Oxfam: Israel should lift restrictions on Palestinian olives

[Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص]

JERUSALEM - Israel should remove obstacles to Palestinian production of olives in the

A Palestinian couple harvest olives near Israel's separation wall

Attacks by Jewish settlers against Palestinian olive farmers 'common', increase during harvest time.

occupied West Bank, which is "stifling" the true potential of the sector, aid organisation Oxfam said on Friday.

A report said the olive sector, "which contributes up to 100 million dollars (71.4 million euros) in yearly income for some of the poorest Palestinian communities, could bring a brighter future for the Palestinian economy, provided its full potential is realised."

"With limited investment, and simple changes in farming methods, Palestinian olive farmers could double their incomes and produce a consistent supply of high quality olive oil able to compete at home and abroad," Jeremy Hobbs, executive director of Oxfam International, was quoted as saying.

"Yet, such investments can have little effect unless Israel, which has occupied the West Bank since 1967, refrains from actions that restrict Palestinian farmers from access to their land and means of livelihoods, and to foreign markets," he added.

The report calls on Israel to end restrictions on access to land and to markets.

"Physical barriers, such as checkpoints and road blocks, prevent the free movement of people and goods within the West Bank and cut Palestinian agricultural produce, including olives and olive oil, off from internal, Israeli and international markets," it says.

It adds that attacks by Jewish settlers in the West Bank or harassment of Palestinian olive farmers "are common and often increase during the time of the harvest.

"The Israeli-imposed blockade on the Gaza Strip has also affected the import of olives and olive oil from the West Bank considerably."

The report also calls on the Palestinian Authority and donors to support Palestinian olive oil producers by increasing investment in the sector.

"A lack of adequate resources and ineffective management, combined with environmental factors and poor production practices have caused stagnation in its development," Oxfam says.

According to Oxfam figures, about 45 percent of farmland in the West Bank and Gaza is planted with approximately 10 million olive trees.

It said these have the potential to produce up to 34,000 tonnes of olive oil in a good year and 5,000 in a bad one, with the average annual figure between 2001 and 2009 at around 17,000