[1][2][3] The islands are a haven for endangered green turtles (Chelona mydas), rare monk seals and a resting and nesting grounds for migratory birds.

[5] Palm Island is characterized by its flat terrain and has no obvious reliefs, it covers an area of 180,796 square metres (1,946,070 sq ft).

The middle of the island is earthen, it contains evidence of past periods of human occupation such as a fresh water well, an old salt evaporation pond and the remains of a Crusader church.

[2] The islands hosted an important settlement as attested by the presence of numerous ostraca dating to the late Roman and medieval periods as well as several rock-cut cisterns.

The first excavation of Palm Island was undertaken in October 1973 and revealed the foundations of several buildings dating to the Crusades in which earlier architectural elements, such as column drums and fragments of capitals had been re-used.

[6][7] At present the Palm Islands are managed and monitored daily by the Mina City Environment Protection Committee and its team with two rangers keeping intruders at bay.

Soils with more horizon development are found in the western parts of Palm Island, it is mainly formed by aeolian and beach deposited calcareous sand.

[2] The 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah during which there was a large oil spill caused by the Israeli bombing of the Lebanese Jiyyeh power plant disturbed the fragile ecosystem of the reserve.

Oil coated the islands shores killing microorganism and algae which are crucial food source for marine life and sea turtles.

A clean-up and monitoring program undertaken by the World Conservation Union mission to Lebanon aimed to minimize the damage to the Palm islands.