During the last few years, Palestinian olive trees — a universal symbol of life and peace — have been systematically destroyed by Israeli settlers. "It has reached a crescendo. What might look like ad hoc violence is actually a tool the settlers are using to push back Palestinian farmers from their own land," stated a spokeswoman for Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organization monitoring incidents in the West Bank.
The tree and its oil have a special significance throughout the Middle East. It is an essential aspect of Palestinian culture, heritage and identity, and has been mentioned in the Bible, the Quran and the Torah. Many families depend on the olive trees for their livelihood.
Olive oil is a key product of the Palestinian economy and olive production is the main product in terms of total agricultural production, making up 25 percent of the total agricultural production in the West Bank. Palestinians plant around 10,000 new olive trees in the West Bank every year. Most of the new plants are from the oil-producing variety.