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Fayyad Fayyad, Director General of the Olive and Olive Oil Council, has revealed a sharp decline in olive production in the Gaza Strip during the current season compared with the West Bank, driven by demolition campaigns and land seizures carried out by Israeli occupation forces since 7 October 2023.
Speaking to the press, Fayyad stated that West Bank olive output for the current season stands at approximately 100,000 tons, while Gaza produces only around 3,500 tons, down from nearly 30,000 tons before the war.
He noted that the area under olive cultivation in Gaza has plunged to 8,000 dunums from a pre-war total of 50,000 dunums, with some groves now at risk of becoming inaccessible to farmers due to ongoing military operations.
On the olive oil front, Fayyad projected total oil output for the current season at around 21,000 tons, split between 500 tons from Gaza and roughly 20,500 tons from the West Bank, compared with approximately 33,000 tons produced across both areas in previous seasons. He added that Gaza had been producing between 3,000 and 5,000 tons of olive oil annually before the conflict.
In a related development, the United Nations has warned that only 3% of arable land in Gaza remains intact and accessible to farmers, cautioning of severe consequences for local food production amid expanding military exclusion zones. The UN confirmed that a staggering 97% of these lands have been damaged as a result of the ongoing military operations.
Source: Masdar News Network