The stone and marble industry is one of the most important sectors of Palestinian industry. Palestine is renowned for its natural lime stone that is characterized by its bright attractive colors that are in high demand in international markets. The raw material used in production of the stone and marble products is 100% local.

The Palestinian stone and marble industry, although highly automated in certain functional areas, is still considered a labor-intensive industry. This industry employs about 22,000 administrative, skilled and unskilled laborers in 1,200 local cluster establishments, which are heavily located in Bethlehem, Hebron and Nablus areas.

There are various types of stone and marble produced in Palestine. The type of stone is known by its location and its quality is defined by its source. Main Products are: slabs, building stone, decorative construction products and tiles. Current estimates for sales are closer to $400 million, where 50% are exported to Jordan, Europe, USA, and China, and the remaining 50% are destined to the Israeli market, whether for re-export to other markets or for use in the Israeli construction sector. Palestine is classified by the International Trade Center as the world's 12^th exporter of stone, and famous with Jerusalem stone.

There are 10 leading exporting companies in the Palestinian sectors that outsource numerous services of cutting, polishing and other services to local providers. Due to increasing impediments on movement and access, and the restrictions imposed on work sites, around 60 establishments have immigrated from Bethlehem and Hebron to Jordan

Source: The Palestinian Union of Stone and Marble, 2007