A Spatial Vision for Palestinian State

Home , Abraham Path, Aqabat Jaber, Attil, Bani Suheila, Beitunia, Beit Lahia

May 2017

Master Program of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture

Salam Shoman Leena Sbaih Laila khaled Misada jobran Supervisor: Dr. Salem Thawaba

Amjad Da'na Shayma Bawatneh Ishraq Saleh Iman Talhami Afnan Farraj Bayan Khayat Hiba Hassoun

 This study was compiled by the students of Birzeit University’s Master Program of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture, under the direction of Dr. Salem Thawaba. The study attempts to answer how a new independent Palestinian state can be made successful through spatial development and regional planning. The developed vision for the Palestinian State 2030 within the political boundaries of the 1967 borderlines, includes a strategic vision for a sustainable Palestinian State in the context of urban development, focusing on urban – regional –hubs, which includes a spatial development plan for the urban fabric, rural areas, and suburbs.

The first phase of the study is compiled of data gathering, assessment, and analysis of the different sectors that play key roles in the development of the Palestinian urban fabric, this includes geopolitics, infrastructure, landscape, population, communities, housing, economy and services. The phase also considers related challenges that the new state would face and how to deal with them; while also examining existing potentials to utilize to enable an optimal outcome of success.

The second phase provides four different future visions formulated for a new independent state of Palestine. These strategic visions’ main objectives are based on the outcome of the assessments conducted in phase one. The future independent state of Palestine key objective is to be able to thrive and compete in an increasing globalized economy, this depends heavily on the vision of creating an infrastructure corridor that connects the Gaza Strip with the many governorates of the West Bank; in hopes of creating a strongly integrated urban fabric between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as, with neighboring countries. Economic competitiveness would allow the job market to expand and absorb the growing workforce.

The third phase is comprised of the formulation of four major strategic frameworks that are related to the development of the new independent state of Palestine. These strategic frameworks include road infrastructure, economic development, distribution of services and the development of the core. The road infrastructure is comprised of three road levels. Firstly, the main corridor which was determined using GIS to find the optimal connections linking all existing governorates and facilitating accessibility between the main states, then regional highways, and finally local roads.

The economic framework includes existing and suggested new industrial zones; utilizing the full potential of area C which the current government of Palestine has limited access to due to the Israeli occupation. As well as, the development of the tourism sector; which will create a strong attraction for foreign and domestic tourists, while allowing for local economic growth. The third framework addresses the distribution of public services and the redistribution of major centers to establish a polycentric approach rather than the monocentric approach that exists, and provides a guide for future urban expansion. The forth section includes a detailed framework for

1 the development of the state core, which is located in the middle state and includes the Palestinian capital Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Jericho, these cities are future global cities. The framework includes the function of the main cities and the development of local transportation modes.

This report addresses the priorities for the development of a new state, and emphasizes the reconstruction and development of infrastructure, economy and services, creating a cohesive society, and preserving natural resources.

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This study diagnoses the infrastructure in Palestine ;this includes roads network and transportation, water networks and wastewater sectors. This assessment should be very useful and help to formulate future developmental strategies and identify assistance needs in Palestine. There have been large recent positive developments in these sectors such as rehabilitating roads and water networks, constructing transport facilities. On the other hand, there were negative developments due to the great losses in infrastructure assets especially during the years of Intifada, which led to severe damage to transport facilities, restrictions on movement of people and goods, and weakening of Palestinian institutions.

1.1 The transportation system  Evolution of the transportation system in Palestine Transportation system in Palestine has developed from primitive roadway network, in addition, rail and air transportation were existed before Israeli destruction of it. The geopolitical planning strategies of ruling powers through the different periods are the main factors that affected the evolution of transportation system in the WB and Gaza. A brief summary of the evolution of the transportation system in Palestine (Al-Sahili, K., & Abu- Eisheh, S. 2006) and (MOPIC, 1999). . Rail transportation The railway construction began during the ottoman rule of Palestine, Palestine was a connection part on Al- Hijaz rail line path, in 1889 for 87km Jerusalem – Yafa track, and followed by new tracks connecting the Palestinian cities with some surrounding Arab countries. The railed system developed during the British mandate on Palestine by constructing a number of new railed systems connecting the Palestinian towns with each other and connected these with neighboring countries, two main lines were constructed during this period: the first was 80km track, and the other 250kn track. The rail transportation lines were destroyed By the Israeli occupation in phases to become destroyed in 1967 (MOPIC, 1999). . Air transportation During the Britch mandate Al-Led airport was constructed in 1935 to serve the central and north parts of Palestine, the northern region were served by Haifa airport, with the Israeli occupation in 1948 Qalandia airport was constructed, and in 1967 air transportation services for Palestinian were stopped. In 1998, the PA opened Gaza International Airport, which was banned after the beginning of Intifada in 2000, and Israel damaged part of the airport in 2001(Al-Sahili, K., & Abu-Eisheh, S. 2006) and (MOPIC, 1999).

. Sea port transportation There have been efforts to construct a Palestine seaport in Gaza in 1999. Such efforts were stopped and Israel damaged some of its constructed parts (MOT strategic plan 2011-2013). . Road network in Palestine. The first national road in Palestine was Yafa - Jerusalem road in the 1860, during the ottoman rule. The beginning of the development of roads in Palestine dates back to the British mandate period (1917- 1948), the road network followed paths of ancient historical roads, consisted of narrow east-west roads, in addition, a wider north south roads connecting the major urban centers. The WB consisted of a total road network of 1418km, 46% of them were paved. With the establishment of the state of Israel and the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the WB become under the Jordanian rule (1948-1967) , huge changes in the transportation system and road system realigned, the Jordanians built longitudinal roads along the western frontier with Israel, in general by 1967 the total length of the paved road network reached 1322km. Additional changes in the transportation system resulted from the Israeli occupation of the WB in 1967 to 1988, the geostrategic conceptions and comprehensive plans of the different Israeli governments ruled and controlled the network structure. The total length of paved roads in the WB around 1682km. Since 1988 to present, the construction of roads have considerable negative impacts on the WB citizens due to the political situation, the total length of the paved roads constructed in the WB (1988-1993) was 74km , 460 km of road rehabilitation were done , 65% of the rehabilitation works implemented in the period 1992-1993 (MOPIC, 1999) , (Al-Sahili, K., & Abu-Eisheh, S. 2006) and (Khalil, Z. ,2010) .  Existing transportation system in Palestine. The total area of the Palestinian territories is about 6225 km²; 5860 km2 in the WB and 365 km² in Gaza strip (figure 1). The existing transportation system in Palestinian territories includes road network, public transport and freight (Al-Sahili, K., & Abu-Eisheh, S. 2006). The existing conditions for each component of the transport system are briefly discussed hereafter. The dominant type of transportation is land transportation infrastructure (Khalil, 2010). . Roads and Highways The road network in the Palestinian territories had developed during the past decades to a system that is only partially capable of satisfying the accessibility and mobility needs of the Palestinian society. Road transport is currently the only transport system, which provides opportunities for the movement of people and goods within the Palestinian territories and with the outside world (figure 1). The distribution of roads (main, regional, settlement roads) in the WB is shown in (figure 2 and figure 3) ,The total road network length is 6874 km in the WB and Gaza, 6244km in the WB and 630 km in Gaza (MOT, 2015), the percentage of paved roads is 55%, while that 45% are unpaved roads (figure 3) illustrates the distribution of paved road networks in the

WB. The majority of the unpaved roads 69% are agricultural roads. The total percentage of the road network need to maintain approximately 48% (MOT, 2015). Moreover, the total paved road network in Gaza strip about 600km (PCBS, 2010). According to the (MOT strategic plan 2011-2013) the road lengths of the network are: main road 936km, regional 782km, internal local roads 4150km, bypass (settlement roads) 974-.The existing roads width and number of lanes are modes with range (3 – 20) m width. Most of main and regional roads have two lanes, and most of local roads have only one lane, (World Bank, 2004).

Figure 1: Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) Road Network road network (source http://dlca.logcluster.org)

The political constraints over the years controlled the road transport, and to perform it is economically and effective required function, which are indispensable for the development of the Palestinian economy (table 1 & 2) illustrate the distance and time matrixes in Palestine (Al-Sahili, K., & Abu-Eisheh, S. 2006).

Table 1: Occupied Palestinian Territory distance matrix

Source http://dlca.logcluster.org

Table 2: Occupied Palestinian Territory Travel Time Matrix in minutes

Source http://dlca.logcluster.org

Figure 2: the WB governorates roads distribution (regional, main, settlements). Source: based on database from GEMOLG

Figure 3: Gaza strip roads distribution (regional, main, settlements). (Source:ARIJ www.arij.org ).

. Public transportation The available modes for public transportation are buses and public shared taxis and they are all owned by the private sector (Al-Sahili, K., & Abu-Eisheh, S. 2006). The number of registered vehicles in the West Bank, estimated at 268,365 vehicle, which is modest compared with the total population, especially as it is the only mode of transport used in the Palestinian territories, there are 94 registered vehicles per thousand people, (figure 3) show the percentages of the different types of vehicles in the WB ( MOT,2015) . The total of Ministry of Transport and Communications revenues during the year 2015 reached 212, 645, 996 NIS, A decline of 0.04 for the year 2014 ( MOT,2015). 8

Figure 4: Distribution of registered vehicles by vehicle type (source: based on MOT,2015)

. Freight transportation Fright transportation is the mean of traffic to transport the materials and products within the WB and Gaza and the outside world. The international commercial traffic passes to neighboring Arab countries via two checkpoints on the Jordan River, and via Israeli international terminals. Severe Israeli restrictions and border crossing with Jordan limitations make together high control the process of import and export. In general, exports are mainly agricultural and industrial, imports are mainly through Israeli airport and seaport (MOPIC, 1999).

. Travelers across the airlines selected Palestinian Limited flights aboard the Palestinian lines to transport pilgrims from Cairo to Jeddah, through two and only two plans of the type Fokker, where 2335 passengers were transferred through the implementation of nine flights to Jeddah and Cairo tracks Medina Cairo during the year 2015 ( MOT,2015).

Several ministries are involved in the transport sector. There is no official mandate or clear responsibilities identifying roles and duties. Therefore, roles overlap and some duties are not carried out by any party (Al- Sahili, K., & Abu-Eisheh, S. 2006).

1.2 Water

. Water resources and abstractions Palestinians in the West Bank nowadays extract not more than 10% of the shared water resources (10 to 20% less than what they were allocated in 1995). (EWASH,2016). Over-extraction by Israeli has created risks for the aquifers. This situation has contributed to a decline in water available to Palestinian people. Palestinian per capita access to water resources in the West Bank is a quarter of Israeli access and have declined over the last decade (World Bank, 2009). In Gaza, heavy over drafting has led to groundwater level decline and quality deterioration, including from seawater intrusion. Only 5-10% of the aquifer now meets drinking water quality source standards. The population has responded with a rapid expansion of private well drilling for domestic supply purposes. Lacking secure access to water, the population has drilled a very large number of unlicensed wells (World Bank, 2009).

. The water supply situation Since Oslo, connection to safe water supply has improved. There has been a 50% increase in the West Bank Palestinian population covered by water network. Despite water scarcity and a relatively small geographical reach, the Palestinian water sector in the West Bank features a fragmented and heterogeneous make-up. As illustrated in the diagram below, the policy, planning and regulatory roles belong to an interministerial body that has met only once, the National Water Council (NWC), and to the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), along with the Ministry of Agriculture for matters relating to irrigation. On the service side, water production is carried out by the West Bank Water Department (WBWD), PWA, as well as through municipal or private well operators. Depending on the community, water distribution is ensured by regional utilities (JWU, WSSA) and municipal utilities in urban areas, or by Village Council water departments and Joint Service Councils (JSCs), in rural areas. To varying degrees the bulk water supply of these fragmented, often low capacity operators, is dependent on a single high capacity Israeli water company (Mekorot) managing the scarcity through interconnected systems. (figure 5). Per capita supply is variable – and extremely low in some towns (World Bank,2009). The average Palestinian in the West Bank only consumes 70 lpcd, well below (WHO) minimum recommended 100. In the most vulnerable communities in Area C, which are not connected to the water network, the average water consumption even drops down to 20 lpcd. (EWASH, 2016). There is a big difference between supply and actual household use, with actual household use in the West Bank estimated at 50 lpcd, due to high loss rate, averaging 34%. (figure 6) (World Bank, 2009). In the Gaza Strip, the average supply rate was 135 lpcd in 2014 while the average consumption rate was only 79.8 lpcd. All the communities in the Gaza Strip are connected to the water network (93% of the Strip's

10 households are connected to the network). Nonetheless, only 30% of the households have a daily service of water supply (PCBS, 2015). This increased dependency on un-networked water sources. In 2015, 65.4% of the households depended on water tankers and 24.9% depended on bottled water. The network distribution system in Gaza Strip is characterized with a low efficiency, as the water losses were estimated at range of 59% in the year 2014 (ARIJ, 2015).

Figure 5: Institutional organigram of the West Bank water sector (Source: World Bank, 2009)

Figure 6: Average Water Consumption in Palestine (Source: Based on World Bank, 2009)

A Palestinian family spends on average 8% of its monthly expenditure on purchasing water, as compared to the worldwide average of 3.5%. This figure jumps as high as 50 % for those Palestinian families forced to rely on tanked water (figure 7) (PWA, 2012). According to PCBS, about 10% (49/ 524) of Palestinian West Bank communities are still not connected to networks (figure 8) (PCBS,2015). Coping mechanisms for the unconnected households are typical to use springs, cisterns, and tankers. Unconnected communities pay high prices and suffer poor quality particularly in Area C (World Bank, 2009).

Figure 7: Percentage of household income spent on purchasing water (Source: PWA, 2012)

Figure 8: WB Served & Unserved Water Network (Source: PWA, 2005)

1.3 Sanitation

In the West Bank, only ten towns are served by sewerage systems, of which four towns have treatment plants and none has a reuse scheme. According to PCBS, about 85% of the West Bank communities still rely on septic tanks. Of the remaining 15% of communities rely on sewers (PCBS,2015) (figure 9), little is adequately treated (World Bank, 2009). 25 MCM of sewage discharged in 350 locations is damaging the environment and groundwater (figure 10). Settlements are also discharging raw sewage to the environment. 13

In Gaza, according to the PCBS, the geography of sewage collection network coverage is 83.5% of the households in the Gaza strip are connected. 24 localities out of 33 had sewage networks(PCBS,2015). The annual wastewater collected by sewage networks is approximately 41.27 MCM/year from which 37.62 MCM/year are partially treated before being discharged into the Mediterranean Sea. Both partially treated and untreated wastewater is discharge into open areas including wadis such as Wadi Gaza or into the Mediterranean Sea (ARIJ,2015).

