Why Are the Trees Surrounding al-Aqsa Mosque Dying?

Hajj Saeed Mustafa, 67, from the Bab Hutta neighborhood in Jerusalem’s Old City, stands stunned in front of what remains of an aged tree in the western courtyard of al-Aqsa Mosque.

That tree was a feature in the landscape of his childhood and the refuge of the neighborhood children from the summer heat in the mosque compound, which was the only outlet for the people of the Old City. “The trees in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound are not just ordinary trees; they are blessed. We know them tree by tree. We have a history with them. Over the years, these trees began to fall one by one; it is a terrifying thing. The trees of al-Aqsa are as sacred as the place,”1 he told Jerusalem Story.

Hajj Saeed’s sadness stems from the loss of the Pistacia atlantica tree, which fell during the last 10 days of Ramadan earlier this spring. It had decayed from the inside.

For Fathi al-Wawi (Abu Anas), the head of agriculture at al-Aqsa Mosque, the trees are also a source of strong emotions. He knows every tree in the Haram al-Sharif, its history and age, he told Jerusalem Story. “Some of the olive trees that I planted 40 years ago in front of the Sharia Court (which was seized by the Israeli Border Guard and turned into a headquarters for its forces) at the entrance to Bab al-Silsila today have become large and provide shade for dozens of worshippers. I feel unfortunate when I see a tree that has begun to age and its branches have begun to dry, but this is life, and every twig, every branch, and every tree in the compound must be taken care of.”3

Abu Anas is frustrated because his hands are often tied by the strange restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities. “The most important thing that must be done immediately is to prune the trees and remove the dry branches to lighten their weight and grow new branches to continue life, but this work is not easy in al-Aqsa Mosque compound, as it needs special coordination and arrangement between the waqf administration and the Israeli police, which finds ways to hinder our work in the agriculture department and even refuses to allow us to plant any new trees.”

Abu Anas becomes emotional when he talks about the trees at the compound. He says that any tree that falls and dies is a great loss for the mosque, for us, and for Jerusalem, because no other tree is planted to replace the one that died. “Every tree that disappears hurts my heart. The trees and I have been together for decades.”

Informed sources confirmed to Jerusalem Story that the excavations carried out by Israel under al-Aqsa Mosque did not have a direct impact on the roots of the trees that fell in recent years. The source (who asked not to be identified) noted that the excavations occur at a depth of more than 10 meters, well below the tree roots.4

So what killed the trees? One of the old employees of the Waqf Department, requesting anonymity, told Jerusalem Story on April 12 that these blessed trees in al-Aqsa compound are targeted by the Israeli authorities and even by extremist Jews. (Years ago some Jewish settlers and tourists did in fact throw toxic substances on the trees; thank God this was discovered before it was too late.)

He said that the Waqf Department faces difficulties in taking care of these ancient trees due to the restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities on the entry of materials for tree care. At times, the waqf agriculture officials have even been prevented from treating diseased trees, especially on the southwestern side of the compound near Bab al-Maghariba. The Israeli authorities also prevented the planting of new trees and uprooted 11 olive seedlings in one day. The seedlings had been planted by the Islamic Waqf near Bab al-Maghariba.

According to data published by the Waqf Council in April, from 2008 to 2022, more than 13 trees fell or died. The first to go was the oldest tree in the Haram al-Sharif compound, more than 150 years old, which was located in front of the al-Aqsa Library. This tree was an Atlantic Batum with a trunk circumference of 1.5 meters. The same type of tree fell on the first night of i‘tikaf this Ramadan.

The five Celtis australis trees are the oldest of the Haram al-Sharif’s trees in the eastern and southern areas near Bab al-Asbat.

More than 1,000 trees grow in the compound, the majority of which are olive trees.5 The olive oil produced by these trees is distributed to the poor of the city every year,6 and in the past, lamps were lit with this oil, as mentioned by the famous Turkish traveler Olga Gelpi, who claimed that more than 4,000 lanterns in the al-Aqsa Mosque were lit with oil from the olive trees located there.7