Palestine Industry Sectors

With the often severe restrictions on the Palestinian economy, particularly the movement of goods and services, its economy is limited. The flow of economic information out of the country is also limited, so we will highlight the few sectors that have been reported on.

With the often severe restrictions on the Palestinian economy, particularly the movement of goods and services, its economy is limited. The flow of economic information out of the country is also limited, so we will highlight the few sectors that have been reported on.

Agriculture in Palestine

Agriculture is a leading sector of Palestinian economy and a major constituent of GDP. Agriculture employs the largest number of people in Palestine than any other sector and is separated into rain-fed and irrigated cultivation.
The Palestinian agricultural zone focuses on irrigated farming and ‘rain-fed’ farming, prevalent in the highlands of the West Bank, however, rain fed farming is the primary form of farming. Fruit trees are the key production crops in Palestine; grapevines, olive trees, citrus, figs, almonds and 30 different vegetable crops.

Nablus Soap Industry

The biggest city of the West bank is Nablus, famous for soap made from pure olive oil. The soap industry at Nablus was a chief resource of revenue for the city dating back to the tenth century. Most of the soap factories Nablus are positioned at the old city. At the onset of the 19th century there were more than 30 soap factories at Nablus. The Nablus soap factories usually produce several kinds of Nablus soap like the white soap, sweet scented soap and the green soap. The constituents that were used for making soap at Nablus consisted of only natural materials.

In the 19th century, the soap industries of Nablus supplied the most imperative feigned export. The soaps used to be made of pure olive oil, elm ashes, water, plaster obtained from local groves.
 

Palestinian Stone Cutting

Stonecutting is also a major source of income with the annual average output per worker in the stone industry is higher than in any other sector, mainly based in the West Bank. Stone production outlets produce the Jerusalem stone made from quarried material cut into a bricks and tiles.

Other Industries in Palestine

Cement is one of the most important sectors of the Palestine economy, as well as glass, pottery and weaving. During the first part of the 20th century, industries focused on  extracting vegetable oil, chemical industries and agriculture, and many of these older industrial and rural activities still prevail.