Policy framework to foster tenure security and resilience for Bedouin communities in Area C of the West Bank, Palestine

Ramallah, West Bank 19 May 2020—UN-Habitat Palestine in partnership with Ministry of Local Government (MoLG), and with support from the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) have prepared a policy framework and implementation tools to foster tenure security for Bedouin communities in Area C of the West Bank.

Constituting about 60 per cent of the West Bank total area, lands designated as Area C, by Oslo Accords of 1995 are under full Israeli civil and security control. An estimated 300,000 Palestinians live in Area C and a much larger number depends on natural resources located inside it for their livelihoods. More than 30,000 of Bedouin and other herder sub-groups live in 172 communities in Area C, a total of 46 of which are at risk of forcible transfer in the central West Bank, with a population of more than 8,000 (about 6,000 are refugees) inhabiting more than 1,300 households (124 of which are female-headed).

This policy framework aims to contribute meaningfully to the formulation of policy change and an implementation strategy, by recommending immediate and medium-to-long terms policy options, focusing on Palestinian Authority (PA) as a secondary duty-bearer, as well as Israel, as the primary duty-bearer. It was recommended to: “formulate and adopt an integrated policy on land use and access rights, which incorporates Bedouin communities into existing policies and projects”, and to “extend the management reach of PA’s institutions to deliver basic services to Bedouin communities within a city-region perspective”.

This work has been funded by the European Union.

The publication can be accessed here in English and Arabic.