Area C is the territory within the West Bank over which Israel maintains security and administrative control as part of its occupation of the Palestinian Territories, as defined in the Oslo Accords. Area C constitutes over 60% of the West Bank and contains the majority of its fertile land and natural resources.
Development and utilization of land in Area C is controlled by the...
Area C is the territory within the West Bank over which Israel maintains security and administrative control as part of its occupation of the Palestinian Territories, as defined in the Oslo Accords. Area C constitutes over 60% of the West Bank and contains the majority of its fertile land and natural resources.
Development and utilization of land in Area C is controlled by the Israeli Civil Administration (ICA), part of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, a unit of the Israeli Ministry of Defense Ministry. Under the ICA’s planning regulations, Palestinian development in area C has been severely restricted (ICA denies over 95% of the submitted permit applications) and the vast majority of lands have been used for the expansion of Israeli settlements, agriculture, industry and military training zones.
Approximately 300,000 Palestinians live there, distributed throughout 532 rural localities and peripheries of urban centers, the majority without outline plans for development, and with demolition orders for the many of the structures.
The International Peace and Cooperation Center (IPCC), with the support of the UK Government have initiated community planning in Area C since 2009, in order to support and protect the livelihoods of Palestinians. Outline plans have been developed for 72 communities, covering an estimated population of over 45,000 prepared alongside the community to respond to their needs. The plans provided protection against demolition orders, guide land-use zoning and allocate sufficient development areas at realistic densities to meet the communities’ needs, while protecting significant cultural and environmental sites. IPCC has implemented training and workshops for elected community representatives from local councils, village councils, joint services councils and municipalities. The ability of local officials to understand and utilize the plans has been integral to their implementation and ensuring their sustainability.
IPCC methodology in creating the outline plans is categorized into several stages:
1. Selecting the localities and obtaining approval from local councils to initiate planning
2. Data collection
3. Rational planning
4. Community consultation
5. Final amendments of outline plan and regulations
6. ICA authorization
7. Finally de-facto implementation (coordination with donors and prioritize action plans)
The prepared outline plans are submitted to the ICA for approval via the Palestinian Ministry of Civil affairs and with international lobbying support and pressure. However, the ICA sets out a long authorization process which demands detailed planning information and variety approvals from different offices.
Outline plans are used to specify the development and implementation in Area C, so IPCC worked with the communities to prepare action plans which prioritize projects by developing their cost estimates, needs assessment and by translating the zoning in the outline plans into specific projects. IPCC also worked on the design of detailed architectural and landscaping projects in cooperation with UN-Habitat which was incorporated into the action plans with the participation of community members. As a result, two pilot projects have been implemented by IPCC: a kindergarten in Jiftlik and a playground in Al Fasayal. Furthermore, USAID has built a school in Harmala, water tank, water network and roads in Imneizel. Save the Children foundation is building walls and roads in At Tuwani, following IPCC work in these localities. In addition, four place-making projects have been completed by UN-Habitat and funded by the EU, and 15 further projects for public spaces and infrastructure completed by the EU.
The other form of planning that IPCC has been working on is the sub-regional guiding plans that guide the land use across multiple localities and unifies fragmented parts of Area C. To date, IPCC has developed two sub- regional plans; one for North-West Jerusalem (NWJ) which covers 16 localities over an area of 80 km where each locality's future expansion was determined, and one for Masafer Yatta, which covers 18 localities over an area of 37 km where each locality's future expansion was determined.
To date five IPCC outline plans have been authorized by ICA which are: Imneizel, Ras Tira and Daba'a (2014), Wadi el Nis (2015), T'innek (2016) and Izbet Tabib (2017). However, an additional six outline plans are stuck in the obligation phase and waiting for authorization. These are: Harmala, Abdallah Younis, At Tuwani, Tarqumiya, Um Lahem, and Oqban.
