Once a year, Ali Ghanim descends on his family’s olive grove in the occupied West Bank village of Sarra for the annual olive oil harvest. Passed down through generations, the olive oil trade is as much a symbol of heritage as it is a livelihood for Ghanim, who shares ownership of the farm with his brothers.
“It’s a tradition for the whole village, young and old, to help pick the olives each year – some even taking time off from work to support,” Ghanim, a farmer and engineer, tells The National. But in recent years, exporting his olive oil has come with growing risk, and income for many families has dried up as a result.
Increased settler violence, tighter restrictions on movement and stricter export regulations are just a few factors that have made farming and exporting Palestinian olive oil increasingly challenging.
Beginning in mid-October and lasting about a month, the harvest season can sometimes extend into January, depending on harvesting conditions such as annual rainfall and access to the groves. The harvest is one of farmers' main sources of income each year.
A productive season would see around 33,000 tons of olive oil produced, of which up to 15,000 tons would be exported. In recent years, fewer than 10,000 tons have been produced, with only 7,000 tons last year – less than what can be exported.
“The last three years have been especially difficult,” Ghanim says, citing an increase in settler vandalism on his family’s farm.
Settlers in June vandalised at least 100 olive trees and saplings, setting fire to and destroying more than 170 dunums (16.9 hectares) of cultivated wheat and seasonal crops, according to the UN’s Office for Humanitarian Affairs' Humanitarian Situation Report for June.
Settler attacks have accounted for 55 per cent of all Palestinian injuries this year and are the leading cause of Palestinian injuries in the West Bank, the report said.
“We’ve also seen an increase in settlers coming onto the farms and harvesting the olives themselves, which is illegal and has also greatly affected the yields over the past year,” says Fuad Abu Saif, a Palestinian agricultural expert and researcher specialising in rural development, agroecology and food sovereignty.
Movement restrictions by the Israeli army, especially in the northern West Bank where nearly 70 per cent of olive groves are found, have severely impacted farmers' trade and exports of olive oil. Checkpoints could be set up unexpectedly and hinder movement in and out of the farms.
“Some seasons we were unable to retrieve and harvest the olives because the Israeli army blocked us from our groves – by the end of the season most of the olives had fallen from the trees and rotted before we could reach them. It was a huge loss,” Ghanim says.
He adds that this has been a common occurrence for nearly all the farmers in his village over the past few years.
Thousands of farmers each year are denied access to olive groves located between the barrier wall and the Green Line, the UN states. A majority of the nearly 62 agricultural gates along the barrier are closed year-round. In 2025, 74 per cent of those gates were open during the harvest season, but only for a limited number of days.
“There have been instances where road access is granted one day, then revoked a few hours later, and the farmers get stuck in their farms for stretches of time,” says Wajeda Khalidi, founder and manager of UAE-based company Levant Foods.
Khalidi’s business works with local farmers to support the resilience of Palestinian communities through the export of Palestinian olive oil. Levant Foods currently sells olive oil and Palestinian staples in the UAE and has plans to expand across the region.
Fair Trade
The restriction on movement also affects how regulators, like those in the EU, provide international certifications for organic production and the labelling of organic products.
“This is a major issue for a lot of Palestinian farmers who already produce organic products, but can’t obtain the certification to prove it,” says Khalidi. She adds that because regulators are often unable to access the farms due to travel restrictions, the checks required to obtain organic certification are difficult to complete. Organic certification can be particularly important for exports, making it easier for producers to sell their oil as organic to international markets. It can also increase the product's commercial value.
Last year, The Guardian reported that UK-based social enterprise Zaytoun, which sources olive oil from Palestinian farmers in the West Bank, could no longer display the Fairtrade mark on its olive oil after incomplete checks caused by access restrictions.
While olive oil production faces increasing obstacles, exporting to both regional and international markets has also become more difficult since 2023.
“Israeli security and customs regulations limit the criteria for exports on Palestinian farmers,” says Abu Saif, who works with around 300 to 400 farmers year-round, providing training and equipment to help farming communities meet international standards for the export of extra virgin olive oil.
“There are strict height and weight criteria on cargo pallets moving from the West Bank through checkpoints and Israeli ports,” he adds. These rules often restrict maximum pallet height to fit security scanning equipment, forcing Palestinian exporters to use more pallets for the same quantity of goods.
“This criterion also slows down the process of getting the oil exported, which isn’t ideal for a consumable product’s shelf life, and adds to the cost of the olive oil itself,” he adds.
Businesses like Khalidi’s then face delays in receiving the product, which affects their consumer-facing business.
“Prior to October 7, my shipment of Palestinian olive oil would reach the UAE within 10 days. Now we’re seeing wait times of up to two months,” Khalidi says, citing delays at Israeli ports as a major factor for the lag.
While delays and restrictions affect the whole supply chain down to the consumer, Palestinian farmers like Ghanim often pay the biggest price.
“If you compare the two, an Israeli farmer can export within a day to a week, while for a Palestinian farmer it can take anywhere from a week to two months to reach consumers,” says Abu Saif.