Figure 9: Communities Served by sewerage in WB (Source: ARIJ,2015)

Figure 10: Main Wastewater Streams in the West Bank (Source: ARIJ,2015)

1.4 Solid waste

Solid waste collection and disposal services are mainly the responsibility of the local authorities, but in some localities, private contractors or other entities are responsible for the collection and disposal process (ARIJ,2015). According to PCBS 460 communities out of 524 has solid waste collection service (PCBS,2015). Currently, there are three operational sanitary landfills in the West Bank namely; Zahrit al-Finjan located in Jenin governorate, Jericho landfill in the Jordan Valley and Al Minyah in Bethlehem governorate (ARIJ,2015). Also, there are 153 random dumping site (WAFA, 2011) (figure 11).

In the Gaza strip, there are three sanitary landfills; Rafah, Deir El Balah and Jahr Al Deek sanitary landfills. According to ministry of local government (2015), 50 % of the generated solid waste in Palestine is transferred and dumped in the central sanitary landfills. The remaining waste (50%) is disposed of in 100 unsanitary dumpsites, vacant lots and remote areas distributed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (ARIJ,2015)

Figure 11: Sanitary Landfills And Random Dumping Sites (Source: Arij, 2015(

1.5 Conclusion

Based on the presented assessment, it can be concluded that the current components of the Palestinian infrastructure systems are insufficient to meet current needs and future developments and underdeveloped. The following table summarize the Strengths and weaknesses of this sector.

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This section discusses the condition of the housing sector in Palestine. It covers the existing number of housing units, the licenses for housing units, Palestinian housing physical characteristics, housing unit type, housing unit conditions. Moreover, this report covers the housing units existing in Israeli settlements in Israel and the West Bank from the year 2009 until mid-2014.

2.1 Number of Housing Units:

According to a study published by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing (2010) there is a total of 701,937 housing units in the Palestinian territories. This includes 456,314 housing units in the West Bank; excluding zone of Jerusalem Governorate, and 414,493 housing units in Gaza. These numbers include closed, vacant and abandoned housing units. By the end of 2010, there was a 57,303 deficit in housing units in the Palestinian territories; a deficit of 24,048 housing units in the West Bank and 33,255 in Gaza. And by 2019 there will be an estimated deficit of 293,995 in housing units in the Palestinian territories, with an annual deficit of 29,400 in housing units per year. The same study indicated that as of 2010 50,437 housing units are needed for replacement in the West Bank, while in Gaza 25,019 are needed for replacement. This means, as of 2010, the West Bank and Gaza needed an estimated 132,759 housing units.

 Licenses for Housing Units:

Statistics indicate that the number of building license issued for housing units for the period between 2010 and 2015 has doubled (PCBS, 2016).

Figure (12 ): Number of Building License Issued for Housing Units, 1997 -2015. )Source: PCBS, 2016(

According to the Palestinian Central bureau of statistics (2016) the number of building licenses issued in Palestine for the year 2015 was 7192 licenses, in which 7020 licenses were issued in the West Bank and 172 licenses in the Gaza Strip, see table (3).

Table (3): Number of Building Licenses Issued in Palestine for the Year 2015.) Source: PCBS, 2015(

Number of Building License Governorate Issued Percentage % Bank West 7,020 97.6 Strip Gaza 172 2.4 Palestine 7,192 -

The number of licenses was the greatest in Nablus Governorate with 1,900 licenses issued, then Hebron Governorate with 1,336 licenses issued in the West Bank. In the Gaza strip, both Rafah and Khan Yunis Governorates had zero licenses issued. And in Gaza Governorate only 140 building licenses were issued for housing units. The following bar chart demonstrates the number of building licenses issued for housing in 2015 according to governorate,, see figure (14) (PCBS, 2016).

Figure ( 13 ): Building Licenses Issued for Housing in 2015 by Governorate. )Source: Author, 2017(

Figure (14 ): Map of Distributed Building Licenses Issued for Housing in 2015 by Governorate.

)Source: PCBS, 2015(

By the end of the third Quarter of 2016, the number of license for housing units issued by municipalities were 89%. From figure (15 ) we can conclude that the majority of licensing is issued from municipalities.

2.2 Housing Characteristic:

This section will cover the physical characteristics of existing housing units in Palestine, this includes housing unit type, and Construction Material of External Walls.

Housing Unit Types:

 Housing Unit Types:

The Housing Conditions Survey (PCBS, 2015) indicates that the most common Type of housing unit Palestinians live in is in apartments; with 53.7% of households living in apartments, it is followed closely by detached houses with a percentage of 44.6% of households. And only 1.1% of households in live in a villa.

In the f igure (16 ) the percentage of households in Palestine for the selected years 2000, 2006, 2010, and 2015 indicates that the percentage of households living in apartments are increasing, opposed to the percentage of households living in houses are decreasing. From table (4), it was found that in rural areas the number of households are prodomintely living in a house, with a precentage of 68.7% of total households in rural areas, while only 38.7% of households live in a house in urban areas. Apartments make up more than half of the housing units in urban areas with a precentage of 59.5%. Furthermore, 54.2% of households in camps live in apartments and 45.3% of households in camps live in a house. Villas, on the other hand, are the least common from the three; with 1.2% of households in urban areas, 1.1% in rural areas, and 0.3% in camps, see figure (17 ) (PCBS, 2015).

Figure (16 ): Percentage of Households by Type of Housing Units for Selected Years in Palestine. )Source: PCBS,5102(

Table (4 ): Percentage Distribution of Housing by Type of Housing Unit and Type of Locality in 2015.

) Source: PCBS,2015(

Type of Locality Urban Rural Camps

Type of Housing Unit % % % House 38.7 68.7 45.3

Apartment 59.5 29.4 54.2 Villa 1.2 1.1 0.3

Other* 0.6 0.8 0.2 *Other include(Independent Room, Tent, Marginal and Other)

Figure (17 ): Percentage Distribution of Housing by Type of Housing Unit and Type of Locality in Palestine. )Source: PCBS, 2015(

 Area of Housing Unit:

By the end of the third Quarter of 2016, the number of license for housing units issued by municipalities amounted to 90% of licensed area, see figure (18 ). From figure (19) we can conclude that the average area of housing units licensed between the years 1997 and 2015 is gradually increasing.

Figure (18): Housing Licenses Issued in Palestine by Issuing Authority for the Third Quarter 2016. )Source: PCBS, 2015(

Figure (19): Average Area per Housing Unit Licensed, 1997-2015.) Source: PCBS: 2016(

2.3 Housing and Public Services:

Studies estimate the precentage of palestinina families living in houses less than 1 kilometer from public transit reached 90%, from closest elementary school is 76.9%, from closest health center is 51.2%. Only 16% of Palestinin families housing units are less than 1 kilometer away from hospitals (PCBS,2010).

Palestinian families living in housing units connected to public water networks has reached 91.4%; this includes 88.5% in the West Bank and 96.9% in the Gaza strip. And 2.8% of palestinian families living in housing units depend on wells, 5.8% depend on purchased water resources or on natural water springs. Moreover, it is found that 99.9% of housing units are connected to electricity networks. This figure includes both the West Bankd and the Gaza strip. 99.7% of hausing units in rural areas have access to electricity (PCBS,2010).

2.4 Housing Conditions:

 Ownership of Housing Unit:

The percentage of households living in owned housing units in Palestine reached 80.9%, with 81.9% in the West Bank and 79.0% in Gaza Strip. In addition, 8.7% of households live in rented housing units, including 7.8% in the West Bank and 7.8% in Gaza Strip compared with 8.5%, 11.5% (PCBS, 2015).

 Housing Rent:

According to the 2015 survey’s results the average monthly rent paid for a housing unit in Palestine was 161.0 JD, being 179.9 JD in the West Bank and 104.6 Jordanian Dinar in Gaza Strip. Data also indicated that

43.8% of households in the West Bank lived in rented housing units and pay a monthly rent of 150 Jordanian Dinar or more, whereas the percentage in Gaza Strip was 8.7%.

 Number of Rooms in the Housing Unit:

The average number of rooms in the housing unit in Palestine was 3.4 In addition, 19.7% of the households in Palestine lived in housing units with 1-2 rooms; 18.2% in the West Bank and 22.6% in Gaza Strip (PCBS, 2015).

 Housing Unit Density :

The average housing density in Palestine general was 1.7 person per room. The average housing density in the West Bank stood at 1.6 whereas it reached 1.9 persons per room in the Gaza Strip. The results indicated that 13.2% of the households in Palestine lived in housing units with three persons or more per room being 19.3% in Gaza Strip and 10.1% in the West Bank (PCBS, 2015).

2.5 Settlement Housing:

According to Passia (2015), in 1977 roughly 5,000 settlers were living in 30 settlements, these settlements were mostly located in the West Bank. And since then Isreal has continued to build settlements in violation of international law. Research indicates that far over 40,000 housing units were built in the settlements since 1993. From 2009, Under the government of Prime Minister Netanyahu, 8,645 new housing units were built in settlements east of the Geneva Initiative outline and 4,621 new housing units were built east of the separation barrier. This provided housing for more than 60,000 settlers (Peace Now ,2015). Figure (20) indicates the number of new housing units constructed in settlements in Israel versus the number of new housing units constructed in West Bank settlements; Since Netanyahu was elected Prime Minister in 2009 until mid-2014.

Figure (20 ): Completed Construction of Housing Units in Israel and West Bank Settlements, 2009-2014/June.)Source: Passia, 2015(

Source: PCBS, 2015.

Table (5 ) includes the number of Construction of Housing Units in Israel and West Bank Settlements from the year 2009 until mid-2014. This includes the construction of housing units that were completed, that began construction, and that were actively under construction by the end of the year.

Table (5): Israeli Construction of Housing Units in Israel and West Bank Settlements, 2009-2014/June.

)Source: Passia, 2015(.

Status year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014/June Total Total Israel 32,691 33,317 34,288 37,547 42,651 19,829 200,323 Construction of Completed which in WB 2,063 1,670 1682 1,271 1,424 620 8,730 Total Israel 34,877 40,331 47,008 43,304 45,389 20,850 231,759 Construction of Begun which in WB 1,962 727 1,109 1,190 2,580 507 8,075 Total Under active Israel 63,934 70,944 84,169 89,963 92,582 94,469 496,061 Construction of at end of which period in WB 3,299 2,311 1,789 1,765 2,940 2,955 15,059

2.6 Conclusion housing assessment Strengths and Weaknesses:

 The housing sector depends on the private sector for the provision of housing units.  The housing sector doesn’t have any affordable housing programs.  Low density of housing units means higher percentage of built up area for a low number of residents.  Majority of housing units are connected to public network infrastructure; water, electricity, road and public services.  Housing units are built with good building quality and construction material.  Existing settlement housing if utilized may ease future deficit.

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A majority of the 2.4-2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank live in Area A or Area B. Area A comprises cities, covering roughly 18% of the West Bank, and it is governed by Palestinian officials in both civilian and security matters. In comparison, Area B comprises villages and rural land, covering about 22% of the West Bank. In Area B, Palestinian officials govern in civilian matters but have no authority over security matters. Israel has authority over more than 62% of the West Bank area in both security and civilian matters, including the granting of building permits, this area is called Area C. About 300,000 settlers live in Area C and an equal number of Palestinians(MOPIC, 2009 ). See figure (21)

Figure (21 ): Map of the West Bank Areas A,B,C (Source: United Nations, 2009)

Palestinians living in Area C need land use permits granted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to use land for, for example, building, roads or agriculture. Between 2000 and 2007, the IDF rejected 94% of the permit applications submitted by Palestinians. Only 0.5% of Area C is land built on by Palestinians, in fact, the majority of the area is government land on which Palestinians have no right of ownership. According to Human Rights Watch, although the official policy of Israel is only to build settlements on government land, about 21% of the settlements (built land) are on land owned by private Palestinian citizens.

There are 532 residential areas located in Area C of the West Bank Figure (22 ) . Some of these residential areas are located entirely (i.e. 100 per cent) in Area C, but, in many cases, the area is part of a bigger community, part of which lies in Area A or B. Table (6) provide the breakdown of available data in terms of geographic location, type of community and amount of built-up area located in Area C. Nearly 70 Palestinian residential areas have outstanding eviction orders. Over 300 areas indicated that they need additional legal aid (OCHA, 2016)

Table (6 ): Area C, Residential Areas – Residents by Governorate & Estimated Number of Residents by type of Community. Source (OCHA, 2016)

Figure (22 ): Map of the West Bank Visited Residential Areas. (Source: OCHA, 2016)

3.1 Palestinian Cities :

The Palestinians began governing themselves in 1994 when the Palestinian Authority was established figure (23). Today, most Palestinians live in cities like Nablus and Tulkarm and in other communities that are governed by the Palestinian Authority, Figure (24). (Source: Settlement Watch Team, 2011) .

The largest city in the Gaza Strip and the entire Palestine is Gaza City and the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank is Hebron. Some cities form agglomerations with other towns or cities, such as the Bethlehem metropolitan area with Beit Jala and Beit Sahour. Ramallah and al-Bireh also form an agglomeration and are often considered a single city. In the following Table (7) a list of all Palestinian cities under Ramallah- administration, their governorates, their specific jurisdictions and their populations according to the 2007 census and the 2015 estimate by the PCBS.

