Ayala ​and ​Khaled are unlikely friends. ​Ayala's family owns a small olive press ​j​ust outside Nazareth in northern Israel, where she makes organic olive oil and lives in harmony with the land. Khaled - a Palestinian engineer and olive oil mill expert from outside Nablus in the West Bank - has inherited his father's passion for cultivating the region's ancient olive trees and their fruit. The two met in 2011 ​through a USAID-backed program that brings together thousands of Israeli and Palestinian growers to share experiences, cultivate better olive oil and promote peace.

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