Given the billions of barrels worth of oil in Palestine, some advocates believe that fossil fuels are influencing Israel’s attacks.
Handala was born and raised in Palestine’s West Bank. He grew up spending ample time on his family’s olive farm—with the trees from which his ancestors have harvested olives for generations. These plants, some 1,500 years old, seeded Handala’s appreciation for the environment. He realized around the age of 12 that he wanted to dedicate his life to studying agriculture when he helped his father save some trees that the Israeli military had cut down.
“That taught us how the olive trees are so resilient and can survive even though a lot is affecting [them],” said Handala, a 31-year-old environmental activist with a Palestine-based organization who is using a pseudonym out of fear of Israeli government retaliation.
In that way, the trees and the Palestinian people who care for them are not so different. As a child, Handala wouldn’t devote his attention only to the olive trees. There were always the tanks, too; he’d count them on his walks to school.
“Life has never been normal,” he said.
Since October 7, 2023, normalcy in Palestine and Israel has felt even more out of reach. For nearly two months, the U.S.-funded Israeli government has launched attack after attack on Palestine’s civilian communities. Indeed, the U.N. has warned the international community about “a genocide in the making.” Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor estimates that the Palestinian death toll has likely reached 20,000 as of Nov. 17. The terrorist group Hamas has begun releasing hostages but still has nearly 200 held captive.
