Archbishop of Canterbury plants olive tree in West Bank

The Archbishop of Canterbury planted an olive tree on a Palestinian Christian farm in the West Bank on Tuesday.

Dame Sarah Mullally visited the Tent Of Nations farm project south of Bethlehem and heard from Daoud Nasser, whose family has owned the farm for more than 100 years, about how it has been increasingly surrounded by settlements in recent years and subjected to attacks by settlers, Lambeth Palace said.

Surrounded by the Nasser family, the archbishop planted and watered the olive tree before saying a prayer and giving a blessing on the family and its farm.

Later in the visit, the archbishop joined the family in a moment of prayer in the chapel housed in an ancient cave on their farm.

Dame Sarah said: “It was a privilege to meet and pray with the Nasser family today.

“They are an example of creative, hopeful, Christian resistance to injustice, and they need the support of Christians around the world.

“At a time when many Palestinian Christians are leaving, olive trees are a symbol of their deep roots in this land.

“As this tree grows, I pray that peace grows too in Palestine and Israel. Please pray for the Nasser family, Palestinian Christians and all those working for a just peace in the Holy Land.”

Earlier on Tuesday, the archbishop visited the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where she met the Greek Orthodox archbishop His Eminence Metropolitan Benedictos of Diocesarea.

It comes after Dame Sarah told Palestinians she would use her role to seek “the peace you desire and the freedom you deserve”.

She was speaking during a sermon on Sunday, as she made the first visit of an Archbishop of Canterbury to the Palestinian Christian town of Birzeit in the West Bank.

The archbishop is on a pilgrimage where she is meeting, praying and worshipping with Palestinian Christians in East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and Israel.