“I want people to get beyond the headlines when they see these images,” Tanya Habjouqa explains “Rather than just reducing people to the headlines, where quite often their humanity is denied, I want them to see their characters and their lives.” Courtesy Tanya Habjouqa
West Bank: Students from the Al-Quds University javelin team wrap up the last practice before summer vacation in the West Bank city of Abu Dis, next to the Israeli Separation Wall. Courtesy Tanya Habjouqa
Gaza: A woman plays with two baby lion cubs born in the Rafah Zoo. Gaza once had six zoos, but two were closed due to financial losses and the deaths of large animals. Gazan zoo keepers are renowned for creativity in limited options, having famously painted a donkey as a zebra, smuggling in animals in the tunnels, and stuffing them once they are dead as animals are not easy to replace. Courtesy Tanya Habjouqa
A Palestinian youth from Hebron enjoys a swim in Ein Farha, considered to be one of the most beautiful nature spots in the entire West Bank. It, like many other nature reserves and heritage sites in the West Bank, is managed by the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority. Courtesy Tanya Habjouqa
Gaza: A toy store van drives along Gaza's beach high way. Courtesy Tanya Habjouqa
“It doesn’t hurt to make people laugh,” she says. “I find the Middle East one of the most hilarious places I’ve ever been because people use humour to get through situations. So, I want people to look, outright laugh and see the place with fresh eyes.” Courtesy Tanya Habjouqa
"What is different about these images is that they are heartbreaking if you listen to the stories and think about the reality of the situation but, on first sight, they are fresh and humorous, which elicits a different reaction from the norm." Courtesy Tanya Habjouqa
Hyatt (left) recently took a yoga lesson from a visiting American yoga instructor. She is now teaching residents of her village, Zataara, a small village on the outskirts of Bethlehem in the West Bank. The women are increasing in number each week-and they say it is proving to be the ultimate release. Courtesy Tanya Habjouqa
After gruelling traffic at the Qalandia check point, a young man enjoys a cigarette in his car as traffic finally clears on the last evening of Ramadan. He is bringing home a sheep for the upcoming Eid celebration. Courtesy Tanya Habjouqa
Occupied Pleasures, on display in Dubai’s East Wing gallery, captures so many elements of what she is trying to say as an artist: the struggle, the irony and, at times, the sheer ridiculousness of the Palestinian situation.