Figure (23 ): Map of Palestinian Authority governorates.(Source: OCHA, 2016)

Table (7 ): Palestinian Cities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. (Source: Ministry of Planning and International cooperation, 2009)

Common Name Governorate Jurisdiction Population Population(2015estimate) (2007 census) Beit Jala Bethlehem Area A, 00,,21 0,,,01 Area C Beit Sahour Bethlehem Area A 05,,2, 02,022

Bethlehem (Beit Bethlehem Area A 52,522 ,1,11, Lahm) Deir al-Balah Deir al-Balah Area A 2,,,,1 ,1,1,2

az-Zawayda Deir al-Balah Area A 02,1,1 50,,12

Gaza Gaza Area A ,,1,550 222,,,0 City (Ghazzah) Bani Na'im Hebron Area A, 51,11, 52,211 Area B Beit Ummar Hebron Area B 0,,2,1 0,,,,2

ad-Dhahiriya Hebron Area A 51,,,2 ,2,151

Dura Hebron Area A 51,521 ,2,0,1

Halhul Hebron Area A 55,051 51,,0,

Hebron (al-Khalil) Hebron Area A, 02,,0,2 511,,21 Area B, Area C Idhna Hebron Area B 01,105 5,,,52

Sa'ir Hebron Area B 01,1,2 5,,111

as-Samu Hebron Area A 01,2,1 52,0,0

Surif Hebron Area B, 0,,2,1 0,,2,2 Area C Yatta Hebron Area A ,1,2,5 25,5,,

Jenin Jenin Area A ,1,11, ,,,,12

Qabatiya Jenin Area A 01,01, 5,,515

Tubas Jenin Area A 02,02, 51,110

Ya'bad Jenin Area A 0,,2,1 02,2,,

al-Yamun Jenin Area A 02,,1, 01,1,1

Jericho (Ariha) Jericho Area A 01,,,2 55,211

Abu Dis Jerusalem Area B 01,,15 05,,12

Abasan al-Kabira Khan Yunis Area A 01,,0, 5,,011

Bani Suheila Khan Yunis Area A ,0,,1, ,1,1,0

Khan Yunis Khan Yunis Area A 0,5,2,, 0,1,,10

Nablus Nablus Area A 052,0,5 0,1,,,5

Beit Hanoun North Gaza Area A ,1,1,, 20,1,,

Beit Lahia North Gaza Area A 2,,,2, 12,252

Jabalia North Gaza Area A 055,111 022,001

Qalqilya Qalqilya Area A ,0,,,1 21,,11

Rafah Rafah Area A 050,,,, 021,,0,

Beitunia Ramallah and al- Area A 01,,20 5,,215 Bireh al-Bireh Ramallah and al- Area A ,1,515 ,,,2,1 Bireh Ramallah Ramallah and al- Area A 5,,,21 ,,,0,, Bireh Tulkarm Tulkarm Area A 20,,11 21,00,

Figure (23 ): Map of West Bank Localities and Settlements.(Source: Settlement Watch Team, 2011)

3.2 Refugee Camps According to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), there are 762,288 registered Palestinian refugees in the West Bank. Figure (24) show the 19 refugee camps in the West Bank, the largest of them, Balata, has a population similar to that of the smallest camp in Gaza ,Figure (25). They are either under Palestinian or Israeli control, or under joint control( UNRWA ,2012).

 Tulkarm, Nour Shams, Jenin, Fara, Ein el-Sultan, Dheisheh, Camp, Beit Jibrin, Balata, Aida, Amari and Aqbat Jabr are under the control of Palestinian authorities.  Kalandia and Shufat are under the control of Israeli authorities.  The Askar, Jalazone, Arroub, Fawwar and Deir Ammar camps are under joint control.

Most of the camps are suffering from poor sewage and water networks, unemployment, overcrowding and occasional Israeli military incursions (UNRWA ,2012). Table (8) & Table (9) show the lists of the current Palestine refugee camps with current population and year they were established in the West Bank and Gaza strip. Table (8) : The West Bank has 19 refugee camps and 741,409 registered refugees. One camp is unofficial (*) ( Source : UNRWA ,2012).

1 1948 Aqabat Jaber 6,400

2 1948 Ein as-Sultan 1,900

3 1948 Qaddura camp* 1,558

4 1949 Far'a 7,600

5 1949 Fawwar 8,000

6 1949 Jalazone 11,000

7 1949 Kalandia 11,000

8 1949 Am'ari 10,500

9 1949 Deir 'Ammar Camp 2,400

10 1949 Dheisheh 13,000

11 1950 Aida 4,700

12 1950 Al-Arroub 10,400

13 1950 Askar 15,900

14 1950 Balata 23,600

15 1950 'Azza (Beit Jibrin) 1,000

16 1950 Ein Beit al-Ma' -Camp No. 1 6,750

17 1950 Tulkarm camp 18,000

18 1952 Nur Shams 9,000

19 1953 Jenin camp 16,000

20 1965 Shuafat camp 11,000

Table (9) : The Gaza Strip has 8 refugee camps and 1,221,110 registered refugees ( Source : UNRWA ,2012).

1 1948 Al-Shati (Beach camp) 87,000

2 1949 Bureij Camp 34,000

3 1948 Deir al-Balah Camp 21,000

4 1948 Jabalia Camp 110,000

5 1949 Khan Yunis Camp 72,000

6 1949 Maghazi 24,000

7 1949 Nuseirat Camp 66,000

8 1949 Rafah Camp 104,000

Figure (24 ): Map of Refugee Camps of the West Bank.(Source: UNRWA, 2012)

Figure (25): Map of Refugee Camps of Gaza Strip .(Source: UNRWA, 2012)

3.3 Israeli Settlements and Problems caused by the West Bank barrier

Transport and travel between the West Bank and Jerusalem are controlled through various means, a barrier has been under construction on the border between Jerusalem and the West Bank since 2002. According to Israel, the barrier increases safety. Israeli Settlements Cover Approximately 1.7 Percent of West Bank Land Figure (26), according to Palestinian and Israeli sources. The scheduled route of the security fence incorporates between 5 and 8 percent of West Bank land. Ninety-eight percent of Palestinians live under the administration of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in land that covers 40 percent of the West Bank. Israel currently administers 60 percent of the West Bank, known as “Area C,” per the interim steps mutually agreed upon during the Oslo peace process. In 2008, there were120 Jewish communities in the West Bank, with 289,600 Israeli residents (Betselem, 2010).

Approximately 75 to 80 percent of Israelis in the West Bank live close to or along the lines that separated Israel and the West Bank. These areas could be easily included on the Israeli side of a future border with minor land swaps. This virtually vacant area has two percent of all West Bank Palestinians. The number of authorized West Bank Israeli communities has remained the same since 1993, when Israel and the Palestinians signed the peace agreement; Oslo Accords. However, since 1993, the number of structures and people in many of the settlements has grown.

Israeli Settlements in the West Bank are; Sizeable Cities, Small Rural Communities, and Villages, see Figure (27). Though the term “settlement” sometimes refers to makeshift dwellings, most Israeli settlements are fully developed communities where people conduct their daily lives. Some are cities with full urban infrastructures, while others are smaller communities that range from residential suburbs to agricultural kibbutzim (cooperative communities) with only a few hundred people. There are also “outposts,” which are small communities that were never authorized by the Israeli government. The government considers these “outposts” illegal. (Natural Reserves to Be, 2016).

Ma’ale Adumim, a 30-year-old Kibbutz Almog guest house. Beitar Ilit, located a half mile residential city three miles Almog, located in the arid from the Green Line, was northeast of Jerusalem, was built Jordan Valley near the Dead established in 1985. It is on vacant, unowned land. With Sea, has 24 families that named after the ancient Jewish city of Betar, its 33,259 residents, it is the developed cultivation second-largest Jewish community techniques for salty soil and originally located half a mile in the West Bank. grow crops for export. away.

Figure (27 ): Examples of Israeli Settlements in the West Bank.(Source: Debbie Cooper Photography, 2012)

Figure (28 ): Settlements Area in the West Bank. (Source: Betselem, 2010)

3.4 Communities

This section sheds light on some of the Palestinian groups and geographical areas that have been targeted with humanitarian interventions, such as Bedouins/herders and communities in “firing zones”, the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea area figure (29), figure (30).

Approximately 18 per cent of the West Bank has been designated as a closed military zone for training, or “firing zone”; this is roughly the same amount of the West Bank under full Palestinian authority (Area A, 17.7 per cent). Most communities located in or nearby the “firing zones” have existed for decades, many of them before the designation of these areas as such. The vast majority (78 out of 88 communities) depend on herding and farming as their main source of income. Over 80 per cent of the communities reported a decrease in their number of livestock during the last two years due to a number of Israeli measures, including restrictive planning and zoning, settler violence and military activities. (Jenkins,2017).

Figure (29 ): Large Communities and Settlements in the West Bank. (Source: Settlement Watch Team, 2011)

Figure (30 ): Communities in Gaza Strip. (Source: ARIJ, 2016)

3.5 Jordan Valley/Dead Sea Area

The Jordan Valley and Dead Sea area covers around 30 per cent of the West Bank. 87 per cent of the land is designated as Area C, virtually all of which is prohibited for Palestinian use, earmarked instead for the use of the Israeli military or under the jurisdiction of Israeli settlements, figure (31) . There are 37 Israeli settlements, with a population of 9,500, established across the area, in contravention of international law.

Palestinian movement in Area C is controlled and restricted by a complex system of physical and administrative means. While movement between Palestinian cities has generally improved in recent years, these obstacles, including the Barrier, checkpoints, roadblocks, and a permit system, continue to undermine livelihoods and access to basic services, as well as the ability of humanitarian organizations to deliver assistance (OCHA, 2016) .

Figure (31): Jordan Valley – Dead Sea Area. (Source: OCHA, 2016)

3.6 conclusion : Built up area, communities, and land cover in the west bank maps.

Figure (32): Built up Area in the West Bank (Source: Geomolg, 2017)

Figure (33): Communities distribution in the West Bank (Source: based on Geomolg, 2017)

Figure (34): Land Cover Plan of the West Bank (Source: based on Geomolg, 2017)

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This section highlights on Services in West bank and Gaza strip , which already included education, health, social, culture, recreational, open space, and communication services. The levels, quality, and types of public services differ within the urban areas, and between urban and rural communities. High order public facilities, such as universities, hospitals, and government administration services, have centralized locations in cities that offer services to the surrounding smaller communities figure (35).

Over the last years, under the PNA government, services projects witnessed major developments, focusing on existing cities for increasing the functional vocation of each one .

There are three systems involved in overseeing the public service sector; the Palestinian governmental bodies, UNRWA, and the private sector. UNRWA’s role is limited to providing essential public facilities, such as health and education in the refugee camps. The role of the private sector is also limited to providing, especially, pre-education and health services. Volunteer organizations and NGOs also have a role in providing some public facilities, especially social services such as elderly and orphanage homes.

The range of the existing public facilities included in the public sector is currently limited because of various problems and constraints: lack of financial resources, absence of regional and national policies, and lack of a legislative framework and standards for the development of public services. The physical problems and potential regarding the development of public facilities in terms of their location and distribution.

Figure (35) : public facilities in terms of their location and distribution. (Source : Based on Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics)

4.1 Health Sector

The Ministry of Health (MOH) is the main provider for the health services, in addition to the NGOs and the private sector. The level of the health service sector in the Palestinian territories suffers from many problems in both quantity and quality due to the lack of primary health care centers, specialized centers, and the concentration of hospitals in the main cities.

Table (1) shows that 281 localities in the WB, forming (57.0%) of total localities and 30 ones in GS, forming (73.1%) of total localities have this level of health service .

Table (10): Percentage Coverage of Health Services by Level and Region (source: PCBS,2017).

4.2 Education Sector

Education sector occupies a high priority in the Palestinian society . Educational services, which includes the following levels; kindergarten, primary school by gender, secondary school by gender, vocational school, and colleges and universities. Primary, secondary, and vocational levels were divided into three categories; male, female, and mixed. The number of licensed and licensed institutions reached 52 high education institutions. Gaza strip: has 18 higher education institutions distributed.

Table (11) shows that the percentage coverage of the educational services in the localities in the WBGS decreases as the level of education increases, which is reasonable. The coverage of the primary and secondary education in the WB is higher than in GS, while the coverage of vocational and higher education in GS is higher than in the WB.

Table (11) Percentage Coverage of Educational Service by Region (source: PCBS,2017).

4.3 Cultural Sector

The cultural service sector includes cultural centers, sports centers, playgrounds, public parks, museums, libraries, etc. The cultural, social, and recreational services do not occupy a top priority in the Palestinian development plans. Table (12) shows the Percentage Coverage of Cultural Services by Governorate

Table (12) Percentage Coverage of Cultural Services by Governorate (source: PCBS,2017).

4.5 Conclusion

Different criteria should be considered for location and distribution of public facilities: Population size in each center; Population size in sub-region; Links between localities and centers; Accessibility to centers; and Geographical distribution of centers in relation to the surrounding communities.

These centers are the final one divided based on the previous criteria:

• The Regional Centers: these centers serve functions of upper order, such as hospitals, universities, cultural institutions, hotels, etc.

• The Sub-regional Centers: these centers contain functions such as higher education, medical clinics, local administration, supermarkets, bank services, etc.

• The Local Centers: this level of centers serves functions from the localities and neighborhoods such as primary and secondary schools, temporary medical clinics, daily living shops, etc.

Recommendation :

- The results concerning the hierarchical spatial location of the public service centers with the required services at these centers, as well as the shortage in public facilities in each recommended center, should be taken into consideration

- The sustainability of human and natural resources has to be respected while improving and developing the public service centers. The classification and determination of public service centers in addition to the development and establishment of new centers will lead to the increase in population size and consumption of resources and facilities (e.g. land, water, infrastructure, etc.), which in turn require giving more attention to the sustainable use and planning of such resources.

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Cultural heritage is one of the most important historical and geographical components in Palestine . It is important not only on the national , but also on the international level . More than 6000 sites , can be found in the West Bank and Gaza Governorates representing a wide spectrum of historical cultures in Palestine see Figure (36) (MOPIC ,1999, NSP , 2010) .

Palestine culture heritage will have great economic value for tourism as an element for sustainable development . Protection plan aims at protecting the environments of cultural sites which are an important element for the understanding of the site itself (MOPIC ,1999).

Figure (36): distribution of the archaeological sites in the West Bank and Gaza , source : MOPIC. 53

5.1 Important culture heritage sites:

The Palestinian department of antiquities has identified a list of some 50 major sites that provide a cultural profile of human settlements in Palestine . The list is not all inclusive but a representative cross-section of the West Bank relating to historical epochs , containing important and seriously endangered sites . Many of these sites and their immediate vicinity are under great pressure from private and public development activates see Figure (37).

