Olive trees are a major agricultural crop in Palestine, where they are mostly grown for olive oil production. It has been estimated that olive production accounted for 57% of cultivated land in Palestine, with 7.8 million fruit-bearing olive trees in 2011. In 2014, an estimated 108,000 tonnes of olives were pressed, producing 24,700 tonnes of olive oil, which contributed US $109 million in added value to the crop. Around 100,000 households rely on olives for income.
The olive tree is seen by many Palestinians as being a symbol of nationality and connection to the land, particularly due to its slow growth and longevity. The destruction of Palestinian olive trees has become a feature of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, with regular reports of damage by Israeli settlers. In May 2023 a United Nations report stated that some 5,000 olive trees had been vandalised by settlers in less than 5 months.Amira Hass, '5,000 Trees Vandalized in Palestinian West Bank Villages in Less Than Five Months,' Haaretz 10 May 2023
History
Chalcolithic period (c. 3600–3300 BCE)
There is evidence for early olive use and possible cultivation in the southern Levant during the Chalcolithic. Archaeobotanical remains, including olive pits, wood, and crushing residues, have been found at sites such as Tel Tsaf in the Jordan Valley, dated to ~7200–6700 BP (approximately 5300–4700 BCE), indicating olive oil production and intensive use.
While these findings suggest early horticultural practices, it is difficult to distinguish wild from truly cultivated olives in these early contexts. Recent studies indicate that early olive oil production and horticultural use were likely underway by the Middle Chalcolithic (~6500 BP), but widespread organized cultivation and oil technologies are more clearly established in the Early Bronze Age.
Bronze Age (c. 3300–1200 BCE) During the Bronze Age, olive cultivation expanded and became a significant component of local economies. Evidence of the olive oil trade is found in shipwrecks, such as the Uluburun shipwreck, which may have been operated by a Syro-Canaanite crew. Archaeobotanical evidence shows olive pits and pollen across southern Levantine settlements such as Tel Kabri. In village sites, installations for olive processing, such as stone presses and storage jars, indicate systematic collection and storage of olive oil for domestic use and exchange.Springer, "Archaeobotanical assemblages from Tel Kabri: Olive cultivation in the Early Bronze Age southern Levant". 2023. During the Bronze Age, the olive, was an important symbol to the Jewish people, which stood for: "peace and well-being, happiness and the joy of living." Ancient oil presses have been found in various parts of Israel during this period including Bnei-Brak, Megiddo, Gezer, Lachish, Beth She'an, Beth Yerah and Afula. Oil jars at these locations were also unearthed. From Israel and Syria, the olive tree then migrated to Egypt through trade and cultivation. The Israelites valued olives for their myriad of uses and would use olive oil for every kind of celebration, secular and religious in nature. The Israelites exported olives and olive oil to Egypt, Tyre, Sidon , and Syria but occasionally embargoes were placed on the olive trade in the Kingdom of Israel to avoid shortages. Another archeological study conducted by Tel Aviv University has also concluded that olive oil was produced at Qlaʿ an ancient city of Samaria continuously until the very last days of the Kingdom of Israel.
Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods (c. 332 BCE–636 CE) Under Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine influence, olive cultivation and oil production continued to expand across Palestine. Excavations reveal numerous olive presses and large storage installations, including rock‑cut press facilities and amphora storage, indicating both local use and participation in wider Mediterranean trade networks. The technological innovation known as the *bad* press — consisting of a pierced round stone rotated on a horizontal stone to crush olives — was used throughout much of this period and persisted in traditional presses into later centuries. This method increased extraction efficiency and supported larger production volumes."The Olive Trees and The Olive Press in Palestine", Virtual Museum of Tourism Palestine. 2025. Detailed description of ancient olive pressing technologies in Palestinian contexts. Palestine‑Studies.org. 2021.
Early Islamic period (c. 636–1516 CE) Following the Arab‑Muslim conquests of the seventh century CE, olive cultivation remained widespread in Palestine. The Muslims of the Umayyad period transformed the Land of Israel, particularly the area around Samaria, into major exporters of olive oil and also contributed to the building of new olive presses. Archaeological and historical research indicates that olive oil production in Palestine continued from the Byzantine period into the Early Islamic period (7th–11th centuries). Material evidence from sites across the southern Levant shows continuity in olive cultivation and oil‑pressing technologies, and many installations remained in use or were adapted after the Arab‑Muslim conquests rather than being abandoned entirely.
Olive oil continued to be used for domestic consumption, and documentary evidence from ninth‑century Egypt records deliveries of oil originating in Palestine, demonstrating participation of local producers in wider commercial networks. Archaeological finds of Palestinian amphorae in Egypt further attest to this trade. Local agricultural practices persisted among rural communities, although the scale and organization of production varied over time.
