The last fifty years has seen a shift in labor trends among the Palestinian population away from the local agricultural sector towards day-labor opportunities in Israeli service industries and construction. While agriculture has long held an integral place in the formation of Palestinian identity, through the cultural, communal, and economic dimensions of Palestinian society, it is now on the decline. Exacerbated by Israeli occupation and annexation of arable lands within the West Bank, this shift is emblematic of a loss of knowledge of the land, loss of tradition, and along with it, loss of a more cooperative form of life. Such decline is reflected in the deterioration of historic Palestinian architectural sites, many of which have agrarian roots.

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