Roots of resistance

Olives are the cause of the latest struggle between West Bank Palestinians and illegal Israeli settlers occupying land conquered by Israel in 1967. Every year, tensions have escalated during the olive harvest which takes place between mid-October and mid-November. Palestinians of all ages gather among the trees to pick the fruit which provides essential revenue for 100,000 families.

During this month, armed Israeli settlers have launched hundreds of attacks, report the Israeli rights group Yesh Din, the United Nations, and the Palestinian Authority. Settlers have torched trees, shot farmers and beefrfgfegtw342aten men, women and children while Israeli troops refuse to interfere. A week ago, Palestinians exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers: two troops and two Palestinian gunmen were killed. On three recent occasions witnessed by “The New York Times,” soldiers stood by as settlers stopped Palestinians from harvesting olives in the villages of Khirbet Abu Falah, Turmus Ayya and Deir Abu Masha’al.

UN News reports, “Thousands of Palestinian farmers are unable to reach their olive trees because of severe Israeli movement restrictions, which have dramatically worsened over the past three years.” Meanwhile, according to the Office High Commissioner for Refugees (OHCHR), settlers are being allowed onto Palestinians’ land to harvest their crops.

Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN human rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told the website, “Palestinians often say that olive trees are symbolic of their existence as a group and their connection to the land.

“This is yet another tool of displacement and dispossession, adding to the suffering of communities whose rights are under attack on a daily basis.”

Since Palestinians in Gaza attacked Israel in October 2023, the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture has estimated 90 per cent of Gaza’s two million olive trees have been destroyed; losses amount to $157 million. In the West Bank, 286,000 olive trees have been damaged, including 100,000 in 2026 before harvest began. Olive trees not only contribute to Palestinian livelihoods but also symbolise their forever ownership of the land.

The settlers’ aim is to prevent Palestinians from earning enough to sustain themselves and their families and force them to leave the West Bank which Israel claims constitute Israel’s official administrative term for “Judah” and “Samaria,” the heartland of separate ancient Jewish kingdoms in Palestine. By officially employing these regional names, Israel seeks to prove Jewish claims to the land from which they were exiled by the Romans in 70 AD after the destruction of the second Jewish temple on Mount Moriah ended a Jewish revolt. Since the 7th century, the mount has been the site of al-Haram al-Sharif, the compound hosting al-Aqsa, the third holiest Muslim mosque in Islam. Although permitted to visit the compound, Jews are forbidden to pray there as they would violate the terms of a historic status quo agreement governing the treatment of religious sites in the city. This deal is often violated by Jewish individuals and groups.

Olives have been cultivated for about 6,000 to 7,000 years; domestication began around 5,000–4,000 BC in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. Olive trees not only provide fruit and oil to feed Palestinians but also give shade during long, increasingly hot summers and wood for cooking and heating in a land such as in Gaza where trees are almost non-existent.

Olives are cultivated on 10.9 to 11.6 million hectares of land in dozens of countries. About 95 per cent of the world’s olive cultivation is in the Mediterranean Basin with Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Morocco dominating global production. Some 80-90 per cent of the harvest is used for olive oil and the rest cured with salt water or vinegar and consumed as table olives. Olives from Kalamata in Greece’s southern Peloponnese are considered special because they are tree-ripened until almost black, harvested by hand, and traditionally cured in sea salt brine or wine vinegar.

“Olive Oil Times” reports that the “combined markets of the European Union, Egypt, Turkey and the United States currently account for about 57 per cent of global table olive consumption.” Albania and Syria lead “in global table olive consumption per capita, with the two Mediterranean nations consuming 10.8 and 10.1 kilograms per person each year, respectively.” Algeria is the third -argest per capita consumer.

While eaten at Mediterranean breakfasts, lunches and dinners, olives are also a key component of the traditional Mediterranean mezze. It can include salads and hummus which are dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, as well as vegetable dips, and chicken and lamb kebabs.

Olive oil and olives are healthy. Olive oil protects against heart disease, stroke, infections, and hardening of arteries. Eating half a tablespoon of olive oil daily has been shown to decrease the risk of heart disease by 20 per cent. Consumption of 3-10 olives a day supports the heart, brain, gut, liver, and skin without introducing animal fats which increase body weight.

Denying Palestinians olive oil amounts not only to deprivation of a daily food but also could undermine their health. This is particularly egregious due to the current global popularity of the “Mediterranean diet” which relies on the use of olive oil.

Photo: TNS