 | | Palestinian olive trees uprooted in Jayyous by Israeli contractors- (photo by Christoph Gocke-EAPPI) |
According to witnesses, Israeli bulldozers razed vast area of arable lands, uprooting olive trees belonging to residents of Beit Leid and Kfur al-Lobbad villages in Tulkarem, part of an effort to erect bypassing roads around the Jewish colony of Enabb. In Palestine, Israel’s criminal uprooting of olive tree, a universal symbol of peace has had tremendous effects on the Palestinian agriculture, economy, and identity. In Palestine, the olive tree is highly valued for its historical presence, beauty, symbolic significance, and most importantly its economic significance, as it represents a major commercial crop for Palestine, with numerous families dependant on it for their livelihood. Palestinians use olive trees in extracting many products, including olives, olive oil, olive wood and olive based soap. Olive oil stands as Palestine’s second major export item. The merciless Israeli occupation’s devastating effect is not only limited to innocent human beings but also the environment. The olive tree has become the unfortunate casualty of war. In Palestine, Olive tree is highly valued for its historical presence, beauty, symbolism, as well as its economic significance for the Palestinian nation. The Israeli occupation has uprooted thousands of trees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; it also set olive trees on fire. In October 2002, Israeli papers reported that the IOC (Israeli Occupation Army) prevents Palestinian farmers from harvesting their olive crops in the West Bank, claiming that they can’t protect the olive pickers from attacks by Jewish settlers. (Palestine Monitor, Urgent appeal). And later in October 2002, the Washington Post also reported that Jewish settlers destroyed hundreds of olive trees in the occupied Palestinian territories by setting them ablaze. 0 | 
