[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 a symbol of steadfastness and is the identity of Jerusalem and Palestine,” said Saadi Mahmoud,1 a resident of Haret al-Sa‘diyya near al-Aqsa Mosque. Saadi used to help pick olives from the trees on the mosque grounds every year, and was even able to keep some of those olives, which he cherished as blessed.

Speaking to Jerusalem Story, he said that a police officer warned him not to approach the olive trees on the grounds of al-Aqsa Mosque or he would be arrested. He adds, “I am astonished by this Israeli audacity that has completely changed the reality in al-Aqsa Mosque over the past years to the point where the police have complete control over the entire compound!”

The Old City of Jerusalem and its walls were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981, and the organization’s List of World Heritage in Danger in 1982. These designations cover all religious sites within the Old City, including al-Aqsa Mosque. They also cover the nature within and around these spaces, including the olive trees on the spacious mosque grounds. There are nearly 600 olive trees on the grounds of al-Aqsa Mosque, some of which are thousands of years old.2 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.3 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.

Picking Olives at al-Aqsa Mosque Is Now a Crime

These trees are an Islamic waqf, and no one can sell or buy them or their oil, says Sheikh Mazen Ahram, a former employee of the Waqf Department who has a Sufi corner on the mosque grounds.4 He added that many Palestinian Jerusalemite families used to come to participate in the olive harvest and would be able to take some home for their personal use; however, this stopped, because Israeli authorities forbid it.

According to Waqf Department figures made available to Jerusalem Story, more than 500 families used to register to receive three liters of olive oil from al-Aqsa Mosque after the olive harvest.

More than 500 families used to register to receive three liters of olive oil from al-Aqsa Mosque.

But this year, the situation was completely different, even dire, as experienced by Hajj Saeed Abdulrahman from the Palestinian village of Tamra in the Galilee. Every year, he visits al-Aqsa Mosque and picks a small amount of olives from its trees to take back to his village, considering them blessed.

Hajj Saeed was shocked recently when more than 10 Israeli police officers attacked and arrested him, while he was picking olives on the mosque grounds, confiscated his bag of olives, and took him to a police station near Bab al-Silsila. There he was issued a fine of NIS 5,000 for allegedly picking olives from a public area without prior permission from the authorities. Furthermore, he says, he has been banned from the grounds simply for picking olives, something he has done for years.... READ MORE  https://www.jerusalemstory.com/en/blog/olive-picking-al-haram-al-sharif-now-crime-palestinians

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"There is a reason Jesus spoke Aramaic rather than Sacred Hebrew. Hebrew was the language of the Temple and of the High Priest; it carried prestige and authority. Greek was the language of administration and of the empire. But He chose to speak Aramaic, the language of ordinary men." Camila Rocha

 

Camila Rocha

 

@Camila_Rocha

 

There is a reason Jesus spoke Aramaic rather than Sacred Hebrew. Hebrew was the language of the Temple and of the High Priest; it carried prestige and authority. Greek was the language of administration and of the empire. But He chose to speak Aramaic, the language of ordinary men.

 

The Jews expected an earthly king from the High Priest’s line. Jesus was from the line of David, a Judahite, not from the line of the High Priest. But God had reserved a most humble and generous coming for His Son.

 

Jesus was born a Nazarene, born in a manger. He also spoke the low vernacular, because He came for all, for the just and for the poor. And the measure of someone’s value was not in status or in what he possessed, but in what his heart carried: love for the Most High.

 

That is the essence of God’s most beloved souls: poor in spirit, independent of whatever their status might be.

 

For before Him all stand as children, and God alone is the true Father.

 

https://x.com/Camila_Rocha/status/2032967019461808306

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]