Annie's New Letters (& notes)

[Israel Decides that] Olive Picking in al-Haram al-Sharif Is Now a Crime for Palestinians... There are nearly 600 olive trees on the grounds of al-Aqsa Mosque, some of which are thousands of years old. The Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem, through the Zakat Committee, collects the olives from the trees, presses them, and distributes the oil to the poor in Jerusalem. No quantity of olives or the pressed oil from them is sold, despite a high demand for these olives from al-Aqsa Mosque, which the community considers blessed.

Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images  November 1, 2026 Khalil Assali “The olive tree is...