Bethlehem/PNN/

After reviewing hundreds of photos submitted in October by extremely talented Palestinian photography artists, TABO is proud to announce amongst this list of qualified candidates three brilliant winners of the TABO 2015 Top Olive Picking Photography Contest.

Olive farming in Palestine is a time-honored and cherished annual event stretching back centuries, even more of a delicate and protected tradition in current days because of the illegal construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land and the aggressive settler destruction of Palestinian agriculture.

“Documenting the struggles and joys of the Palestinian community’s olive harvest is vital. We congratulate and honor those who contributed to Palestinian visual history while proudly announcing our three contest winners” stated Khaled Al Sabawi, CEO & Vice-chairman of UCI and Co-founder of TABO.

Winner of the first place prize is Mohammad Al Silwadi, a 23-year-old freelance photographer from Ramallah. Al Silwadi took the $400 first prize for his remarkable image of bright green olives falling down in plentiful amounts.

Winner of the second place prize is Abed Al Hafez Abu Arra, a 41-year-old school teacher in Jericho who hails from Jenin. Al Hafez took the $300 second prize for an expressive shot of a hard-working harvester with her hard-won black olive bounty.

Winner of the third place prize is Mohammad Al Ori, a 22-year-old film producer from Ramallah took the $200 third prize for his shining image of the green olives ripe for picking.

TABO’s contest aimed to connect young photographers with the agricultural importance of their homeland and its annual yield of olives. Winners achieved the extraordinarily visual feat of capturing the poignant essence of harvesters and their families, while also evoking the picturesque, natural beauty of Palestine’s landscapes.

TABO, a development project under UCI, focuses on expanding property rights in the West Bank and allows Palestinians the ability to own affordable, registered plots of residential land. TABO is a response to the increasing cost of land in Palestine and also protects land against Israeli annexation through title deed registration.