The Citrus Industry That Survived The Nakba
The citrus industry of Palestine speaks volumes about Israel’s occupation of Gaza. Decades ago, Palestinian farmers in Gaza cultivated and exported oranges worldwide. During the 1980s and 1990s, citrus farming was considered the backbone of the Palestinian economy. The scale of exports was so significant that Palestinian oranges could be found in markets across the Middle East, North Africa, and even Europe.
Historical records show that during the first half of the 20th century, the citrus industry played a major economic, social, and cultural role in the lives of Arabs in Ottoman-ruled and later British Mandate Palestine. The export of citrus began in the early 1900s and reached its peak during the 1930s, accounting for nearly 77% of Palestine’s total exports. The industry was a primary source of livelihood for tens of thousands of Palestinian households and hundreds of villages, driving the development of port cities like Jaffa and Gaza. However, once thriving industry was systematically dismantled after Israel occupation in the state.
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Despite surviving the 1948 Nakba, when Zionist militias expelled at least 750,000 Palestinians from their homes to create the state of Israel, the citrus industry remained a crucial part of Palestinian society. By the 1960s, it employed more than 30% of the workforce, with farmers working hard to build a future despite the turmoil surrounding them.
However, the situation deteriorated rapidly after Israel occupied Gaza in 1967. From that point on, all exports from Palestine had to pass through Israeli checkpoints. Freshly packed Palestinian oranges were routinely held by Israeli soldiers until they rotted before reaching the market. By 1983, citrus production in Gaza had dropped by over 25%, marking the beginning of the industry’s destruction.
Moreover, the Israeli forces bulldozed citrus farms or poisoned Gaza’s groves, claiming that the trees provided cover for Palestinian resistance groups. These tactics, combined with Israeli-imposed taxes and restrictions, made sustaining citrus farms nearly impossible.
Despite the destruction of their once prosperous citrus cultivation, the Gazan farmers adapted. Instead of trees, they began growing crops like strawberries and tomatoes, which were less vulnerable to Israeli bulldozers. But even this innovation was met with Israeli sabotage. Farmers were forced to remove tomato stems before passing through Israeli checkpoints, ensuring that by the time they arrived at markets, the produce was already rotting, just like their oranges had before.
A leaked cable from 2008 revealed that Israel deliberately sought to keep Gaza’s economy on the brink of collapse, without completely pushing it over the edge. This way. it ensured that Gaza would remain dependent and economically crippled, while Israel avoided a full-scale humanitarian disaster that could trigger international backlash.
Today, in war-devastated Gaza, there are no more citrus groves—not because the Palestinian people did not try hard enough, but because Israel ensured they never stood a chance. The destruction of Gaza’s orange industry exposes the hypocrisy of Israel’s claims that it seeks to “improve” Palestinian economic conditions. If that were true, why was Palestine’s most prosperous industry deliberately dismantled? The very existence of the citrus industry contradicts the Israeli narrative of a once “barren land.”
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As world leaders now discuss “rebuilding Gaza,” many forget that before Israeli occupation, Gaza was already flourishing. The leaked 2008 cable proves just how far the Israeli government was willing to go to suppress Palestinian prosperity, keeping the coastal territory functioning at the lowest possible level while avoiding complete humanitarian collapse.
For Palestinians, the memory of the citrus industry lives on through oral history, literature, and art. It remains a symbol of their connection to the land and a key part of their national identity. Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish referenced oranges at least 67 times in his poetry, using them as a metaphor for lost homeland and resistance. Reconstructing the past has always been central to Palestinian identity, and remembering the once-thriving citrus groves of Gaza is part of that struggle. Though the trees may be gone, the stories of the orange industry still prevails as a symbol of once flourished Palestinian economy.
