Dalil

It is 5,000 years old... Learn about the oldest olive tree in Palestine ويحــاول أن يحافــظعليهــا مــن خــ ل إضافــة الســماد والعنايــة بمحيطهــا. ويفيــد مديــر عــام مجلــسالزيــت الفلســطيني فيــاض فيــاضبأنــه رغــم أن أشــجار الزيتــون الأقــدم لا تختلــف عــن غيرهــا مــن الأشــجار فــإن الأبحــاث أظهــرت أن الشـجرة الأكبـر سـنا والأكبـر حجمـا يكـون زيتهـا أفضـل. ورغــم أن راتبــه لا يــكاد يكفــي لتغطيــة نفقاتــه، فــإن أبـو علـي يصـر علـى حراسـة الشـجرة التـي يعتبرهـا رمـزا للصمـود الفلسـطيني، ويقـول «إذا بقيـتهـذه الشـجرة ســنبقى.. هــذه الشــجرة جــزء مــنهويتنــا وحربنــا ضــد الاحتــ ل الإســرائيلي». The oldest and largest olive tree in Palestine lives in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem. Its age is estimated at five thousand years, and its size covers more than 250 squaremeters, its height extends to about 13 meters, and its roots are about 25meters underground, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture. Malikah Al-Shajara belongs to the Abu Ali family in the Wadi Jweizeh area, which is located in the village of Al-Walaja in Bethlehem (southwest of occupied Jerusalem), and was given a variety of names, including the fortress, the old woman, the mother of olives, and the bride of Palestine. And it has been standing tall from eras preceding Christianity and Islam. SalahAbuAli, 46, a treeguard, explained toMiddleEast Eye that despite spending most of his time under the tree, he still feels intimidated by it, and says, «The beauty and size of this tree are really special; it charms the mind, and the most beautiful tree in the world. Palestine». He added that drought and climate variability had a negative impact on the tree over the years, and caused a decrease in its production, which became more volatile, and that it had been producing about half a ton of olives between 10 and 15 years ago, and about six hundred kilograms of olive oil was extracted from it. Production last year was only 250 kilograms of oil, and there are times when the tree did not produce anything. Abu Ali pointed out that the tree suffers from a problem of water shortage, and it needs large quantities of water because of its size, but these quantities are not available, and he tries to preserve it by adding fertilizer and taking care of its surroundings. According to theDirectorGeneral of thePalestinianOil Council, Fayyad Fayyad, that although the oldest olive trees are no different from other trees, research has shown that the older and larger the tree has better oil. Fayyad added that the Israeli authorities - including civil and military employees - visited the tree in the past, took samples of it, and measured it, which raised the fear of some families in the village of Walja, and demanded the Ministry of Agriculture of the Palestinian Authority to protect it, and then assigned Abu Ali to guard it with a monthly salary estimated About four hundred dollars. Although his salary is hardly enough to cover his expenses, Abu Ali insists on guarding the tree, which he considers a symbol of Palestinian steadfastness, and says, «If this tree remains, we will remain...this tree is part of our identity and our war against the Israeli occupation.»