Ottoman period (1516–1917 CE) During Ottoman rule, olive cultivation was a defining feature of Palestinian rural agriculture. Sixteenth‑century Ottoman tahrir (tax registers) for villages in the Sanjak of Nablus recorded olive trees and olive oil‑related production, such as presses, among taxable agricultural commodities. These registers provide quantitative evidence of taxable resources, including olives and their products, across hundreds of villages in Ottoman Palestine, showing how integral the crop was to the agrarian and fiscal economy.
In the 19th century, olive tree cultivation and oil production dominated much of the agricultural landscape in Palestine, particularly in the highlands. Ottoman authorities applied agricultural policies that impacted village life, including regulations on peasant residence and labor tied to olive cultivation. Olive oil was used locally for lighting, food, soap production, and body care, and was also a significant commercial commodity. Production techniques evolved over the century with the introduction of semi‑mechanical iron screw presses, which became integrated into traditional press buildings in many villages and towns, reflecting a form of proto‑industrial development in the rural olive oil sector. These presses are documented as material remnants in abandoned facilities across Palestinian villages."Olive Oil Production in the Late Ottoman Rule", Palestine‑Studies.org. 2024.
By the late Ottoman period, the area around Nablus had become a major center of olive cultivation and oil production. In the period between 1700 and 1900, the area around Nablus had developed into a major area for olive production, and the olive oil was used in lieu of money. The oil was stored in deep wells in the ground in the city and surrounding villages, which was then used by merchants to make payments. Nablus also became historically significant as a center for olive oil soap production, a craft that emerged as early as the 10th century CE. By the 12th century, Nabulsi soap was renowned in the Arab world for its quality. Production expanded during the 19th century, when dozens of soap factories operated in the city, using olive oil from surrounding groves and *qili* (alkaline salts) imported from the Jordan Valley. Around 1907, records indicate approximately 30 soap factories producing the majority of soap in Palestine, which was exported regionally due to its durability and high quality. Traditional methods, combining olive oil with natural alkaline substances, continued through the British Mandate period.IMEU. Nablus Olive Oil Soap: A Palestinian Tradition Lives On. 2025. Palestinian Soap Cooperative. Soap Factories in Nablus. 2025. Visit Palestine. Nablus Soap. 2025.
By the late 19th century, cash crops in Ottoman Palestine were being rapidly expanded, and by 1914, there were 475 thousand dunam of olive groves (about 47.5 thousand hectares or 112 thousand acres) across the area that was part of the Ottoman Empire.
In the late Ottoman period before the First World War, olive oil produced near Nablus was hard to export due to its relatively high acidity, high price, and limited shelf-life. British Mandate period (1920–1948) During the British Mandate era, olive cultivation continued to be a major component of Palestinian agriculture. According to agricultural records from the period, the area of land planted with olives expanded significantly compared with the late Ottoman era. By the mid‑1940s, olives were one of the most widely cultivated permanent crops in Palestine, with **595,405 dunums (approximately 59,540 hectares) planted with olive trees in 1944–45**. Of this area, the vast majority was owned and farmed by Palestinian Arab farmers, with a small fraction under other ownership. That year, the estimated olive harvest reached **75,341 tons of olives**, with millions of productive trees bearing fruit under varying climatic conditions. The number of fruitful olive trees in that period was estimated in the millions, with individual tree yields varying according to weather and soil conditions. During drought years, average yields were about 2 kg per tree, while in more fruitful years, some trees yielded up to 12 kg, producing an average per tree output of around 7 kg annually.Massad, S.J.; et al. Farming, Water, Food Sovereignty, and Nutrition in Palestine. International Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences. 2025. Table of major crops in Palestine before 1947 indicating olive statistics for 1944–45.
Land planted with olives continued to increase throughout the Mandate period, reflecting both the deep cultural integration of olive cultivation and its economic importance. Agricultural surveys and historical research indicate that by the 1940s olive groves covered roughly **600,000 dunums**, with nearly all trees in bearing condition and overwhelmingly under Palestinian Arab ownership, demonstrating continuity and growth in the sector relative to earlier decades."Ottoman and Mandate Periods." Olive production summary, 2025.
Olive groves were cultivated across the hilly regions of Palestine, from the Galilee and Samaria to the central highlands and down to the southern hills, with village and family holdings forming the backbone of production. The annual olive harvest remained a significant seasonal event, shaping agricultural calendars and rural labour patterns across Palestinian villages. Harvesting practices in this period largely continued traditional methods, with olives picked by hand or with simple tools before being transported to village presses and local mills for pressing into oil.
Olive oil, produced in these years, served primarily domestic needs but also contributed to local markets. A portion of the olive crop was consumed locally as edible oil, while other fractions were used for soap making, table olives, and occasional trade within regional markets. The Mandate period thus saw both an increase in olive cultivation area and sustained reliance on olives and olive oil as key agricultural outputs in Palestinian rural economies.
Post‑1948 and the Israeli occupation (1948–present)