistance against the occupation. Beach’s photos will be part of a documentary film project set to be released in the spring of 2008. He can be contacted at wagepeacebeach AT gmail DOT com.