2017 Middle East in Review is an annual gallery that features some of the top photojournalism made by AP staff photographers and freelancers based in AP’s Middle East East, Afghanistan & Pakistan region.  

In this year’s gallery, AP staff photographers share their favorite pictures from 2017, selected by Middle East Regional Photo Editor Maya Alleruzzo.

This was the year that saw the Islamic State militant group pushed from its strongholds in Iraq and Syria and a high civilian cost, as buildings in the cities of Raqqa and Mosul were completely erased from the landscape. It remains to be seen what form the group will take, but already a more militant faction has carried out an attack in Egypt.

In Pakistan, ordinary citizens broke their silence to tell their stories about a long-held social taboo. A boy told The Associated Press about his abuse at the hands of his teacher at a madrassa, or religious school. An AP investigation found sexual abuse is pervasive in the country’s religious schools that educate some two million students

The region was rocked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, paving the way for the U.S. embassy to move from Tel Aviv. Angered by the move, Palestinians took to the streets and so did their supporters across the Arab world.

Yemen’s raging two-year conflict has turned the country into an incubator for lethal cholera: primitive sanitation and water systems put Yemenis at risk of drinking feces-contaminated water; wells are dirtied by runoff from rainfall on piles of garbage left uncollected for weeks; farmland is irrigated with broken sewers due to lax oversight and corruption; medical intervention is delayed due to unpaid government employees and half of the country’s health facilities are out of service.

Curated by Middle East Regional Photo Editor Maya Alleruzzo

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