Q: Do you receive aid from any governments?

A: No

Q: Do you take part in the boycott against Israel, by not buying consumables from Israeli companies etc?

A: It is very hard to work with Palestine without working to some degree with Israel. E.g. as Palestine does not have any border or air control we have to rely on an Israeli shipping agent to export the goods to the UK.

Q: Does Israel make running your business easy or difficult?

A: Difficult, it is not easy to work in a business fashion with a land that is under military occupation. Everything in Palestine (movement of goods and people, border control) is at the whim of Israel.

Q: In what ways does the Israeli occupation affect your business?
The Palestinian economy is tied to the Israeli one in a way which artificially increases costs. Do you think your turnover would increase if you were trading from an independent Palestinians state?

A: Yes, the product would become more economically viable.

Q: Tell me about some of the problems you encounter?

A: Delays at Haifa port, goods damaged with impunity. Our suppliers not being able to access bottles and storage tanks which they have ordered from abroad as Israel controls border access.

Q: In what ways has the conflict affected you and the business?

A: Our aim is very much solidarity-focused. It has hardened my resolve to help the Palestinian people who do not deserve this injustice.

Q: If Israel completely annexed the West Bank and expelled Arabs who fought the occupation, as some Israelis call for, would you close the business?

A: Yes, this scale of ethnic cleansing would render the West Bank an unviable part of the Palestinian State. What do you mean by fought? Every day, life in Palestine can be seen as resistance. The producers we work with can risk their lives by accessing their groves. The Settler and IDF violence on farmers is documented.

Zaytoun is not the only importer of Palestinian olive oil and related produce. Similar ethical companies have sprung up around the world. I will be looking at these, as well as global importers of other Palestinian goods, in future articles.