Editor’s Report from Israel: Could Watermelon End the Wars Between Israel and Hamas?

Aug 26, 2016

A watermelon field near Zichron Ya'acov

a view of the coast of Israel from the hills of Zichron Ya'acov

Editors Report from Israel: Could Watermelon End the Wars Between Israel and Hamas?

On the way to Zichron Yaacov from Netanya this July, not far past the Alexander River I noticed the beautiful site of a field of watermelons growing in the sunshine, and as we passed by I thought of the years when I would sing to my children the song "Down by the Bay where the Watermelons Grow."

On the way we passed by the mouth of the Alexander River (Nachal Alexander), where now Israelis bike and picnic.. For the first time, I learned that the Alexander River was named after an Arab watermelon merchant Aixander Abu Zbura who became wealthy by exporting watermelons from this area to Egypt and Lebanon .

I also learned that watermelon has been a symbol of Palestinian nationalism. Apparently, after the Six day War in 1967, when Israel banned the display of the PLO flag, in the West Bank and Gaza, young Palestinian militants sliced watermelons in half and waved them around they contained the fruit and rind contained red, green , black and white, the Palestinian national colours.

Strangely enough, this year, even though Hamas's Gaza is a sworn enemy of Israel committed to its destruction, Hamas actually imported Israeli watermelons.

On June 22, a few days before I arrived, the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture in the Gaza Strip surprisingly approved the transfer of Israeli watermelons into Gaza in an attempt to decrease local prices which were driven up by limited supplies.

The Maan News Agency reported that the the General Director of marketing and crossings Tahsin al-Saqqa said the watermelon entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing ending an eight-year ban.

It's interesting to note that seventeen former Jewish settlements in Gaza (from which Israel unilaterally withdrew in 2005) are now being used by Palestinian watermelon growers to grow the delicious fruit, according to the Electric Intifada. (https://electronicintifada.net/content/gaza-farmers-grow-watermelon-former-israeli-settlements/13462).

This year there was a shortage of areas cultivated for watermelons in Gaza , which resulted in reduced crops pushing up prices in the local Gazan market.

According to Al Monitor, areas cultivated for watermelon in Gaza shrunk from 4,500 acres to 3,500 acres, given a shortage of irrigation water.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/07/palestine-gaza-import-watermelon-lower-prices-ban-1.html#ixzz4G75BcjHG

Alas, the importing of Israeli watermelon by Gaza was short-lived, lasting only three days.

On June 26, the Gazan ministry declared on its Facebook page that the deal with Israel had been canceled, after an agreement by Gazan farmers to sell their watermelons for cheaper.

And so it was that for a brief 3-4 days, it appeared that Hamas realized that providing watermelon for its people, was more important than demonizing Israel.

And it has made me wonder what would happen next year if Gaza could not produce enough watermelons. Would it mean that the chance of a war next summer would decrease,? Could peace one day be negotiated through the eating of watermelon ?

But Israel isn't counting on watermelon for its security. As Ynet news has reported, Israel has invested in a new concrete barrier underground to stop Gaza terror tunnels

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4836808,00.htm

p.s. It was Mark Twain who once said that to taste a watermelon is to know “what the angels eat.”