In memory of late US President Jimmy Carter, a grove of 250 young olive trees was planted Monday in the occupied West Bank by Palestinian activists and residents, who described Carter as a staunch advocate for the Palestinian cause.
The former president's legacy is "rooted" among Palestinians and across the world, said Abbas Melhem, executive manager of the Palestinian Farmers Union, because Carter was one of the few world leaders who "stood firmly supporting the struggle of the Palestinians for independence and for freedom."
Under clear winter skies, Palestinian kids helped a handful of adults place the trees into newly dug holes. Melhem said the 10 dunam (2.5 acre) grove in the city of Tulkarem, titled "Freedom Farm," would be fenced in to protect it from animals or extremist Jewish settlers, who have attacked Palestinian olive trees in the past.
The advocacy group for farmers in the West Bank launched the project in collaboration with U.S.-based nonprofit Treedom for Palestine.
Carter, who died last month at the age of 100, brokered the Camp David peace accords between Israel and Egypt in 1978. In his later years, he was highly critical of Israel’s rule over the Palestinians, saying that the situation in the West Bank amounted to apartheid.
"I think planting olive trees that live at least 100 years old like him is a very suitable way to honor his life and his legacy," said George Zeidan, the Carter Center's Director in Israel and Palestine.