The list include Significant Cultural Heritage Sites : Jerusalem (al-Quds ),al-jib village , an-Nabi Samuel, Tell al- hafireh, Kh. Bal’ame , Birqin village , Kh.Irtah, Kur village , Tell ar- Ras, Deir Istya Village , salfit Town , sabastiya Village , Kh.Deir Sharaf , Tell Sofar , Jabal Eibal , Tell Balata , Bir Ya’qub, Kh. Al-Uqud, kh . al-kuz , Tell al-Far’a, Wadi Badhan, Khan al-Lubban , Tell Sellun , Shuqba Cave , Ras Karkar village , Ein Qinya ,Ein Samya, Tell at-Tell, Beitin Village , Kh.Raddane , Tell an-Nasbe , Wadi al-Qilt , Tulul Abu al- ’Alayid , Deir Quruntul , Tell as –Sultan , Ein Duyuk, Kh. Al-Mafjar, Deir Hijie, Qumran , Maqam an nabi mousa , Bethlehem , Tell al Fureidis, wadi Khareitun , Shepherd’s Field, Dier Mar Saba , Dier Theodosios , Wadi Artas, Burak Suleiman , Kh. Beit Einun , Bir Haram ar-Rameh , Tell Beit Mirsim , as-Samu’, Al-khalil .

In Gaza strip There are about 60 discovered archaeological sites, and there are dozens, and sometimes hundreds of sites that are still to be unearthed. Gaza is an area that is very rich in hidden archaeological sites. And it is suffering from a state of extreme neglect by the government in Gaza, as it was left exposed to fast- growing popular sprawl without maintenance or being guarded (Filfil and Barbara, 2014). Gaza strip has several archaeological sites that served as a point of conflux between Egypt, the Levant and Europe. Chief among these sites is the ancient city of al-Balakhia, west of Gaza. Al-Balakhia contains the Anthedon port, the oldest port in the history of the Middle East. This port is completely neglected and no one takes care of it now (Filfil and Barbara, 2014).

Figure (37): Endangered Culture Heritage Sites In West Bank and Gaza , source : MOPIC.

5.2 Weaknesses (problems) culture heritage sites :

The main problems facing the cultural heritage sector in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are as follows:

1. Neglect of historical and archaeological sites.

2. Exposed Palestinian archeological sites to damage and collapse.

3. Israel is preventing the introduction of materials for repair to Gaza, while preventing the entry of international bodies specialized in history and monuments such as [UNESCO] to Gaza to take care of its archaeological and historical sites and The ministry's specialists in the restoration and exploration field are inexperienced .

4. The demolition of many unique houses in historical centers, which contributes to the distortion of the cultural landscape.

5. deterioration physical and structural condition of monuments , Cultural and historical sites.

6. Urban sprawl towards archaeological areas and historical centers .

7. Difficult access to some culture heritage sites.

8. There is no unified legal statute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in the Palestinian territories. Different laws are applicable In the territories, because Palestine has been subject to different rulers since the end of The 19th century. The British Mandate, Jordan, Egypt, and the Israeli occupation have all Issued large amounts of legislation, some of which is still applicable in the West Bank and Gaza Strip..

9. The impact of Israeli policies towards tourism, which threatens archeological and historical sites.

10. control the Israeli occupation on some historical and cultural monuments as al- Fareedis Mount in Bethlehem.

11. Cultural heritage preservation institutions are interested in historical centers without paying attention to the edges

5.3 Strength( Potential) culture heritage sites :

1. There are More than 6000 archaeological and historical sites , can be found in the West Bank and Gaza Governorates representing a wide spectrum of historical cultures in Palestine .

2. Palestine is the land of the heavenly religions, so that contain many of the religious holy places like Church Nativity church , The Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Al-Aqsa Mosque, this enhances the tourism sector, particularly religious tourism. 56

3. West Bank contains many culture landscape this enhance the environmental tourism .

4. Development the tourism sector due to the interest of some institutions in the rehabilitation of historic centers such as RIWAQ and Hebron Rehabilitation Committee and Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation. See figure (38).

 Figure (38): Culture Heritage Sector (strength &weakness point). (Source : MOPIC,2017).

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Palestine is rich of touristic resources. Religious landmarks such as Al-Aqsa Mosque and Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem as well as the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem are destinations to millions of monotheists from all over the world. Also geographical location (neighboring other touristic countries: Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt) and various archaeological sites have made Palestine a unique touristic place. Famously, Jericho, the oldest city in the world, with the mild winter climate, rich archaeological land marks (Hisham’s palace and Qumran caves), and bordering the Dead Sea and the Jordan valley is an ideal destination for winter tourism . Tourism in Gaza strip ,relying solidarity visits by international supporters ( Fallah,2014) .

Despite the abundance of touristic resources with great potentials, the Economic performance of the Palestinian tourism sector is very low. The reason basically hinges on the prolonged Israeli occupation since 1967, factors related to Deficiencies in investment, lack of policy orientation, and weak structure of The tourism industry see table (13) ( Fallah,2014) .

Table (13): Economic Indicators of the Tourism Sector in Regional countries in 2010( Source : Fallah,2014)

6.1 Hotel Activities:

The number of hotels rose from 72 in 2002 to 113 by the end of 2013, with the number of guests exceeding half a million. The drastic volatility in hotel activities during the 1996-2012 period reflects the effect of the political environment on the tourism sector in Palestine. See table (13).

The number of hotels, south of West Bank (mainly in Bethlehem) comes first with 34 hotels. Middle of West Bank (Ramallah and Jericho) comes second with 34 hotels followed by Jerusalem with 28 hotels, while Northern West Bank comes last with 16 hotels (Fallah,2014) .

Table(14): Hotel Activities in West Bank by Region, 2013. (Source : Fallah,2014)

6.2 Touristic Activities

Figure (39) shows that entertainment comes first, as indicated by one third of the tourists. Visiting for religious purpose comes next with slightly lower percent (30%). Accordingly, entertainment and religious activities constitute the main purpose of the Palestinian inbound tourism (Fallah,2014).

Figure (39) Main purposes of inbound Tourism- percentage Distribution . (Source : Fallah,2014)

6.3 Trip duration:

Trip duration of inbound tourism is relatively short. Close to 60 % of them spent less than a week visiting the Palestinian territories. Markedly, more than half of this section of tourists stayed a day or less. Short trips are surely less favored as they reduce economic returns to tourism via lower demand for touristic services (Fallah,2014). See table (15).

Table (15) : Trip Duration- By Region. (Source :Fallah,2014).

6.4 Touristic City:

As for cities that are most visited by the inbound tourists, Figure (40) shows that cities/districts with religious and historical landmarks are main destinations. Specifically, the overwhelming majority of the tourists visited Jerusalem and Bethlehem, reflecting the religious importance of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock, and Church of Nativity. Jericho with its prominent archaeological sites (e.g. Hisham’sPalace and Tell es-Sultan) comes in third Place. Ramallah, a main cultural city, received relatively fewer tourists (about half). This trend is similar for other historic cities like Hebron and Nablus.

Figure(40) : Touristic City. (Source :Fallah,2014) .

6.5 Natural Culture Heritage in West Bank & Gaza :

Palestine constitutes one of the richest ecosystems in the world, with a large variety of wildlife resources and rich base of flora and fauna. It remarkable range of ecological variation, biodiversity and unique geographical location character, all have contributed to its unique cultural landscape Figure (50).

The topography of Palestine is unique with its scenic and qualitative diversity, ranging from plains, hills, mountains, valleys, and desert. This unique virtue was the reason behind the existence of the biodiversity and the variation in landscape and visual elements of the Palestinian natural environment.

There is a dynamic interaction between tourism and the landscape. This interaction challenges societies as they seek an appropriate development policy that would not affect the environment, and would ensure the potential for tourism development within the framework of the sustainable development strategy (Ajlouni , 2010).

61 Figure (50): Natural Culture Heritage West Bank & Gaza. (Source : MOPIC,2017).

There are some existing projects and initiatives that took place in Palestine in the field of alternative tourism and cultural landscape conservation.

New hiking and walking routes have been emerging in Palestine, building on the great hospitality and kindness of the Palestinian people, and on the same caravan routes that people have been using for thousands of years:

1. Masar Ibrahim al Khalil (the Abraham Path) ( an ambitious new tourism initiative, founded at Harvard University and supported by the UN’s Alliance of Civilizations program, path aims to open of a long distance route of walking and cultural tourism which follows the journey made by the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) through the Middle East some four thousand years ago. Since July 2008 the route has been walked by hundreds of people from Palestine and all over the world. See figure (51). 2. Battir trail tourism : this path location in village of Battir , it is situated eight kilometers southwest of Jerusalem . In 2011, Battir won the 2011 Melina Mercouri Prize from UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, for its “cultural landscape.” The village used to supply the market in Jerusalem with large amounts of special kinds of grapes, olives, figs, apples, apricots, pears and peaches, as well as varied seasonal vegetables all year round. The village slopes face west, and are separated from the opposing mountain slopes by the valley in which the Palestine railway connecting Jerusalem to the coast and further to Egypt via Sinai was built. Trains stopped at the Battir railway station to collect or discharge passengers and to refill the steam locomotives with water. See figure (52).

Several tourist trails were chosen to be a part of the Battir Landscape Ecomuseum where they start from Battir . A few hours in the natural landscape passing through the Wadi by some rock-cut tombs, stone watch towers, and of course rest areas are spread along the way to catch a breath and keep on going. There are several water springs spread throughout Battir. .

Figure (51): Masar Ibrahim Tours Track Location. (Source : MOPIC,2017).

6.6 Strength( Potential) tourism sectors :

 The abundance and rich variety of touristic sites (Cultural heritage, natural heritage and archeological sites) , mainly the famously religious and archaeological landmark in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Jericho, continue to make Palestine touristic destinations to millions of visitors from all over the world.  A recent growing interest from the private sector to invest on the tourism sector. For example , PADICO has started develop “Jericho gate”, which is a residential and tourism project to be stretched over part of en-Nabi Musa land in the southern entrance of Jericho. The touristic facilities of the project include: villas, hotels, resorts, a sports city, amusement and water parks, and malls. Other private sector initiatives include “Moon Light City”, which is a massive tourism project that is intended to be located by the Dead Sea .  There are new types of tourism that provide a role for the local communities by hosting tourists with local families for cultural interaction, in addition to the activities of tourist paths such as Masar Ibrahim Tours Track and Battir path . International experience shows that this kind of tourism is economically beneficial, so supporting policies that support community-based tourism is essential for the development of tourism in the Palestinian territories . o Weaknesses (problems) tourism sectors :  Tourism has received central interest in the Palestinian Government’s national development plan 2011- 2013. The Plan has considered expanding and developing the tourism sector as a main vehicle to a sustainable economic growth. Yet, this interest has not been solidly materialized in reality. Because , Insufficient financial resources are allocated to the tourism sector (Fallah,2014) .  investing in tourism facilities weak. most of the investment has concentrated in Bethlehem and Ramallah and directly target the hotel service sector.  Tourism investment in Jerusalem is also weak due to risks associated Israeli restrictions and tough competition with the Israeli tourism sector.  tourism investment in Jericho is weak despite the various attractive factors of the city, rich history and archeology. Jericho comes next after Bethlehem in number of inbound tourists. Yet, the discrepancy in demand of the hotel services between the two cities is huge.  Promoting and marketing campaigns mainly focus on religious tourism.  several festivals and cultural events are taking place annually and attract a big crowd of local audience. Yet, most of these events are clustered only in limited places, mainly in Bethlehem and Ramallah. A great potential of boosting local tourism hinges on organizing festivals in other populous cities, such as Hebron and Nablus.

 inbound tourism to Palestine is mostly managed and organized by Israeli travel agencies. For this reason, the Palestinians usually have no control over the destination and duration of the inbound tourists’ visits, which is often limited to Bethlehem and Jericho and last for several hours.

Figure (52): Tourism sector (strength and weakness points) in West Bank & Gaza .( Sourse : MOPIC,2017)

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This section discuss the Palestinian landscape include the agricultural areas, water resources, natural reserve, biodiversity, topography, and slope. The landscape which covered with old agricultural terracing has been farmed over many centuries where climate was more equable, the Palestinian farmers grow olives and fruit and, in more watered areas, vegetables and herbs, The West Bank has an impressive landscape inspiring to live in. The northern West Bank, is generally greener than the southern West Bank. Some of the hill regions are quite high largely limestone hills incised with, in places, deep valleys. They're a major source of water from the underground aquifers (Jenkins, 2011). It’s important here to understand the current landscape situation for the future state development of Palestine.

7.1 Agricultural land : Agriculture is a basic component of Palestinian economic, cultural, and social life. A agriculture has remained of great significance to Palestinians and their identity, play an important role in the income, employment and food (UNCTD, 2015). The area of agricultural land in the West Bank, estimated by the Central Bureau of Statistics (2011) at 931.5 km2, about 15.9% of the total area. Forests form about 1.68% from the total areas of agricultural land ( Figure (53) and Figure(54)).

Agricultural land classified according to the value to: High Value with an area of 931.5 km2 Moderate Value with an area of 2132.5 km2 Low Value with an area of 2536.5 km2 (MOPIC, 1999). The agricultural areas of special significance are : the Semi coastal plain. The plain of the mountain plateau, The terrace of the mountain plateau, the eastern slopes, and the Jordan valley, Figure (55) (UNCTD, 2015).

Figure( 53): Agriculture. (Source: Pictures of Palestine,2017) 67

Figure(54) : Agricultural Areas in the West Bank,(Source: based on MOLG,2017)

Figure (55) : Valuable Agricultural Areas in the West Bank. (Source: based on MOLG,2017)

In Gaza Strip Agricultural areas suffered from damage because of the Israeli attack , about 18 km2 of agricultural fields have been damaged destroyed. Crop fields and fallow fields, many household gardens, and greenhouses damaged. Due to the special characteristics of the area razing might have been overestimated in sandy areas (ARIJ,2015). Gaza economy is largely dependent on agriculture, the closures and land razing affected this sector. There has been a demolition of greenhouses and agricultural infrastructure, the uprooting of trees, contamination of agricultural land, loses in livestock, and widespread damage to crops (Shomar, 2010) See figure (56) .

Figure (56) : Agricultural Areas in Gaza strip. (Source :Shomar, 2010) 70

7.2 Water resources :

Water resources in the West Bank consist of surface and groundwater resources. The most stable surface water resource is the Jordan River. Groundwater resources have become the major source of fresh water supply in the West Bank . Groundwater is in three major drainage basins, the Western Basin, the North-Eastern Basin and the Eastern Basin, estimated at 679 MCM (Isaac, 2011). Springs are an important source of water in the West Bank , figure (57). In 2011, the discharge of the 400 springs was in the range of 21.3 MCM (UNCTD, 2015).

