Photographs by Lara and Mandy Sirdah in Gaza; Mohamad Shuaibi, Saed Shomali, and Bashar Jarayseh in the West Bank; and Sina Ababseh in Galilee.

With every migration, millions of birds fly over Palestine, an important corridor for hundreds of species travelling between Africa, Europe, and Asia. They fly over Palestinians in the “largest open-air prison” in Gaza — besieged by land, sea, and air since 2007 and now the target of a genocide — and Palestinians living under occupation, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.

Across Palestine, birds build nests in the holes of bombed buildings, on the rooftops of checkpoints, and on the eaves of watchtowers. They fly over the concrete walls that fragment the territory and perch on the barbed wire that segregates and confines the Palestinian population.

Despite the violence, oppression, and restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation, Palestinians continue to lift their heads to admire the birds crossing the sky and to dream of freedom.

What do migratory birds mean to a people living under occupation, ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and genocide? How does one protect life when surrounded by death and destruction? How does one care for the environment in one of the most devastated territories in the world?

This exhibition presents photographs taken by Palestinians who see birds as messengers of hope. They fly over the besieged territory to say that it is still possible to live freely and to tear apart, with their wings, the limits imposed by occupation.