Olive trees can live for several hundred years. A tree planted by a grandfather can still give olives to his grandchildren.
More than ten million olive trees grow in the West Bank. They cover almost half of all farmed land, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Between 80,000 and 100,000 families have olives and olive oil as part of their income.
The harvest is in October and November. The whole family helps. They spread cloths under the trees, pick by hand and then take the olives to the press.
The oil becomes food, but also soap. Nablus is known for its olive soap.
The olive tree is mentioned in the Qur'an, for example in surah 95, which opens with an oath by the fig and the olive.
That is why there is an olive branch on the Palestine Hoodie and an olive grove on the Olive Gate Hoodie.
Source: OCHA, report on the olive harvest, November 2019.
The picture: an olive tree, photographed some time between 1898 and 1946. Photo from the Matson Collection (American Colony in Jerusalem), Library of Congress (matpc 02485). No known restrictions on publication.