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With olive picking about to begin in earnest for Palestinian farmers, they are sharing joy in their deep tradition of the harvest—and deep apprehension about harassment and aggression that seems to have already set in.

For the 380,000 Palestinians that live in East Jerusalem, daily life is often marred by inequalities related to everything from housing, health services, childcare, and even garbage pickup. Even though Palestinians make up 39% of the city, there are many discrepancies in the services they receive.

Dr Jad Issac tends to think in numbers. When it comes to the land in the West Bank on the outskirts of Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley—known simply as E1— Issac is weighing a stark figure: a loss of $2 billion a year for Palestinians versus the ability to net the same amount of revenue, pay off debts, and, in turn, help poorer countries.  The astronomical figure amounts to lost tourism opportunities due to the lack of access to E1, Jordan Valley, and the Dead Sea—as per the Economic Cost of the Occupation Study done by the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem.

Hanna Barag, an Israeli woman who has described herself as a “human rights diplomat” for the organization Machsom Watch, has spent decades observing what happens to Palestinians at checkpoints, and it’s—in a word—“de-humanizing,” she says.

Um Ismail, in her 50s, loves her children fiercely and wholly, as mothers do all over the globe. But for Um Ismail, who lives in the Khan Al-Ahmar Bedouin community, finding enough water for her ten children plunges the family daily into near catastrophe.

As Eid Jahaleen takes in the beautiful view in his Bedouin community of Khan El Ahmar, he reflects on many aspects he loves about his life.

What is it like to face the fear of eviction or demolition of your home, day after day, year after year? Personal testimonies during a 28 October webinar portrayed the reality of living in East Jerusalem today.

On 12 October, representatives from the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (WCC-EAPPI) joined with Rabbis for Human Rights to be a presence of helping hands and hopeful hearts in villages during olive harvest.