TULKAREM, West Bank — On Monday, a group of Palestinian activists and local residents came together to plant a grove of 250 olive trees in a town in northern West Bank, commemorating former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, whom they regard as a dedicated advocate for Palestinian rights.

Abbas Melhem, the executive manager of the Palestinian Farmers Union, remarked that Carter’s influence remains significant among Palestinians and throughout the world. He emphasized that Carter was among the selective global leaders who consistently championed the Palestinians’ quest for independence and freedom.

As the sun shone in a clear winter sky, local children joined adults in the effort to plant the trees in freshly dug holes. Melhem announced that the 10-dunam (equivalent to 2.5 acres) parcel of land in Tulkarem, which has been named “Freedom Farm,” would be surrounded by a protective fence. This precaution is intended to safeguard the grove from wildlife and extremist Israeli settlers, who have a history of attacking Palestinian olive trees.

This initiative was established by a farmers’ advocacy group based in the West Bank, in partnership with Treedom for Palestine, a nonprofit organization in the U.S. dedicated to empowering Palestinian farmers through tree planting.

Jimmy Carter, who passed away recently at the age of 100, is notably recognized for facilitating the Camp David peace accords between Israel and Egypt in 1978. In his later years, he became a vocal critic of Israel’s military governance over the Palestinian territories, likening the situation in the West Bank to apartheid. The region, which Israel captured during the 1967 Six-Day War, is viewed by Palestinians as the central component of their aspirations for an independent state.

George Zeidan, the Director of the Carter Center in Israel and Palestine, expressed that planting olive trees, which can live for over a century—much like Carter himself—serves as a fitting tribute to celebrate his life and enduring legacy.