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Historic Palestine/modern-day Israel has traditionally been visualised through paradisiacal images of splendour: historical, architectural, culinary and cultural. The travel industry's vivid descriptions of exotic fruit, succulent olives, crystal- clear coastlines and peaceful prophets, although romantic, belie the region's long and turbulent history of contested land ownership. As the second Palestinian uprising for independence (Intifada) nears its fifth year, the Holy Land as mythical paradise has transformed into a hellish daily reality fraught with political violence and terror. This article examines how the metaphors and evaluative language employed by a group of Palestinian children from the West Bank city of Ramallah during the second Intifada conceptualize the natural, cultural and political landscapes of Palestine. Particular attention is paid to how important national and cultural symbols such as the olive tree contribute to the establishment of identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]