In the sun-drenched hills of the West Bank, Bilal Saleh tended to the olive trees his father planted—a symbol of heritage and resilience. But last year, his life was cut short when an Israeli settler shot him near his grove. Seven months later, his family’s grief echoes through the valleys, as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict rages on.
💬 \"We shared stories under these trees,\" says Mohammed Bilal, Bilal’s son, clutching a wrinkled photo of his father. \"Now, they remind me of his absence.\" Sami Shahen, Bilal’s lifelong friend, recalls how the grove became a gathering place for their community: \"Bilal believed these olives tied us to the land. Now, they’re tied to our pain.\"
Bilal’s widow, Ikhlas, stares at the grove from her window, where saplings struggle to grow. \"He promised we’d reunite in heaven,\" she whispers. \"But until then, every olive is a memory.\"
As settlements expand and tensions flare, families like Bilal’s grapple with loss—and the fading hope for peace. 🌱✨
