“Your tree protects them” .. 4 thousand olive trees in 4 Palestinian cities in honor of Shireen Abu Akleh

Occupied Jerusalem

- To the part behind the separation wall known to Palestinians as "Beit Hanina al-Balad", dozens of Palestinians from Bethlehem, Ramallah and Jerusalem, led by the family of the late Sherine Abu Akleh, went to participate in the event of planting 300 olive trees in honor of her spirit.

As part of the third million tree planting program in Palestine, a few days ago, the "Your Tree Protects Them" campaign was launched with the aim of collecting donations to plant 400 trees for the spirit of Abu Aqila.

The representative of the Arab Organization for the Protection of Nature in Palestine, Engineer Ibrahim Manasra, said that the name of the last campaign was inspired by the tree in which Sherine’s colleague, journalist Shatha Hanaysha, took shelter, and therefore the name of the campaign “Your Tree Protects Them” was consistent with this symbolism.

Advocate explained - to Al Jazeera Net - that the value of the donation per tree is 5 Jordanian dinars, and that the donors flocked to participate in the Sherine Abu Akleh campaign from Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Of all age groups, the participants were engaged in planting and irrigating young trees (Al-Jazeera)

In Beit Hanina - Shireen's hometown - 300 olive trees were planted today and 1,500 more trees were distributed to the town's farmers. The activity of planting trees will continue in the coming days in Bethlehem, where Shireen descended, and in a land adjacent to the place of her martyrdom in Jenin and in the Gaza Strip. In addition to planting a symbolic olive tree on the Mount of Olives overlooking the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in her memory.

Of all age groups, the participants were busy planting and irrigating young trees, including Antoine Abu Akleh - Sherine's brother - who began his speech to Al Jazeera Net by thanking everyone who donated to plant thousands of olive trees from all countries.

"This tree is a symbol of the unity of the Palestinian people, and as much as I care that Shireen's name remains present, I also care about the unity of the Palestinian people with all its sects and parties, and our lands will remain lofty, fertile and fruitful with this blessed tree," added the late brother's brother.

Engineer Ibrahim Manasra: Donors from several Arab countries flocked to donate to the Your Tree Protects Them campaign (Al Jazeera)

Sherine and the olive tree

His wife, Lisa Abu Aqleh, talked about Sherine's relationship with the olive tree, saying that she loved nature and crops, and the olive tree had a special place in her heart.

With a deep tone of sadness, Lisa said that this event is similar to Sherine, because throughout her life she was joined with the land and belonged to it, and planting olive trees today in honor of her memory is a completion of the scene of belonging and cohesion.

Antoine Abu Aqleh, Sherine's brother, plants an olive tree in her honor (Al Jazeera)

Not far from her mother, Lareen bent down to plant a tree for her aunt's soul, and said that she is a source of pride in her life and after her departure, "Sherine's voice has not died and will remain planted in everyone's minds, just as the roots of these trees will go deeper into the ground day after day... No one can suppress it. This voice is not to be taken out of our hearts.

Aziza Abu Hamda arrived from the country late, but as soon as she heard a call through the mosque’s headphones to go to the plot of land where the trees were to be planted, she sprang to answer the call.

She panted and insisted on completing the planting of her tree, chanting from time to time, "God have mercy on you, Sherine.. God has not died in our hearts."

Lareen Abu Aqila, Sherine's niece, plants a tree as part of your tree campaign to protect them (Al Jazeera)

The voice of truth will not die

And about her participation, she said, "I loved Sherine as my patriot, because she is the voice of truth that never differentiated between a Muslim and a Christian... She was a giver to the land and the owners of the land, and today we are planting a tree from our heritage in order to perpetuate her memory that will never die."

From Ramallah, the head of the Melkite Roman Catholic monastery, Father Abdullah July, came to participate in planting trees on land adjacent to the separation wall, and said that it will no longer be said that the occupation uprooted one tree here and another there, but that we, in turn, plant trees as we sow hope and hope in the hearts of people despite the tragedies.

The head of the Melkite Roman Catholic Monastery, Father Abdullah Julio, came from Ramallah to participate in the planting of trees (Al-Jazeera)

He added, "The homeland is built with the blood of martyrs, and it came in the Bible that if a grain of wheat did not fall on the ground, the fruits would not grow.. Sherine and all the martyrs are wheat grains who were buried in the ground, to give more fruits and to these glory and immortality."

The gathering dispersed, and the flags of Palestine and the banners bearing Shireen's pictures remained tall in a land of about 4 dunams (a dunam = a thousand square meters) planted with Shireen's love, giving, and affiliation to her cause and her land.