Now, 30 years after opening, the Palestinian territory’s oldest microbrewery faces an array of obstacles — from literal roadblocks to standards testing and bureaucratic hurdles from Israeli authorities.
“Business has gone down drastically,” says Madees Khoury, 38, who took over the family business from her father Nadim, after he received the blessing of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to open a brewery in 1994.
Named after the village of Taybeh — which also means “it’s delicious” in Arabic — the brewery has left its mark on the region’s beer scene.
But behind Israel’s security barrier, the brewhouse is facing higher hurdles as export restrictions bite, the Gaza war dampens demand and settler violence spikes.
“But we’re still producing. We’re still functioning. We still have our employees. We’re still, you know, keeping busy,” Khoury told AFP.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 but allows Palestinian exports — in 2023 they reached $1.56 billion according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics — though they are subject to checkpoints and approvals arriving at the last possible minute.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) remains under scrutiny for potential terror financing, hindering trade, and security measures have increased ever since the Second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, between 2000 and 2005.
The World Bank says exports from the territory — which hosts three million Palestinians — have fallen 20 percent since October 7.
Taybeh brewery, which crafts its pints from European and local ingredients, can produce thousands of bottles an hour, even boasting its own IPA, as well as non-alcoholic halal drops for its Muslim neighbours.
Yet while it sells in 17 countries, Khoury says sales have fallen around 80 percent since 2019, hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and more recently the Gaza war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack.
“A lot of people are out of jobs and don’t have money. Workers in the Palestinian Authority are not getting paid. So buying beer is more like a luxury,” Khoury said.
“People now save their money for the necessities. And people are not in the mood to go out and drink.”
Israel’s export restrictions have made life increasingly difficult for the solar-powered brewhouse and its team of 15.
“It takes three days (for a delivery) if everything moves smoothly, which it never does,” Khoury said.
She describes Israeli bars and companies rejecting her beers, money lost due to deliveries delayed by Israeli paperwork and packing restrictions on Palestinian products reducing delivery volumes.
Khoury — who was born in the United States but moved to the West Bank when she was nine — said it is vital for Palestinian businesses to carry on contributing to the local economy.
“My family believes in order to build the state and the economy of Palestine, we have to invest in our own money, knowledge, experience, and kids’ future,” she said.
“I hope I show a different side of Palestine… that there are women entrepreneurs leading businesses, even in a man’s world.”
The West Bank business represents half of Taybeh’s sales while 35 percent is sold in Israel.