Figure (57): Springs and wells in the West Bank. (Source: based on MOLG, 2017) 71

With respect to surface water harvesting and collection, The West Bank experiences a range of rainfall intensities. In the event of high rainfall intensity, figure (58) most of the rain and water flows into wadis and valleys and from there either to the Mediterranean or the Dead Sea.

72 Figure (58): Rainfall in the West Bank. Source: (based on MOLG,2017) In Gaza strip the rainfall, varies annually between 200 mm in the south and 400 mm in the north evaporates, the annual recharge varies between 20 and 40 MCM. The groundwater flow in a continuity from east to west. Most of the wells do not meet all the WHO standards for drinking water, the water in Gaza is currently not suitable for drinking, unusable for agriculture, industrial and domestic nondrinking water uses within two or three decades. The aquifer is being contaminated with pollutants from Gaza’s sewage and agriculture (Shomar, 2010).

7.3 Natural Reserve :

3.94 % of the West Bank can be classified as forested areas. The natural forests are habitats of great diversity of flora and fauna and include some endemic tree species, breeding spots for rare bird species. The vegetation cover in the West Bank consists of a variety of plant formations. Figure (59).

In Gaza Strip, there’s about 13 forests covering about 2 km2 , 0.6% of the total area. The total area of nature reserves in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is about 774 km2, with a vast variety of wildlife (Isaac, 2011).

7.4 Biodiversity: The location of the West Bank at the crossroads of Africa, Asia and Europe has allowed for a wide range of species to stay within its borders. The diverse topographical features, climate and soil distribution within such a small geographical area have provided many ecological areas for a rich biodiversity of flora and fauna. The West Bank comprises four main agro-ecological zones: the Jordan Valley, the Eastern Slopes, the Central Highlands and the Semi-coastal Plain, has a vast variety of wildlife (Isaac, 2011).

The biodiversity suffer from threat refer to the sprawl, random distribution of industrial factories, overgrazing, over-exploitation, overfishing, over-fragmentation, deforestation and unplanned forestry activities, desertification and drought, pollution and contaminants, accidental mortality, hunting, climatic and environmental changes. Such factors are causing direct changes in plant and animal species composition, loss of such valuable heritage. Biodiversity in Palestine are under threat of becoming rare and very rare species disappearing altogether (ARIJ, 2015).

Wadi Gaza is a part of natural life in Palestine and has rich biodiversity in terms of fauna and flora, Wadi Gaza springs from the Negev Mountains and the Southern Heights of Hebron City in Palestine. The total length of Wadi Gaza is 105 km from its source to its end, with the final portion lying in the Gaza Strip extends 9 km from the Truce line in East Gaza to the coast where it discharges into the Mediterranean Sea figure (60) . The wetland is the most important habitat for migratory and resident water birds (Abd Rabou1,2008).

Figure (59): Natural Reserve in the West Bank . (Source: based on MOLG,2017)

Figure (60) : Biodiversity in the West Bank (Source: based on MOLG,2017)

7.5 Topography:

Palestine is characterized by a great variation in topography and altitude, its small geographical area, the West Bank where the variation ranges between 1,020 meters above sea level to 420 meter below sea level,figure (61). The West Bank is divided into four major geo morphological areas; Central Highlands, Semi-coastal region, Eastern Slopes region, and the Jordan Valley. The mountainous area of the West Bank serves as the main rainfall collection (ARIJ, 2015).

Gaza strip is largely flat and sandy, with dunes pushing in form of coast, particularly in the south (Abd Rabou1,2008) .

76 Figure (61): Topography of the West Bank.( Source: based on MOLG ,2017)

7.6 Conclusion :

 Large portions of agricultural areas are either not accessible or are characterized by low productivity due to, lack of irrigation water and the inflated cost of inputs.  In the current situation Israel has continuously practiced a one-sided control over all water resources in the West Bank and Gaza. Decline of water quality and water scarcity is constant problems.  In the current situation the Israeli occupation has been imposed "nature reserves" on Palestinian land, by putting settlements on those spots. Certainly, there will be areas that will need to be restricted as much as possible from human economic and development activities. The problem will need to be taken into consideration as environmental awareness and biodiversity awareness programs in Palestine.  Biodiversity and genetic conservation is the most urgent of the issues that needs addressing in the state of Palestine .



8.1 Historical back ground

Before 1948 Palestine was geographically a place that located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. in 1922 Palestine was administered by British mandate after the defeat of the Ottoman empire, as the British mandate was terminated, the Israeli Palestinian conflict began after the proposed partition of Palestine in 1947 between the Palestinian and Israeli by the United Nation (UN). After 1948 the West Bank and East Jerusalem was controlled by Jordanian while Gaza strip was controlled by Egypt .The 1949 Armistice Lines between Israel and its Arab neighbors came to be known as the Green Line, after the war of 1967 all Palestine was occupied by Israel as we can noticed from figure (62) (Bailey, 2016).

Figure (62): The Palestinian map from 1947 to 1967 under the Israeli occupation.

(Source :Msvuhistory, 2008).

In 1993 the Oslo accord was signed between Palestinians and Israelis, which created the Palestinian national authority (PNA) and called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the areas that was occupied in 1967 (Bailey, 2016). According to the agreement the West Bank will be divided to three zones where a combination of various jurisdiction would take a place, while the major cities in West Bank in addition to Gaza strip, will be under the control of the Palestinian authority these areas consisted area A, area C large areas of lands that controlled by the Israeli, while the area B would have the Palestinian jurisdiction and

Israeli control. The eventual goal of this accord was the creation of Palestinians state and the principle of the two state solution. The fate of the Palestinian refugees, borders and security arrangement and the status of Jerusalem were arranged to be discussed later (Questia, 2017). After Oslo agreement Israeli occupation continued ,while Palestinians hoped that the peace accord would lead to better lives , the end of Israeli control and a statehood of Palestinian at the end , the situation on the ground worsened in the late of 1990s and all these factors lead to the second intifada in 2000 (Pressman,2003).

8.2 The Israeli settlement

The Zionist settlement in Palestine until 1948 can be divided into stages that took place in the Ottoman era, during the British Mandate over Palestine, and other stages were established after the establishment of the Israeli in 1948, and is still going on until now (ARIJ, 2007).

The Israeli settlement may started as temporary housing or small encampments ,these areas developed to become cities with middle class villas , sophisticated lawns and streets and these settlements are subsidized by the government (Myre & Kaplow, 2016).

In 1967 after the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the expansionist settlement policy have pursued by Israeli governments. In 1968 there were about 30 settlements in the eastern West Bank, as Likud came to power the focus shifted to the western part of West Bank in 1977, after Oslo Accords in 1993 as the Israeli and the Palestinians agreed to delay the difficult issues, including the settlements to a later phase of negotiation in exchange for an Israeli commitment to disengage from the OPT (PASSIA ,2015).

Figure (63) The number of settlers in West Bank.( Source: PASSIA, 2015).

As it is noticed from figure (63) the number of settlers in the recent decades was tremendously increased even after the peace accord in 1993 and these settlement take a big portion of Palestinians lands which

considered illegal according to international low (PASSIA, 2015) These settlements is one of the key obstacles to a creation of a Palestinian state and the Peace accord.

From 1967 to the late of 2015 about 125 settlements and 100 outposts were built in West Bank while 15 neighborhoods in areas of West Bank were annexed to Jerusalem jurisdiction by Israel in 1967 and established several settlements in the East Jerusalem and in the heart of Hebron. 16 settlements in Gaza strip and four in West Bank were dismantled in 2005 according to the disengagement plan. In the late 2015 the number of the settler in West Bank upwards of 588,000. These settlements considered a violation of human rights like equity rights to property freedom of movement and adequate standard of living ,as it is clear in figure (64) (B’tselem, 2017)

In addition to the allocation the lands for the settlement and its infrastructure the Israeli governments try to provide these areas with the needed public services, and they encourage the economic activities, parks, tourist sites, and support the retroactive approval of unauthorized constructions, and the government provided the Israeli settlers by benefits and incentives in the areas of housing, education and taxes (United Nations, 2016).

Figure (64) the percent of the settlers in the West Bank in 2016. (Source: Peace org, 2016)

As it is clear from the previous data about 42% from the West Bank lands is occupied by the settlements and its infrastructures, and this is a huge portion of land of the Palestinian state and it needs a comprehensive study to deal with it in the period of the strategic planning for the Palestinian state, these settlements are distributed along and between the whole area of West Bank and ranged from small to large cities, so the new strategies should accommodate these areas to be used in a wise way. And to be coherent with the whole proposed strategic plan for the Palestinian state

8.3 The restriction of Palestinian movement

The movement of Palestinian was restricted by the Israel forces by a system of checkpoints, surprise flying checkpoints, the roads where Palestinian are forbidden to travel, agate along the separation barrier and physical obstruction, these restriction help the Israel to control Palestinian movement so Palestinian movement on some of the main roads in West Bank has decreased and they were used only by settlers , As of 31 Jan. 2017 there were 98 fixed checkpoints in the West Bank, including 59 internal checkpoints, located well within the West Bank (B’tselem ,2011).The Israeli imposed on the Palestinians in West Bank a restriction on the movements by dividing the area into six geographical areas (cantons) North, Center, South, the Jordan Valley , northern Dead Sea, and East Jerusalem as it is clear in figure (65). Almost every trip in the West Bank needed much uncertainty, friction with Israeli forces extra expense and time loss (B’tselem, 2011).

Figure (65) Splitting the West Bank zones. (Source: B’Tselem, 2013).

8.4 The passage routes and the external boundaries

In 1993 the agreement between the Palestinian and Israeli include a provision of a safe passage from Gaza to the West Bank but Israel didn’t allowed to implement it, in 2005 Israeli forces kept a buffer zone on the boundaries of Gaza strip which included about 36% of Gaza’s cultivate lands and about 85 % of its maritime areas, Gaza strip suffered from the siege that implemented in 2007 by Israel which prevented the importing and exporting from and out of Gaza and restricted the movement on the maritime of Gaza ,figure (66) .After 2005 the Palestinian didn’t have any control over their boundaries in Gaza ,which influenced on their economic development and infrastructure development (ARIJ, 2015) ,as the access restricted areas (ARA) was kept around Gaza including destruction of properties ,restricted the equipment movement and preventing live ammunition to enter to the strip . After 2013 Israel try to enforce a fishing limit zone along Gaza coast, Israel and Egypt also impose a no fishing zone along their maritime boundaries with Gaza. Areas up to 300 meters from the perimeter fence are generally considered to be a no-go area and up to 1,000 meters high risk (OCHA, 2016)

Figure (66): Israel security zone in the edge of Gaza. (Source :OCHA, 2016).

8.5 By pass roads and Apartheid Israeli roads

In 1970s Israeli created a transportation grid system in West Bank to by bypass Palestinian towns and villages and to connect Israeli settlements with each other, these roads called bypass roads which block the Palestinian communities in the West Bank and creating borders and barriers between Palestinian areas and helped to form clear axes of Israeli control over West Bank. This plan was constructed to develop an extensive system of bypass roads to permit Israelis traveling without passing throw Palestinian communities, and to make Israeli pass across the green line by the shortest route, and to prevent the Palestinian traffic to pass through settlements and to maintain the internal fabric of Israeli settlement. Most of the bypass roads constructed in area C, and creating in many areas a physical barrier between Palestinian areas as it is noticed in figure (67) (B’tselem, 2004)

Figure (67) By pass roads system. (Source: Visualizingpalestine.org, 2012)

The Apartheid roads have facilitated the confiscation of huge Palestinian land. Each Israeli only road has a 50–75m buffer zone on each side, where no construction is allowed. As a result, for each 100 km of road about 2,500 acres of West Bank land is confiscated. The Palestinian vehicular on these roads is prevented or restricted and diverted so these roads became barriers between Palestinians communities (Ma’an, 2008).

Figure (68) Map of the Israeli only roads. (Source: Ma’an, 2008). 87

8.6 The segregation wall

In 2002 the Israeli government authorized the construction of the separation wall between the West Bank and Israel, the separation wall runs to the east of the green line and it cuts the Palestinian towns and communities to two separate areas, about 9.5 percent of the West Bank called seam zone and has been a closed military area since 2003, Israeli considered this wall is essential to preserve and defend Israeli security (Aronson, 2013). Construction of this wall has imposed new restrictions on movement for Palestinians living near it, in addition to the sweeping restrictions in force since the outbreak of the second intifada. Thousands of Palestinians have difficulty reaching their fields and marketing their produce to other areas of the West Bank.as the areas in the west of the Separation Barrier are among the most fertile in the West Bank as it is clear from the figure (69) (B’tselem, 2011).

Figure (69): The segregation wall in 2006. (Source: Passia, 2007). 88

8.7 The land zones of Palestinian lands

In the late of 1970s the Israeli army force created a fire zone that contained great areas of Palestinian lands in West Bank that are located near settlements and between the barriers and green line, these areas still the same since the date of its establishment, there is until now a Palestinian citizen who still live in these areas in a very bad conditions and faced the demolition orders from the Israeli courts (United Nation, 2012).

As it was illustrated earlier the three areas that was divided according to the Oslo accord which was categorized to A, B, and C, Area A, currently comprising about 18% of the land in the West Bank, which includes all the Palestinian cities and most of the Palestinian population of the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is endowed with most governmental powers this area. Area B, comprises approximately 22% of the West Bank and encompasses large rural areas; Israel retained security control of the area and transferred control of civil matters to the PA. Area C covers 60% of the West Bank ,Israel has retained almost complete control of this area, including security matters and all land-related civil matters, including land allocation, planning and construction, and infrastructure. The PA is responsible for providing education and medical services to the Palestinian population in Area C. However, construction and maintenance of the infrastructure necessary for these services remains in Israel’s hands. Civil matters remained under Israeli control in Area C and are the responsibility of the Civil Administration, Israel strictly limits Palestinian settlement, construction and development in Area C, while ignoring the needs of the Palestinian population (B’Tselem, 2013).

These areas were meant to be temporary and by the end of five years of interim period as defined by Oslo agreement will be phased into total Palestinian control at the end .but these areas was the base for the Palestinian planning for the previous 20 years, according to Oslo the East Jerusalem that should be transferred at the last stage of negotiation to Palestinian still under the Israeli control and the Palestinian authorities have no power over the municipal boundaries (ARIJ, 2015). See figure (70)

;

Figure (70) :the area of A, B, C and the firing zone. (Source: B’Tselem, 2013).

