Sublime

Israel is guilty of not only genocide but also ecocide and environmental Nakba, by deliberately targeting all environmental elements vital to life, including olive trees. According to Palestinian environmental activist Abeer Al Butmeh, this includes targeting soil, agriculture, water resources, and even solar energy projects using prohibited

The trees' strength to cling back to life even in the face of relentless attacks and replacement make the olive trees a quintessential emblem of sumud—a political concept that means "steadfast connection to the land" and "staying put despite continuous assault"-and Palestinian national movement.

For Palestinians, olive trees signify connection to and rootedness in the land. They signify life's continuity beyond human mortality. Olive trees' ability to survive the harshest weather conditions, including drought and poor soil, and their ability to grow in the mountains and wadis (valleys), indicate their resilience. Palestinians regard olive

The iconic image of an elderly Palestinian farmer Mahfodah Shtayyeh, crying and hugging her olive tree as Israeli settlers attacked captures both the struggle and resistance of the Palestinian farmer and her trees. Shtayyeh says she has raised the tree as her child.