The Palestinian territories produce fresh and dried dates that are popular in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, but this promising sector is facing many challenges due to Israeli constraints on exports and Israel’s control of water resources in the West Bank. In addition, the palm sector does not have a strong council of representatives to support farmers and teach them how to fight the red palm weevil (RPW) and improve the quality of their produce to comply with exportation standards.

Each year, in August, the palm season is launched in Jericho, the West Bank, which is historically known as the “City of Palms” and is famous for growing Medjool dates. The season lasts until November. In the Gaza Strip, known for the Hayani variety of dates, the season extends from September to December, specifically in Deir el-Balah and Khan Yunis.

Wael Thabet, the director general of the General Directorate for Plant Protection at the Ministry of Agriculture in Gaza, told Al-Monitor, “In the Gaza Strip, there are 250,000 palm trees, including 150,000 ones bearing fruits that produce around 15,000 tons of dates yearly. Most of the production is locally consumed, while 1,500 tons are stored in freezers and are exported to the West Bank when the Israeli authorities allow it in limited quantities that do not exceed 700 tons per year.” The remaining quantities are left for local consumption or thrown away if there are long electricity cuts that damage them.

According to Thabet, the palm industry in the Gaza Strip is suffering from the lack of marketing experience and the inability of companies and individuals to communicate with Israeli and international companies to export dates. He said, “Hayani dates need strong marketing and packaging experience, as they quickly become clammy. They need special processing and freezers for storage, but Gaza farmers do not have these techniques.”