Ashraf Shannon
Press TV, Gaza The citrus harvest season has begun in the Gaza Strip and farmers are busy plucking oranges and clementines on their land. Farmers wait for the month of December every year to harvest citrus fruits to provide for their families.

However, citrus farming has been hit hard by more than a decade of Israeli blockade and three wars since 2008.  The tiny coastal enclave used to have a thriving citrus industry but since the start of the al-Aqsa uprising against the Israeli regime in the year 2000, citrus trees were systematically destroyed by Israeli bulldozers during ground incursions.

Most of the citrus orchards were located along the eastern areas of the Gaza Strip where Israel bans farming.

The area east of the impoverished territory also known as the buffer-zone has the most fertile soil and it makes up around 30 percent of Gaza's arable land.

Hamas officials who joined the citrus harvest accused the Israeli regime of being the main culprit behind the destruction of the citrus industry.

The state of Gazan farmers reflects the scope of human rights violations committed by the Israeli regime against thousands of farmers and their families working in this impoverished coastal enclave.

Years ago, citrus used to be Gaza’s main source of income, but the Israeli regime’s destruction of this industry has forced Palestinians to import citrus