8.8 Conclusion:

 The Palestinian population is distributed between 541 communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; 500 in WB and 41 in GS (UG, 2007). See table (16)

In the Regional Plan for the WB Governorates, three levels of centers were defined for spatial allocation for future population; regional centers, district centers, and local centers(UG, 2007).

Table (16): Distribution of Population Size by Region.( Source: UG,2007 )

In general, Table (17) shows the demographic in Palestine for the mid 2016 for both regions, WB and GS.

Table 2: The Index of demographic in Palestine based on region. (Source: PCBS, 2016).

9.1 Palestine demographic:

 Population size and distribution

Based on the estimates prepared by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) the population was estimated in 2016 about 4.81 million people with 2.45 million males and 2.36 million females. While, the population in West Bank was estimated about 2.93 million people with 1.49 million male and 1.44 million female. While, the population of GS for the same year was estimated at 1.88 million, of which 322 thousand were males and 925 thousand females. Based on these estimates, the urban population reached 73.9% in 2016, and the percentage of rural residents was 16.6%, while their percentage in the camps was 9.5% (PCBS,2016).

Hebron is considered as the largest governorate in the WB in terms of population with about 729,000 in 2016, while Jericho and Al-Aghwar are the least populated in the West Bank with a population of about 54,000. While, The governorate of Gaza is the largest in the Gaza Strip in terms of population, estimated to number about 645 thousand people, and the governorate of Rafah is the least of the governorates of the GS in terms of population, the estimated population of about 233 thousand people (PCBS,2016).

In Palestine population density is high in general and in the Gaza Strip in particular, due to the concentration of 1.88 million people in an area of only 365 km², mostly they are Palestinian refugees who were displaced from their villages and towns occupied in 1948. In addition to the high natural increase of population in Palestine for Palestinian society. The estimated population density for 2016 is about 800 persons / km2 in Palestine, 519 persons / km2 in the West Bank compared to 5,154 persons / km² in the Gaza Strip (PCBS,2016). See figure (71)

Figure (71) : Population density in Palestine(2016). Source: PCBS, 2016

The population pyramid shows that the Palestinian community living in Palestine is a young society. The population pyramid is composed of younger people than 15 years of age who represent a high percentage compared to other age groups, as it shows in the figure#. The Figure (72) shows that the Palestinian community living in the Gaza Strip is more young than in the West Bank. The percentage of children under the age of five in 2016 in Palestine was 14.9% of the total population, 13.7% in the West Bank and 16.8% In the Gaza Strip (PCBS,2016).

Figure (72): The population pyramid in Palestine.(Source: PCBS, 2016). 94

 Fertility

Fertility in Palestine is high compared to other countries. High levels of fertility are due to early marriage, especially for females, and the desire to have children, in addition to the traditions in Palestinian society, but there is evidence that fertility has begun to decline during the last decade of the last century (PCBS,2016). See figure (73)

Figure (73): Total Fertility Rate in Palestine by Region for Selected Years. (Source: PCBS, 2016)

Population statistics indicates that the crude birth rate in Palestine has reached 30.9 births per thousand of the population in mid 2016 and is expected to reach 29.0 births per thousand of the population in 2020. The definition of crude birth rate is "The number of resident live births for a specified geographic area (nation, state, county, etc.) during a specified period (usually a calendar year) divided by the total population (usually mid-year) for that area and multiplied by 1,000" (maf,2008).

While, the crude birth rate in 2016 in the West Bank was 28.5 births per thousand population and in the Gaza Strip for the same year estimated 35.8 births , figure(74) (PCBS,2016).

95 Figure (74): Estimated Crude Birth Rate in Palestine by Region, (2016-2020). Source: PCBS, 2016

 Deaths

The crude mortality rate defined as the total number of deaths to residents in a specified geographic area (country, state, county, etc.) divided by the total population for the same geographic area (for a specified time period, usually a calendar year) and multiplied by 100,000 (PCBS,2016).

However, the estimated crude mortality rate in Palestine is 3.5 deaths per 1000 population in 2016 and is expected to fall to 3.4 per 1000 population by 2020. At the regional level, there is a slight difference in the crude mortality rate for both the West Bank and Gaza Strip Gaza, where the crude death rate is expected to drop from 3.7 deaths per 1,000 population in 2016 in the West Bank to 3.5 deaths per 1,000 population in 2020. The crude death rate in the Gaza Strip is expected to drop from 1.1 deaths in 2016 to About 3.1 deaths per 1,000 population in 2020, figure (75) (PCBS,2016).

Figure (75) : Estimated Crude Death Rate in Palestine by Region, (2016-2020). (Source: PCBS, 2016 )

The annual growth rate of year 2016 in Palestine is 2.8%, at 2.5% in the West Bank and 3.3% in the Gaza Strip. Growth rates are expected to remain as they are in the coming years. As the low level of mortality and the stability of high fertility rates will lead to a high rate of natural increase of the population, which requires appropriate economic and social policies to address this increase (PCBS,2016).

As a result of the decline in mortality rates in Palestine, the expected life expectancy has increased. In 2016, the expectation of survival in Palestine was 73.7 years, 72.1 years for males and 75.2 years for females, with a difference between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip figure (76). In 2016 in the West Bank 73.9 years by 72.4 years for males and 75.5 years for females, while in the Gaza Strip, life expectancy was 73.0 years, 71.5 years for males and 74.6 years for females (PCBS,2016).

Figure (76): Expect survival at birth by region and gender, 2016. (Source: PCBS, 2016)

9.2 Family, marriage and divorce

 Family

The data for 2015 indicate that there was a decline in the estimated average family size in Palestine compared with 1997, where the average size of the family declined to 5.2 in 2015 compared to 6.4 in 1997. On the other hand, the average size of the West Bank family declined to 4.9 Compared to 6.1 in 1997. In the Gaza Strip, the average household size fell to 5.7 in 2015 compared with 6.9 in 1997 (PCBS,2016).

 Marriage and Divorce

Figure(77): Marriage contracts registered in courts and churches in Palestine by region, selected year. (Source: PCBS, 2016).

 Socioeconomic determinants of fertility:

Many factors play a significant role for reduce the fertility rate, the female education is one factors for the dramatic decrease in the fertility. For that, population growth and structure for the next 35 years will be mainly influenced by educational progress in Palestine (PCBS,2016). 97

 Participation in the workforce:

Participation in the labor force is a key indicator of the extent of the labor market activity and its effectiveness in providing employment opportunities (PCBS,2016).

The labor force is divided into two categories, the first category being the workers and the second the unemployed. Employees also classified into full employment and underemployment related to the time, amounted to workers in Palestine, the proportion of the total participants in the labor force 73.4%, 1.2% of them classified as underemployed (PCBS,2016).

The percentage of workers from the West Bank in Israel and the settlements was 16.7 % in the first quarter of 2016. In the Gaza Strip, however, no Palestinian worker has been able to work in Israel and the settlements since 2006 (PCBS,2016).

9.3 The Future of Palestine - Population in 2030-2050

The population grow expected due to the population momentum built in by the still very young age structure and the large cohorts of women in reproductive ages figure (78). In Gaza, the number of residents will more than double moving from 1.85million in 2015 to 3.1 million in 2030 and 4.8 million in 2050. In contrast, the population grow in West Bank from 2.9 million to 3.8 million in 2030 and to 4.7 million in 2050. As a result, The population of Palestine would grow from 4.7 in 2015 to 6.9 in 2030 and would double to 9.5 million in 2050. (UNFPA,2016).

98 Figure (78): Future Population in 2030-2050. (Source: UNFPA, 2016 ) 9.4 Change in Population Age Structure - A demographic Opportunity

The age - pyramid will be modified according to the population projection because of the following factors:

1. A highly significant decrease in the proportion of youngsters below age 15.

2. The doubling in the proportion of elderly over the same period.

3. The increase in the working age population (15-64 years old).

4. And the strong decrease in the dependency ration from 0.73 to 0.49 in 2050, which also promises a demographic opportunity likely to boost savings and investments and increase the rate of GNP growth (UNFPA,2016). See figure (79)

Figure (79): Projection of Age-structure by large age-groups 2015-2050. (Source: UNFPA, 2016).

9.5 Palestinian Refugee Projections

The refugees are a very important segment of the Palestinian population in Palestine that present 67% of residents in Gaza and 25% in the West Bank. It expected to increase from a bit more than two million in 2015 to three million in 2030 and 4.5 million in 2050. This finding has significant meaning for social, educational, economic and political approaches (UNFPA,2016). See figure (80)

Figure (80): Palestinian Refugee Projections. (Source: UNFPA, 2016).

Conclusion

The population hierarchy in West Bank will not change entirely, figure (81). While, in Gaza Strip it propose a very strong increase in the population.

100

Figure (81): Population Projections in Governorates. Source: UNFPA, 2016 In 2050 Gaza governorate will be the most populated comparing with West Bank cities. This change in population will create some strength for Palestine state and society in the same time there will be some weaknesses.

In future, the health care and social protection situation propose to be increased which will lead to significant decrease in youngsters proportion which will insure the high density in Palestine. However, the working age population will increase in future and this opens a window of opportunity for demographic.

101

Alternative One

Introduction:

Based on the need to develop a model for sustainable urban development that makes use of all related analysis and to overcome threats which studied in phase one, the new model is to be named, "the arrow and the bow". The name is referred to the shape of the proposed Palestinian urban structure and related networks. The vision considering to absorption capacity, accessibility, and urban and rural developments. The arrow and the bow is considering the Palestinian planning arena.

Through studying and analysis all sectors By Phase one the Main CHALLENGES are: Economic situation; Rapped growth of Population (Expected population in 2030 around 6 million); Weak infrastructure; Centralization(Ramallah); Congestions; Geographic separation of the area (West Bank and Gaza Strip). And main POTENTIALS are: Biological diversity, Landscape, Protected areas, forests; Rich Cultural Heritage; Rich Agricultural Lands; Strategic Location; Natural Resources (Dead sea, Mediterranean Sea); Population Diversity.

The vision Enhancing the economic development and quality of life.

The Palestine Vision in 2030:

International county, Tourism country, Productive country, Decentralization, Dynamic country, green & sustainability , see Figure (82).

figure (1): The Palestine Vision in 2030. Source: Author, 2017. 102

Strategies:

 Enhancing ecotourism

o By developing tourist corridors pass in parallel with the main tourist path in Palestine, named Masar Ibrahim al Khalil (the Abraham Path) see Figure (83).

o The Path aims to open a long-distance route of walking and cultural tourism which follows the journey made by the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) through the Middle East some four thousand years ago, (Ajlouni. 2010). This makes Palestine a global country linked to neighboring countries and a destination for tourists from all over the world.

Figure (83): Masar Ibrahim. source: (Ajlouni. 2010)

o Ibrahim path passes from most of the main Palestinian cities starting from the south to the north (Hebron, Bethlehem, Jericho, Nablus, Jenin).

o The main proposed corridors will link (Gaza Strip and the West Bank) , starting from the Gaza Airport to Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin in north ) see Figure (84). 103

o Development of tourist areas on the shores of the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean coast in the Gaza Strip.

Figure (84): Tourism corridor. Source: Author, 2017.

(Decentralization):

State Districts

o By dividing the West Bank and Gaza Strip into three state, see Figure (85) and Figure (92).

o Northern state include (Nablus, Tukaram, Qalqilia and Jenin)

o Middle state include (Ramallah, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Jericho) as International hub.

o Southern state include (Hebron as a regional city and Gaza Strip as a regional city).

104

Figure (85): state and Districts in west Bank and Gaza Strip. Source: Author, 2017.

Polycentricism:

o Functional polycentricism defines the importance of centers in an urban network on the basis of their centrality within that network and assesses whether the centers are equally important in terms of their network position, see Figure (86). (Bartol. Blanka, (2004).

Figure (86): Regional Settlement concept in West Bank and Gaza Strip. Source: Author, 2017. 105

o The aim of Polycentric development of the network of cities, towns, and other settlements

1. To promote the development of urban centers with national and regional significance as the centers of regional territories. 2. To encourage the functional and infrastructure integration of cities, towns, and other settlements. 3. To ensure the interconnection of urban settlements with their hinterland through more efficient mobility supported by public transport (Bartol. Blanka, 2004).

Figure (87): concept of polycentric Development. Source: Author, 2017.

In West Bank and Gaza

o (Ramallah, Jerusalem, Jericho, Bethlehem , Gaza )

as international significant centers.

o Nablus and Hebron as national significant centers.

o Jenin, Tubas, Qalqilia and Tukaram as a regional center, see Figure (87) and Figure (92).

o Polycentricity configuration makes cities as ‘compact city’, which offers services and attractive social infrastructure close to residential areas 106

Efficient city:

Exploit all Opportunities and potential in all cities in West Bank and Gaza Strip:

o Promotion of agriculture in these cities (Tulkarem, Nablus and Tubas, Salfit, Qalqilya, Jenin, Jericho), they contain a good source of water, land of high agricultural value, these cities achieving self-sufficiency in agricultural products and export abroad. o Gaza economy is largely dependent on agriculture, so we proposed it as agriculture city and a commercial city because existing seaport of Gaza, which allows (import and export) through it for all kinds of industries. o Promoting tourism diversity, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem (Religious Tourism), Hebron and Nablus (local tourism), Jericho (Eco and Health -tourism and cultural Heritage). o Hebron and Nablus as industrial cities and enhancing industry through development exist& propose industrial cities such as:

 Bethlehem Industrial City/Target Industries: Small & medium Industries  Jericho Agricultural Industrial City/ Target industries: agri-businesses and business people working in the field of agri-businesses  Gaza Industrial City/Target industries: Food, wood, plastic and aluminum industries.  Jenin Industrial Free Zone/ Target industries: Agro-foods companies with high technology, and light industry.

o Proposed Ramallah as a Global city

The Characteristics Global city:

 A variety of international financial services, headquarters of several multinational corporations.  The existence of financial headquarters, a stock exchange, and major financial institutions.  Centers of new ideas and innovation in business, economics, culture, and politics.  Centers of media and communications for global networks.  Dominance of the national region with great international significance.  High percentage of residents employed in the services sector and information sector.  High-quality educational institutions, including international student attendance, and research facilities.  Multi-functional infrastructure offering some of the best legal, medical, and entertainment facilities in the country.

