Natan Dvir’s photo (I’ve blogged about him before) was chosen Photo of the Year at the Local Testimony photo exhibition. The image below was selected by a panel of 9 judges, from over 5,000 entries.

Local Testimony exhibits the best of local photojournalism, together with the World Press Photo exhibition. The exhibition will be open from until January 12 at the Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv (Building A, 3rd floor, next to the Kravitz shop). For further information, plus an online photo gallery, see the Local Testimony website.

This is how Natan describes his image:

“Na’im El’iam (36), a Palestinian resident of the Jabalyah Refugee Camp in Gaza, holds the body of his three-month-old son Muhammad. The body is wrapped in blue cloth. On orders of the security forces, Na’im is standing in the parking lot near Erez Checkpoint, which is closed to traffic due to violent confrontations between Hamas and Fatah in Gaza. Na’im El’iam was trying to get home in order to bury his son, who died of a congenital heart defect in Israel’s Tel Hashomer Hospital, after doctors tried to save his life. The Palestinian father arrived at Erez Checkpoint, the main border crossing between Israel and Gaza, just as it was getting dark – a few minutes after a shooting incident between Hamas fighters and Fatah members who were hiding inside the checkpoint. After waiting for the shooting to end and then for his documents and permits to be checked, Na’im El’iam was permitted to cross the checkpoint to the Palestinian side with his son’s body.”

Click here to see a larger version of the photo.