THE OLIVE TREE PROJECT: UPDATE
Image credit: Angeles Balaguer, Pixabay
THANK YOU FOR STANDING WITH PALESTINIAN FARMERS
In the occupied West Bank, land is being seized from Palestinian farmers at an unprecedented rate. By sponsoring a tree through the Olive Tree Project you help Palestinian farmers defend their land and their livelihood.
NEWS FROM THE OLIVE GROVES
MORE LAND AND TREES ARE UNDER THREAT - SO WE’VE BEEN PLANTING MORE OLIVE TREES!
Since the start of the current war in Gaza two years ago, there has been a dramatic rise in attacks on Palestinian land and farmers, with olive trees deliberately cut down, uprooted or burnt as radical Israeli settlers try to drive Palestinians from their land and expand their settlements. Muhanad Al Qaisy, the director of the Olive Tree Project, told us:
Muhanad Al Qaisy was Embrace’s speaker at Greenbelt festival this year.
“Last year we planted 90,000 olive trees. That's double the number that we planted years before…We are witnessing a huge attack by the Israeli settlers and the massive construction of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, new roads and more checkpoints, more restrictions. All of this makes it difficult for Palestinians…More land will be annexed [but] planting the empty land with trees will help stop the Israelis taking more and more land…
“For us, the work has doubled because what we used to do is just distribute the trees. Now we count how many trees get uprooted in our projects…Every tree that gets uprooted, we document and we write the story, we take photos and we replant it again. It is a very active resistance, on a daily basis.”
OLIVE TREE PLANTING 2025
February and March marked the olive planting season. Although international volunteers were unable to travel to the West Bank to take part in the olive planting for the second year in a row, the Olive Tree Project continued with local volunteers, planting the thousands of olive trees sponsored by international donors. Trees sponsored through Embrace were planted around Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron and Jerusalem. You can sponsor a tree for next year’s planting season through our webshop.
IMPACT OF EXPANDING SETTLEMENTS
The destruction of olive trees is not the only way that farmland in Palestine is affected by expanding illegal Israeli settlements. This video was put together by the #StopSettlements campaign, which Embrace is part of, calling for countries and corporations worldwide to ban all trade with Israeli settlements:
““The settlers come to frighten us, but when I see the olive trees standing, I remember that the land is stronger than fear.” ”
AS ECONOMIC SITUATION WORSENS MORE PALESTINIANS ARE TURNING TO FARMING
Following the attacks of 7th October 2023 the Israeli authorities revoked all Palestinian labour permits for working in Israel. This meant more than 300,000 people, about one-third of workers in the West Bank, lost their jobs overnight. Over the past year, the situation in the West Bank has deteriorated significantly, with incomes plummeting and unemployment surging. Many families face poorer living standards and are resorting to purchasing less food and relying on meals with lower nutritional value.
There has also been rising violence, with 671 Palestinians, including 129 children, killed between January 2024 and July 2025. The violence has been intensified by widespread demolitions; since January 2025, more than 1,000 Palestinian homes and structures have been destroyed or seized, and more than 2,300 Palestinians have been displaced. The economic and social impact has been devastating.
Many Palestinians have turned to farming to try to make ends meet. This (along with the increase in olive tree attacks) has meant the Olive Tree Project has seen a dramatic rise in requests for saplings this year.
Muhanad, director of the Olive Tree Project, says that the physical work of farming also helps to alleviate the mental health symptoms of the constant stress of living under occupation - but settler attacks, severe movement restrictions around the West Bank and limited water supply (something that is also restricted by Israel) are just some of the many challenges farmers face on a daily basis.
OLIVE WOOD GIFTS
We have many lovely hand-carved olive wood gifts in our shop. Everything in our olive wood range is handcrafted from the pruned branches of Holy Land olive trees by carvers who are registered with Bethlehem Fair Trade Artisans (BFTA). This partnership ensures that all artisans receive a fair wage and safe working conditions.
Each olive wood creation enables you to hold a small piece of the Holy Land in your hand - and within each piece lies all the passion of each artisan who has lovingly crafted it.
OLIVE TREE GIFTS
If you’re after some unique gifts we’ve plenty to choose from. Our olive collection includes: an Olive Wood Candle Stick and Tealight Holder, Olive Wood Rosary Beads and a Crucifix Pendant. You can also buy Nablus Olive Oil Soap and Zaytoun Organic Olive Oil.
We also have a range of olive wood decorations including a hand-carved Praying Angel and Praying Hands, as well as a selection of intricate Christmas Tree Decorations, a four-piece Nativity Set, a Madonna and Child Figurine and much more…!
SPONSOR AN OLIVE TREE
This year Palestinian farmers need your help more than ever, so why not sponsor another olive tree? It’s a unique gift to give a loved one and help keep hope alive in Palestine.
“By sponsoring a tree, you have helped Palestinian farmers to continue to claim and work their land. Thank you”
THE LATEST NEWS FROM ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
WAR IN GAZA LATEST UPDATES
Get the latest news from Embrace partners on the ground in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel. Find out more about Embrace’s response to the crisis, along with prayer resources and what you can do to help.
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