AJ+ REPORTS: Israel Planted Invasive Trees on Seized Palestinian Land — Now They’re Burning
May 5, 2025
The largest wildfires in Israel’s history swept through the country on April 30, burning down invasive pine forests that Israel planted on top of Palestinian villages it destroyed during and after its creation.
The Jewish National Fund (JNF), in cooperation with the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association (PICA), began planting forests made up of pines, cypresses and other nonnative trees in 1920 saying they wanted to make Palestine look more like Europe.
By 2024, the JNF had planted over 240 million trees on 100,000 hectares of land.
Israel has also consistently bulldozed or uprooted olive trees owned by Palestinians, which are mostly native to the land – as well as resistant to drought and fire.
@ajplus
#israel #fires
English Script:
N/A
