The Olive Tree: A Symbol of Peace, Palestinian Identity and Resilience

Join us in supporting Treedom For Palestine, an initiative dedicated to planting and cultivating 1,000 olive tree farms across the ancient landscape of the West Bank

The olive tree, recognised as a universal symbol of peace, holds even deeper meaning for Palestinian people. Cultivating olive trees is a deeply rooted tradition, passed down from one generation to the next. The annual olive harvest is a cherished cultural event, bringing families, neighbours and entire villages together to pick olives by hand, share meals beneath the trees, sing traditional songs and celebrate the season with food, music and community. It’s a tradition that unites generations – a living heritage representing Palestinian identity and their enduring connection to ancestral lands.

According to the United Nations, nearly half of all cultivated land in the occupied West Bank is planted with olive trees

For centuries, olive trees have flourished in an otherwise challenging landscape, withstanding drought, poor soil conditions, and even acts of violence, yet thriving under the devoted care of generations of Palestinian farmers. 

Despite their hardiness, olive trees in occupied Palestine face growing threats. 

An ancient landscape under threat

Prior to the current crisis, settlers were already destroying an average of 2,000 olive trees each year. Today, this number has doubled. Settler violence has intensified: farmers and olive growers in the West Bank are increasingly targeted by extremist gangs, who often carry out attacks under the protection of the Israeli military.

Homes, water tanks and farming equipment are regularly vandalised. In many cases, Palestinians are physically assaulted. The number of attacks tripled during the 2024 harvest. Between 1 October and 25 November alone, the UN documented 250 attacks, with more than 2,800 trees deliberately burned or cut down.

In one tragic incident, a settler shot and killed Palestinian grandmother Hanan Abu Salameh as she gathered olives in the village of Faqqua, in the north of the occupied West Bank.

Many Palestinians are denied access to their land altogether. According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, access restrictions in 2023 prevented harvests across nearly 100 square kilometres of land, resulting in a loss of 1,200 metric tons of olive oil – worth $10 million. 

Despite these immense challenges, Palestinians continue to return to their groves, to tending to or replanting uprooted trees. Caring for olive trees is an expression of extraordinary resilience – one that highlights the unbreakable bond between a people and their land.

Caring for olive trees is an expression of extraordinary resilience that highlights the unbreakable bond between a people and their land

Planting for change and peaceful resistance

Amid the escalating situation in the West Bank, US-based non-profit Treedom for Palestine is working to protect Palestinian land and livelihoods for future generations.

In collaboration with the Palestinian Farmers Union and its network of 16,000 small-scale farmers, Treedom For Palestine has already established 75 Freedom Farms across the West Bank, each with 250 olive trees. Half of these farms are owned or managed by women.

In areas where cultivated land is less likely to be seized, Freedom Farms act as living shields, helping to resist the threat of annexation and settlement expansion, and ensuring Palestinian land remains in Palestinian hands.

All farms are protected with security measures such as steel fencing, to shield the groves from attacks, and irrigation systems to enable the trees to thrive – providing food and economic independence to farmers and their families. The goal is to plant 1,000 Freedom Farms by 2035, creating a tipping point for Palestinian prosperity and self-reliance.

One recently planted farm in the northern West Bank of Tulkarem was dedicated as a tribute to the late US President Jimmy Carter. Carter was an outspoken critic of Israel’s military rule over Palestinians, describing conditions in the occupied West Bank as apartheid.

Just as Carter dedicated much of his life to advocating for Palestinian equality, planting olive trees also leaves a powerful legacy. With every olive tree planted, a seed of hope is sown. Each one is a commitment to future generations – and a small, yet profoundly meaningful, act of peaceful resistance.

Please join the founders of Appellation in supporting this incredible mission at TreedomForPalestine.org You can sponsor a farm, or make a one-off or monthly donation.