107

o In Jericho governorate Proposed areas for future urban expansion, there are small residential communities that can be developed to accommodate population growth (refugees, returnees) And from densely populated cities such as Gaza.

Improving accessibility and city-friendly mobility.

Accessibility: access to homes, jobs, services with social equity and least travel and lowest impact. Decentralization of business and public services Clustering services around transport nodes.

Our concept, is propose two axes, to connect between West Bank and Gaza Strip and link Palestine internationally with neighboring countries, and development existing network Roads connected between main cities and villages, see Figure (88).

Figure (88): Concept of Transport Links. Source: Author, 2017.

Principles to development existing network Roads:

108

o City and town centers, dominated by pedestrians – division between city cars, cycles, busses routes. While parking moves to the periphery.

o Parking: “park and ride” to a solution for congestion in the center and increase peripheral traffic.

o City and town center parking should be in the edge of center location with connections to pedestrian routes.

o Use Public Transport: should be flexible, secure, door-to-door, day and night, minimum waiting smart ticketing.

o Use Bus Network between urban areas each bus stop should be a local activity node- cafes, stalls ,taxi, and other mixed uses. Needs wider routs, see Figure (89) and Figure (90).

Figure (89): City and town centers, dominated by pedestrians (division between cars, cycles, busses routes). Source: (Bartol, 2004).

Figure (90): principles to development existing network Roads for the city center. Source: (Bartol, 2004).

In 1970s Israeli created a transportation grid system in West Bank to by bypass Palestinian towns and villages and to connect Israeli settlements with each other, these roads called bypass roads which block the Palestinian 109 communities in the West Bank and creating borders and barriers between Palestinian areas and helped to form clear axes of Israeli control over West Bank. This plan was constructed to develop an extensive system of bypass roads to permit Israelis traveling without passing throw Palestinian communities, and to make Israeli pass across the green line by the shortest route. (B’tselem, 2004), These roads can be used and linked to existing roads located within the Palestinian territories to be exploited by Palestinians.

Propose two axes:

 The first axis, proposed a corridor to be parallel to the Ibrahim tourist route.

 This corridor starts from Gaza International Airport and goes to the main cities (Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin) toward Lebanon, see Figure (93).

 The aim of corridor:

o To promote economic growth through development the tourism sector.

o To promote regional integration and economic cooperation between neighboring states

o To promote internal trade and economic growth along the corridor

o To link between the major cities, and connecting West Bank with Gaza Strip.

 Proposed Development for along corridor

 The corridor contains more than one line (freightage and people) separated by landscape.

 Propose a metro line that will surround the Gaza Strip from the outside and connect the existing roads inside the Strip.

 The second axis Propose, is a railway axis as international linking , it is link between the International hub proposed (Ramallah ,Jerusalem , Jericho, Bethlehem ) with Amman in the East and Tel Aviv in the West ,see Figure (93).

o The railway starts from the new airport proposed in Jericho and connects it to existing Qalandiya Airport as (international airport)

o The railway connects between the main West Bank cities (Jericho, Ramallah, Salfit, Qalqilya, Tulkarm).

 Efficient transport hubs, such as the Gaza Airport, Qalandiya Airport, Jericho Airport, and main Corridors , connect Palestine with the rest of the world, performing a vital function for both businesses and individuals. 110

Sustainable Energy Production:

 wind power

o Wind power provides sustainable and clean energy (a green energy source).

o Generating Electricity from the wind does not require an input fuel; And hence removes the risk of Electricity interrupts due to political interference or unaffordable fuel price increases.

o There are no environmental costs, such as carbon emissions, in the generation process. In many countries, wind Power has become a major part of plans for sustainable development.

o Potential of wind energy seems to limited to the mountains (elevation of about 1000 m); Regions of Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron where the speed surpasses 5m/s and the potential About 600 kwh/m2 (Yaseen. Basel, 2008).

o Proposed development area for wind power to generation electric power, on (Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron) mountains, see Figure (93).

 Solar energy

o Solar desalination and cooling Use of solar energy for water desalination. Due to water shortage, high salinity especially in Gaza Strip and eventually high cost of drinking water, solar desalination seems feasible for obtaining fresh water. proposed area development by used solar energy for water desalination in Gaza Strip (Yaseen. Basel, 2008).

o generation of electric power through Solar energy by development area in Jericho and Gaza strip, see Figure (93).

Open space:

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 Open space is the publicly owned land that is set aside primarily for recreation, nature conservation, passive outdoor enjoyment, and public gatherings. This includes public parks, gardens, reserves, water ways, publicly owned forecourts, and squares, see Figure (91), (Eagleston. Serryn ,2004).

Figure (91): open space through the city. Source: (Eagleston,2004)

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Figure (92): Concept of Development area and State Districts in West Bank and Gaza Strip. Source: Author, 2017.

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Figure (93): Concept of a model for sustainable urban development in West Bank and Gaza. Source: Author, 2017.

Alternative Two

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Introduction:

Current situation of urban development in West Bank & Gaza strip present uncertainty & unbalanced period since the absence of spatial planning. Private sector represented in investors lead the urban sprawl for uncontrolled & unintentionally expansion affect cultural heritage, agricultural lands, & Palestinian identity all about to be lost.

Absence of strategic planning in Palestine territories lead the region to repeat surrounding states mistakes; (city –state) such as; (Amman-Jordan), (Cairo-Egypt). Ramallah about to dominate the region; so, it is time to rescue Ramallah from predicted & unpredicted future problems.

Goals loom in the horizon of planning:

o Achieve free trade for the country through establishing our own trade gates (Airport & Seaport) to promote economic development.

o Promote tourism sector. Palestine have special potentials which enable the country to compete on global level; Church of the Nativity, Al-Aqsa Mosque, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, & others. Mainly concentrated in the middle of Palestine (Bethlehem & Jerusalem)

o Fix major regional problem of traffic congestion by promoting alternative transportation.

o Conserving natural resources despite their scarcity under occupation, which occupied majority of them.

o Control urban sprawl & create a range of housing opportunities.

o Enhance quality of life & reduce unemployment.

Vision

For new state of Palestine with 1967 boundaries (Figure 94)

Palestine is a global tourist country within sustainability criteria (Environmental, Economic, & Social).

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Figure (94): Palestine Territories, 1967.

Main growth corridors

As seem in figure (95), existing road system built on two main streets cross-regions from north to south, despite that regions suffering from stuffy traffic congestion, therefore; we have to support existing road system with fast line parallel the middle line (railway) to provide another transport option (public transportation) which control & save the time, at the same time existing roads will stay for whom have the passion of driving. This new fast line can guide future expansion around it so we avoid unplanned sprawl.

Another railway line should connect trade gates (Airport in Jericho & Seaport in Gaza) this line has to be separated from previous mentioned line to reduce any predicted congestion & both intersected in Bethlehem. On the other hand, connect West Bank with Gaza Strip. See figure (96).

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Figure (95): Existing Road System in Palestine territories. Source: Author, 2017.

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Figure (96): Spatial Development Strategy, main corridors. Source: Author, 2017.

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Rescaling of the cities functions

After deep analysis of local cities potentials, it seems that Bethlehem & Jerusalem have the ability to compete on global level regarding tourism sector, while Jericho candidate to be high-tech physiotherapy & recreation center based on rare potential of Dead Sea minerals, which it has.

Ramallah due to its central location candidate to be government & administration region.

Gaza, Hebron, & Nablus are the business & finance centers, which have industrial cities. Nablus is the north business & services center connect Jenin, Tulkarem, Qalqilya, Salfit, & Tubas. Gaza connect Deir al Balah, khan Yunis, Rafah, Bayt Lahiya, & Jabalya. Hebron connect south regions. While Ramallah connect the middle regions. See figure (99 & 101).

Tulkarem already planned to include technological center, while Jenin, Qalqilya, & Jericho most suitable lands for agriculture & light industries related to agriculture.

Jenin & Jericho by comparison with each other based on google maps shown below in figures (97 & 98) regarding distribution of housing within agricultural lands; people practices emerge contrast in overall image; in Jericho, houses integrated within agricultural lands without assembly in an independent residential neighborhood which applied in Jenin so, by focusing on open & green spaces for both cities; a worrying future threaten agricultural lands, therefore; Jenin has to be considered in urban design level to solve & fix its unplanned sprawl at the expense of agricultural lands.

Figure (97): Agricultural lands of Jenin. Source: Author, 2017.

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Figure (98): Agricultural lands of Jericho. Source: Author, 2017.

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Figure (99): Cities Functions. Source: Author, 2017.

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Development concept

Palestinian lands under colonialism became limited, in addition to its hard-geographic nature, which is mainly mountains. With taking high rate of natural growth for Palestinians in our considerations, we find that compact development is the perfect way of thinking to guide future development of the region figure (100).

By thinking of compact development with local potentials of each city and future vision for the regions, in addition to taking in considerations the main corridor, which will lead urban sprawl along its direction; we can imagine below shown conceptual land uses in figure (101), which propose locations for distributing services, industrial cities, recreational zone, technological center, conserving on agricultural lands & heritage places.

Figure (100): Compact Development Concept. Source: Author, 2017.

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Figure (101): Conceptual Land Uses. Source: Author, 2017.

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Alternative Three

Introduction

In accordance with the current political situation, relying on the borders of the Palestinian state according to the Oslo Accords the total area of the Palestinian territory is 6,220km² (figure 115). There is an urgent need to envisage a comprehensive strategic planning for the future state that integrated with the existing spatial and social situation in Palestine, Moreover, the need to define the goals, priorities and means of the future national development. The following proposed plan reflects the strategic vision of a Palestinian state that is prosperous, developed and capable of succeeding internationally, based on an assessment of all the relevant aspects of the status quo and the future expectations that control the planning process on several levels: geographical, hierarchical levels of cities and governorates, services, infrastructure, population, urban landscape ... etc.

The proposed vision of a Palestinian state

A prosperous and stable economically and tourist country, preserve its historical and cultural heritage, with advanced infrastructure and high technological systems, conserves natural resources, Achieving social harmony and good standard of living.

The proposed spatial conceptual plan

The primary objective of the spatial conceptual plan to achieve the country's sovereignty and stable national economic development. The proposed urban conceptual plan seeks to converge development in the WB and Gaza strip (figure 1), based on the collected data and statistics of all the relevant aspects (figure 103 & figure 104) show the geographical projections for the most important of these data as a base map.

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Figure (102): The state of Palestine borders, and the two parts of the state (the WB and Gaza strip). Source: based on database from GEMOLG.

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Figure (103) The base map layers of the WB and Gaza strip, contains the borders, governorates centers, landscape, high agricultural value lands, main roads, built up area, the existing industrial areas.

Source: based on database from GEMOL

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Figure (104): The base map of the WB and Gaza strip. (Source: based on database from GEMOL)

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Urban development infrastructure Corridor

The concept of plan starting from the development along the proposed urban corridor with a total length about 240 km, with a unique strategic geographical location in the WB and Gaza strip. The proposed national urban corridor of varying width that connect and integrate the cities of the WB to each other, also in Gaza strip. This corridor comprises a third link between Gaza and the West Bank, in addition to the two “safe passage” routes that have been envisioned in previous diplomatic accords (figure 105).

Figure (105): The proposed urban corridor in the WB and Gaza strip. ( Source: based on database from GEMOL).

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The proposed urban corridor is able to achieve fair and balanced distribution throughout the country, and does not shed light on specific areas, but offers equal opportunities for urban and economic growth and development in all governorates in the two parts of the state. It would link Jenin in the northern of the West Bank to Rafah in Gaza strip ( figure 106), through intermediate stops corresponding to Palestine’s major cities and towns: Tulkarm, Qalqiliya, Nablus, Salfit, Ramallah, Jericho, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, North governorate, Gaza, Dir albalah, Khan younis and Rafah. People and goods flow throughout the state and the countries around the world by using the public and private transportation system along the proposed corridor in a quick and efficient manner and with short distances and time (figure 107 & figure 108).

Figure (106): The location of proposed urban corridor and the governorate centers in the WB and Gaza strip. (Source: based on database from GEMOL) 129

Figure (107): The linkage between the proposed urban corridor with the governorate centers in the WB and Gaza strip and the main roads Route 90 and Route 60 and salah-aldeen street by developed and integrated transportation system. (Source: based on database from GEMOL).

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Figure (108): The developed and integrated transportation system along the path of the proposed corridor. Source: Author, 2017.

The framework for the development of the corridor conserve the existing open space ( parks, forests, reserves, and high agricultural value lands ) and the cultural and historical heritage by avoiding passage in historical city centers, Landscape, high agricultural value lands and natural reserves. The proposed plan include a linear recreational development, which includes resorts, natural reserves, parks, a cultural, and amenity centers, offices, residential neighborhoods, retails, hotels, restaurants, botanical gardens, hiking and camping areas and numerous transportation options.

The proposed path of the corridor is highly applicable as it passes through suitable topographic levels areas in most areas overall. Moreover, in the few confined areas that contain slopes it is not difficult to implement this corridor using bridges and tunnels if necessary. The urban development corridor can be defined as a regional integrated infrastructure and energy project, contains developed multi transportation systems, regional water pipelines, and energy projects (figure 109).

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It includes a rapid rail line, solar and wind energy generation and transmission, telecommunications lines. .A central park acts as a green living room for community gatherings, enhancing natural ventilation and maintaining the landscape. Cycling paths and multiple trains, bridges, highways links ensure accessibility recreational use. (Figure 109 & figure 110).

Figure (109): The Strong Topographical Recreational Areas Transportation Facilities. Source: Author, 2017.

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Figure (110): The proposed integrated infrastructure trunk line of the proposed national corridor in the WB and Gaza strip. (Source: based on database from GEMOL)

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The Regional Structure Levels

The Palestinian territories consists of (16) Governorate (districts): (11) in the WB and (5) in Gaza strip (PCBS, 2016). Nablus, Ramallah/Al-Bireh, and Hebron city considered as regional center on the regional level because of the Population size, Type and level of available services, economic features, and the geographic location in the West Bank (north, middle, and south). In Gaza strip, Gaza city considered the regional center, Khan Yunis has an important role in the strip also (MOPIC,2007).

The proposed plan includes two main key sections in the regional level: at the top of the pyramid the plan propose two cores of Palestine; the first one in the WB and it includes three major cities of Jericho, Ramallah and Jerusalem. In addition, the other core in Gaza City from the Gaza Strip. The two cores together could achieve balanced and compatible spatial distribution of development with the exceptional geographical and spatial situation and the consequent organizational and functional dimensions in the two parts State (figure 111).

