Palestinian architect 'instagrabs' Palestine's occupied landscape

For many Palestinians living in the West Bank, a growing frustration emanates from a life confined to numbered urban areas suffocated by a landlocked territory they have no control over.

Palestinian architect and Ramallah resident Dana Erekat sought to escape that suffocation by exploring the natural landscapes surrounding her city, and while she found plenty of natural beauty and fresh air, she also came face to face with Israeli occupation.

Erekat discovered that many of the green spaces around Ramallah were actually under the control of illegal Israeli settlements.

"It soon became clear to me that these green spaces, water springs and parks have been grabbed and are controlled by Israel in the name of 'nature preservation'," wrote Erekat in Arab Studies Institute (ASI) publication Jadaliyya .

"Water springs are linked to illegal Israeli settlements, parks are erected on stolen old Palestinian villages, and hiking trails are used to link Israeli settlement blocs."

During her journeys, Erekat also discovered that things weren't much better on the Palestinian turf.

She found that the nature reserves in the West Bank under the control of the Palestinian Authority are often polluted by construction waste materials, dumped by developers who are not held accountable for their violations, despite the fact that there are regulations that outlaw environmental destruction.

Heavyhearted with the realization that she describes as the "awareness that we live in a large caged urban space, controlled on the outside by a ruthless occupier, and run on the inside by self interest and greed," Erekat decided to try and remedy the situation by showing it to the world.

She started using her photography skills and Instagram feed to document the condition of the beautiful natural Palestinian landscape, which is being thrown back and forth between illegal occupation and destructive neglect.

"Palestinian architects and planners also have the social responsibility to expose and fight the destruction of the landscape," wrote Erekat.

These are examples of how she has been trying to "instagrab the landscape" to raise awareness about the issue.