Monday, October 12, 2020
Elder of Ziyon
This is the time of the year of the Palestinian olive harvest, and there are lots of stories and photos about how critical this time of year is to the Palestinian economy. Most of the olives are converted to olive oil.
How much is the annual olive oil yield in the West Bank? According to UN-OCHA, it is between $110 and $120 million a year.
Articles try to say how critical the olive oil business is the the Palestinian economy, with figures tossed around that it is the main income for 100,000 Palestinian families. Simple math shows that this is impossible because that would mean each family only has an annual income of $1200, when the average Palestinian family income is over $20,000. Clearly the olive oil industry is not nearly as large as we are told.
But there is another comparison that is useful. The annual budget in the Palestinian Authority to pay prisoners, "marytrs" and their families was $315 million in 2016 - meaning that the Palestinian Authority gives nearly triple the annual olive oil revenues to terrorists and their families every year.
The Palestinian leaders want the world to think that their top priority is the olive oil industry. Clearly paying terrorists and their families is a far, far higher priority.
