The olive tree is seen by many Palestinians as being a symbol of nationality and connection to the land particularly due to their slow growth and longevity.
The destruction of Palestinian olive trees has become a feature of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict with regular reports of damage by Israeli settlers.
After the occupation of Palestine Israeli forces targeted olive trees as a primary form of land acquisition and began to uproot Palestinian olive trees in 1967 with an estimated 830000 olive trees uprooted between 1967 and 2009.
Source; Friends of Palestine Wikipedia
