Hawzah News Agency (Occupied Palestine) - The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture held a festival to announce the beginning of olive harvest season. Every October, Gazans come together to celebrate the ancient tradition of olive harvest where families, farmers and children experience picking olives.

This festival is considered as a revival for the symbolic, national and economic importance of the holy tree. Hundreds of thousands of olive trees have been uprooted during wars imposed by Israeli forces against Gaza. Palestinians held the festival near the buffer zone to condemn the Israeli violations of the agricultural lands in Gaza.

Israeli occupation has bulldozed dozens of olive trees and made land leveling operations that destroyed thousands of acres of Palestinian lands. This for sure led to the deterioration of life of farmers. These Israeli moves are aimed at wiping out Palestinians and everything that belongs to them and their existence. Israel still prevents farmers from reaching out to their lands leaving them with no other source of income.

In response, Palestinians hold annual festivals as a way to challenge the Israeli occupation.

These Israeli violations of Palestinians’ rights led to the decline of living standards in Gaza. Palestinians call on international community to take actions.

Despite the continuous burning and cutting of trees, Palestinians insist on planting trees as a way to resist the Israeli occupation.