An Israeli charity is planning to employ thousands of Syria refugees as part of a project to regenerate a forest in Europe.

The head of the Israel's largest green NGO, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), this week confirmed that the organisation would oversee the management of a forest close to an area where refugees are currently living in Europe. The location has only been described as near to a city in a "major refugee absorbing country".

Speaking at a conference in Brussels on Monday, Danny Atar, KKL-JNF chairman, told Jewish community leaders that the project would "benefit both the refugees who escaped terror and their hosts - the European peoples".

He confirmed that the charity was looking to expand this project, the first of its kind, across Europe. KKL-JNF has been planting trees since 1901.