Support to the Palestinian Land Sector

Project Narrative

Land management and administrative reform is a key priority for the Palestinian Authority, and secure tenure is fundamental to the economic growth, effective central and local governance, and citizen’s trust in the land and government services.  Two past reform land administration projects have been supported by the World Bank in the Palestinian territories, with varying results. The first sought to strengthen the capacity of the Palestinian Authority in land management, whilst the second sought to improve the design and implementation of the land registration system. The latter achieved little progress and it was agreed with development partners that the Palestinian Authority should develop a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder approach to land sector reform. This assignment supported Palestinian Authority efforts in this regard.

In particular, the project supported the implementation of the Road Map through key technical assistance in developing sectoral policies on issues related to the update and consolidation of the legal framework.

This assignment provided land administration services to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in connection with:

• The implementation of the Road Map for Reforming the Palestinian Land Sector (Road Map), and technical discussions on the Action Plan for next steps related to the Road Map;
• Assessment of the on-going systematic registration by the new agency; and
• Detailed cost analysis to complete systematic land registration (SLR).

Key services provided

LEI provided advice to the Palestinian Authority on the next steps and requirements to implement the Road Map, with particular regard to ongoing systematic land registration, linkages within and between land and other government agencies, and institutional development needs. LEI undertook the following actions:

• Preparation of a detailed action plan to implement the roadmap, in conjunction with the local agency;
• Assessment of the on-going systematic land registration by the Land, Water and Settlement Commission (LWSC);
• Assessment of the operational link between the Palestinian Land Authority (PLA) and LWSC to ensure efficiency and effectiveness i.e. the titles issued by the LWSC are registered in the PLA;
• Preparation of a detailed cost analysis to finalize the completion of land titling, including a breakdown of costs between the local level, users, and central government;
• Identification of institutional development activities needed for the PLA, and training needs of LWSC.