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In the rural areas of Palestine, olive trees have long been central not only to the economy but also to cultural identity. Recently, a wave of replanting efforts is providing local farmers with renewed optimism amid ongoing challenges. This movement is supported by tens of thousands of new olive saplings being planted across the West Bank, financed largely through the efforts of customers of the UK-based fair trade organization, Zaytoun.
Olive trees have sustained Palestinian rural communities for thousands of years, yet they have also come to symbolize resilience in the face of conflict. Since 1967, Israeli settlers and authorities have reportedly uprooted approximately one million olive trees as part of land seizures in the West Bank. Taysir Arbasim, the Palestinian director of Zaytoun, describes this as “a systematic act aimed at destroying a way of life and forcing Palestinians from their homes,” noting that around 25,000 families have been pushed out of olive farming due to these actions.
Since 2006, the Palestine Fair Trade Association (PFTA), the largest fair trade union in the country, has been addressing these losses through its ‘Trees for Life’ program. This initiative focuses on restoring not only olive groves but also other native plants such as carob, fig, and almond trees. The program incorporates regenerative farming methods like intercropping with fava beans, peas, and clover to improve soil health and enhance future harvests. Saplings are nurtured in nurseries and handed out to farmers when they reach two to three years old, with the trees typically taking another five years to begin producing olives and about 15 years to reach full maturity. Zaytoun itself has sponsored over 300,000 trees since 2011, with donations exceeding £190,000 for the 2025–2026 planting season, enabling the planting of approximately 40,000 saplings.
Local laws theoretically protect cultivated land from confiscation by Israeli authorities, underscoring the significance of agriculture beyond its economic value. A spokesperson from the PFTA emphasized that farming holds deep cultural and spiritual importance for Palestinians, serving as a form of resistance and an assertion of their connection to the land. Arbasim expressed how the act of planting olive trees brings immediate joy and hope to farmers, saying, “Olive trees are considered part of the family, so it’s like getting a new family member.” He highlighted the intergenerational commitment embodied in these efforts: “We have a famous saying: they planted for us to eat, and we will plant for them to eat. We are planting for the next generation. We are planting for hope.”
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