Lemon Tree

After the passing of her husband due to a weak heart, Arabic-speaking Salma Zidane, a mother of two married daughters, and a U.S.-based son, Nasser, now lives alone in West Bank's Kalkiya, her only source of income is an ancestral lemon grove. When the newly appointed Defense Minister, Israel Navon, moves next door, the area gets surrounded by Secret Service personnel, security fences, soldiers, and a watch tower. She then receives a letter in Hebrew which notifies her that the lemon trees pose a security threat, must be destroyed and she will be compensated. She then meets with people in the community and with the assistance of Russia-returned lawyer, Ziad Daud, files an appeal in the Military Court. This Court not only dismisses the complaint but also orders that the grove be fenced-in. Aggrieved, she decides to appeal to the Supreme Court, and is distressed when soldiers refuse to even permit her to water the trees, while her neighbor goes to the extent of stealing lemons. Things get even worse when an explosion takes place at her neighbor's residence during a house-warming party. Meanwhile Ziad hopes to convince the Supreme Court that the destruction of the grove not only violates international laws but also Section 53 of the Geneva Convention. But in a country that seems to have no borders, with frequent curfews and where provisions of the Intifidah Act empowers the regime to declare Palestinian-owned properties as hostile territory, confiscate lands and demolish houses to build prisons - with impunity - will she even stand a chance?