November 29, 2023 – Istanbul, Turkey. The Faculty of Architecture at Istanbul Technical University hosted a pivotal event featuring a discussion panel and exhibition titled "In-Between Occupation and Resilience: Urban Planning and Architecture in Palestine." The event showcased the Palestinian urban planning experience under occupation.

From 2009 to 2022, the e...

November 29, 2023 – Istanbul, Turkey. The Faculty of Architecture at Istanbul Technical University hosted a pivotal event featuring a discussion panel and exhibition titled "In-Between Occupation and Resilience: Urban Planning and Architecture in Palestine." The event showcased the Palestinian urban planning experience under occupation.

From 2009 to 2022, the e International Peace and Cooperation Center (IPCC). worked with communities in Area C and East Jerusalem, shifting its approach from advocacy planning to developing a tool for resilience and urban rights under the constraints of occupation. The discussion highlighted the legal and statutory tools employed by Israel to restrict Palestinian development, focusing on its colonial domination of land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Dr. Rami Nasrallah, Founder and Chairperson of the IPCC, explored the evolution of Palestinian urban planning, which transitioned from statehood aspirations to resilience in the face of increasing challenges. He discussed how the 1995 formation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) gave it limited jurisdiction over urban centers (Area A) and rural areas (Area B), covering less than 40% of the occupied territories. Rapid population growth in these areas led to mounting development demands, but the Israeli military-imposed boundaries deliberately curtailed Palestinian urbanization, fostering fragmentation , intensified settlement building and undermining Palestinian spatial and functional contiguity.

Area C, comprising 60% of the West Bank, remains a stark symbol of this domination. Less than 1% of its land is planned for Palestinian communities, with plans initiated by Palestinians often unrecognized by Israeli authorities. Most of Area C is inaccessible to Palestinians, serving as reserve land for Israeli settlements and state control.

The event examined how national planning challenges and lessons learned in Area C and East Jerusalem underscore the broader conflict between the Israeli colonial project and Palestinian aspirations for a viable, contiguous state based on the 1967 borders with minor land swaps. Strategies of advocacy and resistance planning were also discussed, highlighting efforts to counteract settlement expansion and territorial control.

The recent war in Gaza introduced new dimensions to these challenges. Dr. Nasrallah described Israel’s scorched-earth tactics, which he referred to as “urban genocide,” leaving behind a devastated landscape and posing significant obstacles to Palestinian urban resilience and the vision of a future state.