The blessed fruit of Palestine

A farmer prepares his olives to crush and press at a traditional stone press.

A farmer prepares his olives to crush at a traditional stone press.

A worker fills a cup with pressed olive oil.

Pressed olive oil pous into a bath which is being used as a container.

A worker prepares olives to press and crush at a traditional stone press in the Palestinian village of Beta.

A worker prepares crushed olives between metal plates at a traditional stone press.

A worker prepares crushed olives between metal plates at a traditional stone press.

A worker fills freshly pressed olive oil into a container at a traditional stone press.

Workers prepare a stone press to crush and press olives at a traditional stone press.

Palestinian prepare their olives to crush at a traditional stone press in the Palestinian village of Beta.

It is “a blessed fruit” according to the Prophet Muhammed in a hadith. For the farmers of the Palestinian territories, the olive is also the key to their survival.

This is the season of harvest, when the fruit is gently shaken from the trees and crushed in a traditional stone press to produce a golden green liquid that carries the warmth of the Sun and the taste of the land.

According to the United Nations, around 80,000 Palestinian families make their living from olive farming on groves that occupy nearly half of all the agricultural land in Gaza and the West Bank.

A small proportion of the oil, around seven per cent, is used to make soap. The rest is for consumption.

While most is consumed locally Palestinian olive oil is increasing popular as a Fairtrade product overseas, where it is consumed as a premium product. The difficulty many farmers have in affording chemical pesticides and fertilisers has a silver lining, since it means Palestinian olive oil can be labelled as organic.

Much of the olive oil sold here is imported from Spain or Italy, but with a little diligence, consumers can find Palestinian olive oil and make their own contribution to support the economies of Gaza and the West Bank.