Local Government in Palestine

While the international community and the parties involved in the Israeli-Arab and Israeli-Palestinian conflict have focused their attention on the construction of a Palestinian state for nearly two decades, this report examines the system of local government in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The anteriority of the municipalities compared to the state combined with an on-going process of territorial fragmentation help make the local level a scale of action of the utmost importance in Palestine. Simultaneously with the process of forming a political center, the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements have led to a certain “revival” of municipal institutions. After presenting the political and territorial stakes behind the peace agreements, this report analyses the legal, administrative, financial and political dimensions of the system of local government at work in the Palestinian Territories since the agreements.