26th, October 2006
[Daily updates as news reports with photos will be provided on our website and released to our e-mail contact list].
The Olive Picking Program started with participants' arrival to the hotel, registration and welcoming. The group arrived at the Paradise hotel in Bethlehem, where they had dinner with program organizing partners, the Joint Advocacy Initiative of the East Jerusalem YMCA / YWCA of Palestine and the Alternative Tourism Group (ATG), followed by an introductory session.
Participants were introduced to the program objectives, fields and farmers conditions that they will to be visiting and picking olive with, sites they will be witnessing, and people they will be meeting.
Certain notices and remarks were introduced to participants, in addition to advised behaviors in case of any Israeli soldiers or settlers attack.
The program schedule, Olive Tree Campaign brochures, and West Bank map: accesses and closures were distributed to the participants.
For the rest of the program, some participants will be staying with local Palestinian families, others at a hostel in Beit Sahour town.
