BMAQ’s 2024 ‘Awna’ Olive Harvest Campaign Reaches Jerusalem’s Villages of Mikhmas and Al-Eizariya

Al-Quds – October 27, 2024
The Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency’s 2024 Campaign “Awna” Olive Harvest has reached the village of Mikhmas, located in central Jerusalem Governorate, to kick off the olive-picking season.
The initiative commenced with distributing equipment to local farmers and offering technical support to beneficiaries, before advancing to the fields of Wadi Al Hawd in Al-Eizariya.
This year’s olive harvest campaign, organized by the BMAQ Agency in collaboration with the Jerusalem Governorate, aims to support nearly 1,500 farmers across 30 villages within the region. Beneficiaries are provided with essential equipment, such as electric olive-picking machines with portable batteries, ladders, mats, combs, crop transport bags, and various other tools necessary for efficient olive harvesting.
Farmers from the village of Mikhmas and the fields of Wadi Al Hawd in Al-Eizariya expressed their gratitude for this support, which helps ease the challenges they face due to restrictions on accessing their farms, designated as Area “C” lands, entry requires special coordination
For the third consecutive year, the Agency’s commitment to supporting the olive harvest campaign aligns with its annual programs aimed at making a tangible, direct impact across all social sectors. This initiative is conducted under the royal directives of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God protect him, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee.
Fayhaa Najm, representative of the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture, commended the Agency’s efforts and its backing of the “Awna” program, noting that this initiative has offered crucial support to farmers amid a shortage of projects and resources dedicated to Jerusalem. She emphasized that the Palestinian government faces limitations in adequately supporting the city.
Najm stressed the need to strengthen and expand the partnership between the Ministry, the Governorate, and BMAQ, underscoring the importance of building new collaborations beyond the “Awna” program.
It is worth noting that the cultivated area in the village of Mikhmas spans  approximately 1,500 dunams. Located about 8 kilometers from central Jerusalem, Mikhmas is one of the largest villages in the Jerusalem Governorate, with a total area exceeding 13,000 dunams and a population of around 1,500 residents. Its lands extend to the borders of the Jericho Governorate.
The village of Al-Eizariya, situated just 2 kilometers from Jerusalem, has cultivated areas featuring olive trees across 7 dunams of waqf (endowment) land, maintained by local farmers through their personal efforts.//