The other key section based on the assessment of all relevant fields, mainly the social aspects in the Palestinian community, and the geographical location. In order to achieve the goals of the new state vision the plan proposed to develop the idea of five administrative (figure 112): Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron, and Gaza, each administrative has its own character and role. In Jenin, the cities of Jenin, Tulkarem, Tubas and their related communities can play the role to be an industrial, agricultural, and agro- industrial district. In Nablus, the cities of Nablus, Qalqiya, Salfit, and their communities have the potential to develop as a commercial, cultural center, and agricultural district. Ramallah consist of the cities of Ramallah, Jericho, and Jerusalem proposed to be a part of the WB central core, cultural, tourism, agricultural and hi-tech district. The cities of Hebron and Bethlehem in the southern play a big role in the commercial, trading, industry, agriculture, and tourism. Gaza is one of the Gates of Global Palestine has the potential to be landmark in commercial, industrial and trading.

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Figure (111) The locations of proposed tow urban cores in the WB and Gaza strip.

(Source: based on database from GEMOL)

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Figure (112): Distribution of the Administrative Districts (Source: based on database from GEMOL)

Urban settlement distribution

In the current situation, cities, villages, and towns in Palestinian territories scattered and the uncontrolled urban sprawl take a place (Terenzi, 2014). It’s important to solve the problem of sprawl in order to save the scarce recourses of Palestine and increase the density as a solution the proposed model of polycentricity and agglomeration in the plan, which based on a deep study of the current population communities, the services in

136 each community, and the geographical location. A network of regional centers, sub- regional centers, local centers and Neighborhood (MOPIC,2007). defined by existing cities, towns and villages would be developed coverage all of the national state (figure 113). Each existing city would increase its density to accommodate the natural population growth in addition to exceptional situation of the refugees return expectations in the future, preventing uncontrolled urban sprawl.

Figure (113): Urban settlement distribution model, (Source: based on database from GEMOL)

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According to the study of Ministry of Planning “Defining Spatial Structure for Public Service Centers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip” a conceptual Framework of the facilities were spatially organized in hierarchical order; these facilities were located in relation to the population they were intended to serve. High order public facilities, such as universities, hospitals, governmental administration services, had centralized location in cities that offer services to the surrounding smaller communities. Smaller communities suffered from lack of basic facilities (MOPIC,2007).

The proposed conceptual plan consists a model of hierarchical administrative distribution (figure 114). This model taking into consideration the social aspects of the Palestinian society, and not to look at the terms of geographical and purely demographic. In this proposed model, four major levels were adopted in each administrative zone. The higher level is the regional center serve functions of upper order, such as hospitals, universities, cultural institutions, hotels, etc. The Sub-regional centers are the next level contain functions such as higher education, medical clinics, local administration, supermarkets, bank services, etc. Then the Local Centers serves functions from the localities and neighborhoods that is the fourth level, such as primary and secondary schools, temporary medical clinics, daily living shops, etc. (MOPIC,2007).

These services must be improved and enhanced not only on the regional level but also in all levels to accommodate with the population growth in the country. In Jenin, Administrative, Jenin city defined as Regional center served administration services for the sub-regional centers Tulkarem and Tubas. Each city connected with local center and these locals served neighborhood that serve the villages and communities around it. Connected with each other as agglomerations. All the other administrative works in the same system. The current figures illustrate the four-regional division for all administrative with name of each community.

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Figure (114): The proposed model of hierarchical administrative distribution. Source: Author, 2017.

To strengthen the idea of the administrative model a functional vocation for each region must be determined. Figure (115) represent the functional zone in each district depending on the potential and traditional role of each governorate. For Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarm the main vocation could be agriculture and industry; the existing industrial zone in Jenin support the development of industrial park in the district. Agro _ Industrial zone have 139 been suggested. According to Nablus, Salfit, and Qalqilya the role of commercial, tourism, and educational center have to be improved. In addition to the agroindustry. The main activity of the core is to be commercial, cultural, global, tourism, and administration center. It consist of hi –tech park, and light industrial area. Hebron and Bethlehem identified as touristic centers. Because of their archeological and cultural heritage. Hebron has the potential to accommodate the high population in Gaza and play as a labor market for it. So a heavy industrial and an IT hi- tech Parks have been proposed. Gaza would accommodate the greatest share of growth, creating a continuous urban area to serve as a global city for Palestine. Investment and Economic activity would be focused on major industrial areas.

Figure (115): The functional distribution model in the five administrative zones. Source: Author, 2017. 140

The Recreational Edges

A plan to redevelop the Palestinian Recreation Ground is not just about replacing aging infrastructure. It is, as the proposed conceptual plan shows, to create a multipurpose facility that mixes commercial, residential, historical, recreational and civic space. This vision is encapsulated in the two main Recreational Edges in the east side of WB, and west side of Gaza Strip, (figure 116) providing a vision for the future.

Figure (116): The proposed Recreational Edges locations in the WB and Gaza Strip. Source: Author, 2017.

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The Recreational Edge Development Zone offers sustainable, transit-oriented living in a preserved natural landscape (figure 117).

Figure (117): A Vision of the Recreational Edge in the West Bank. Source: Author, 2017.

In Gaza, another recreational zone has proposed, it has named “the Flag Recreational Edge” as a national symbol of the Palestinian cause, which is an artificial island, on the coast of Gaza; this island would take the form of a Palestinian flag, a waterway for ships passes through the middle part of it. The island will be host to a large number of residential, leisure and entertainment centers and will add a large area of public beaches to the city of Gaza. This zone. this national project is part of the long-term implementation schedule of the proposed plan, after reaching the prosperity and economic stability of the country (figure 118).

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Figure 118. A Vision of the Flag Recreational Edge in Gaza Strip. Source: Author, 2017.

International Linkage

The corridor is intended to provide many linkages to local destinations by roads and highways network in addition to the domestic airport that is proposed as a rehabilitation of Qalandia airport. Moreover, two critical international facilities propose international linkage: the two-national airport one is proposed in Jericho as it is a vital hub in Palestine and rehabilitate Gaza airport, and the other is Gaza strip seaport. It will provide a new axis beside the improvement of the existed axis of land travel and transport to the neighboring capitals (Amman, Beirut, Cairo, and Damascus) and Israel. This international linkage has a critical importance in building both the identity and economy of the state (figure 119).

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Figure (119): International Land, Sea, and air Linkage .(Source: based on database from GEMOL)

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Alternative Three

Vision statement:

The future independent state of Palestine has the potential of becoming a global attraction; by leading economic competition regionally and globally, creating a cohesive society, and preserving natural resources and restoring them to safe levels.

Figure (120): National vision in the first stage. Source: Author, 2017.

This image Figure (1) includes the principle vision formulated in the beginning stages. The yellow represents the main two development cores; the span eastern from Jericho towards Jerusalem and from Bethlehem in the south up to Nablus in the north. The red line is main route connection the northern governorates with the southern, then continuing towards Gaza Strip and along its eastern border. The green bubbles include potential agricultural development zones, that aligns with the vision that seeks to preserve natural resources from urban sprawl.

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Community:

The vision for future development is to promote future compact cities through new city policies. These policies apply restraints on future development in rural areas and encourage all future development to take place within the boundaries of existing urban areas. It aims to achieve urban regeneration, town center revitalization, higher densities, mixed-use development, promotion of public transport, and the concentration of urban development around public transport nodes. To achieve this goal, it had used two tools: urban density and a high- concentration urban structure model.

1. Urban Density:

According to the assessment, future population will reach 9.5 million residents in the target year 2050; about double the population in 2016 which was at 4.6 million. Moreover, with the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian country the possibility of Palestinian returnees is high; given that the total number of returnees from Gaza and the West bank are roughly 1 million. We will assume that roughly half would return. This means the total population number will be 10 million for 2050. To establish future city densities that comply with compact city development we explored multiple scenarios:

A) Population growth limited to existing built up area.

The total built up area of the West Bank and Gaza strip = 821 km2, (GIS,2017).

Expected Population = 10 million.

Density = 12,180 /km2.

In this scenario, there is no new built up area and urban development is restricted to the existing urban fabric. This resulted in a density similar to that of the city of Kabul; the capital of Afghanistan, and greater than the city of New York in the United States of America.

B) Future built up area increase by 25%.

New built up area = 1.25 x 821 km2 = 1,026 km2.

Density = 9,746 /km2.

In this scenario, the future development is restricted to an increase of 25% of existing built up area. This will limit the sprawl to 205 km2; leading to 16.5% of built up area of total country land. The density resulted is similar to the density of Bogotá; the capital and largest city of Colombia, and slightly greater than the density of Casablanca in Morocco.

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C) Future built up area increase by 50%.

New built up area = 1.50 x 821 km2 = 1,231 km2.

Density = 8,124 /km2.

In this scenario, the future development increases by 50% of existing built up area; allowing for further horizontal expansion. The new built up area from the total country land would be approximately 20%. The resulted density is similar to that of São Paulo in Brazil, and slightly greater than the density in Singapore.

In the compact city vision the main goal is to limit urban sprawl and for the built-up area is not exceed 20% of total country land by 2050. Thus, we opted for scenario (B) to generate high concentration urban areas along the main cores and in city center and sub centers. As well as, for density not to exceed calculated density from scenario (B). In the case, urban density is maximized in development zones then scenario (c) was applied. These two scenarios allow for densities to differ in regions according to the proposed high-concentration urban structure model while land consumption didn’t exceed 20% of country land.

2. High-Concentration Urban Structure Model:

This model is used on the local level as an instrument to direct future population distribution. It establishes multiple land categories and determines suitable concentration capacities for each one; and can be used for defining a future local urban structure. This protects high value land, agricultural land, and forests from urban sprawl and defines suitable developments for agricultural regions.

Following these strategies future urban development will be concentrated along the two proposed cores; to absorb future population growth, as seen in figure (121). To the eastern borders and north of Jericho high value land will be preserved and safe from future development. The north-eastern region that is Jenin and Tubas, which is rich with agricultural land, development will be limited to existing built up areas with a higher density. High value agriculture land in the region -or elsewhere- will be also reserved for agricultural purposes and limited to minimum density. To the north west, Tulkarm and Qalqilya will be developed according to the high- concentration urban structure model until they develop into important metropolitan centers.

The southern region of Hebron will follow suit; while reserving agricultural land and forests with minimum density. The increase in density in small towns and medium-sized cities in the south will help absorb the possible migrating population from the Gaza Strip, that will find new labor opportunities in the West Bank. In Gaza Strip development, will be concentrated on urban regeneration and town center revitalization; while managing the already existing high densities. The Sothern region will be developed to absorb some of the high 147 population density in Gaza and Northern Gaza governorates, like development of Khan Younis and to the west of Khan Younis near the region of Al-Mawasi.

Figure (121): Envisioned future community development. Source: Author, 2017.

Infrastructure:

Stable infrastructure is necessary to develop the state of Palestine, for facilitating economic growth and global connections. In order to create regional exchange between Israel, Palestine and their neighbors to promote the full independence and sovereignty of the state of Palestine. The following points describe the key elements in infrastructure development that need to be a companied by a complete strategic plan.

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1. Crossing point

The crossing points positioned between Israel and the West Bank, the West Bank and Jordan, between Israel and, the Gaza Sstrip, Gaza and Egypt will continue to prove crucial for trade facilitation. From the West Bank, there is a direct crossing point with Jordan, and an indirect line of exchange that passes through Israel towards Syria and Lebanon. With Israel, the exchange line will be from Jerusalem city to Israel, and from Tulkarm to Israel and towards Israeli seaports. Furthermore, the crossing point from West Bank to Gaza strip will be from Hebron city through Israel, there will be two exchange lines from Gaza; Erez crossing in the north and Rafah crossing in the south to Egypt and the other Arab countries, as illustrated in figure (122).

Figure (122): Regional routes. Source: Author, 2017.

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2. Transportation

The state of Palestine should provide its citizens with free and effective movement by creating the necessary inter-connection between the two states, and their neighbors. For this purpose, construction of road, metro, highway, and a sea- and airport is essential. In the vision, it had proposed to use the existing airports in Gaza strip and West Bank, in Rafah and Qalandia respectively, and propose a new airport in Jericho. The state of Palestine will be dependent on Gaza's existing seaport in addition to using Israeli seaport as exchange line. In addition, the vision includes a metro to be constructed along the main corridor that starts from Rafah crossing Gaza strip and connecting it with the West Bank at Hebron city. From Hebron, the metro will connect with the two main cores and complete at the north of the West Bank in Jenin where it will link with Israel, and to the east with Jordan. A highway will be established along the existing road 90 that connects the southern region with the north and crosses to Israel. The local roads will connect the cities with the metro line, see figure (123).

Figure (123): Local routes. Source: Author, 2017.

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Economy:

With high rate growth and high rate of youth in the Palestinian community, and the soaring rate of youth unemployment, urgent attention is needed to find ways to increase the economy and create jobs. Following the plan concept, the Palestinian economy will be developed. The main sectors which have a potential for development are; tourism, agriculture, industry, and construction.

1. Tourism:

Some of the greatest tourist attractions in the world exist throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip; including a large variety of important historical and religious sites for Muslims, Christians, and Jews. If utilized it would contribute to the Palestinian economy and employment market. The vision provides tourism infrastructure that emphasizes local, regional, and international visitors. The regional routes and three airports; in Qalandia, Jericho, and Rafah, provide easy access for tourists to enter the country, see figure (123).

In the West Bank the Dead Sea and its surrounding landscape, including the historical site of Qumran, will attract tourism investment in the region and can be easily accessed from proposed Jericho airport or along the regional highway. Along the core, from Jericho to Jerusalem, the metro will pass along significant heritage and historical sites, such as Nabi Musa site, and leads to two of the most religious sites in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The metro line links the old city of Nablus in the north and Hebron in the south. It also connects to the Mediterranean Sea coast in Gaza and our envisioned man built island off the shore of Rafah, see figure (124).

2. Construction:

In the case of construction, the future development in the different sectors of infrastructure will provide jobs, enhance the economic activities, and attract foreign investment to invest in building projects, industries, tourism development projects, ... etc. All these aspects will generate jobs for the labor market and will enhance Palestinian economy.

3. Agriculture:

In the case of agriculture, all high value agriculture land in West Bank and Gaza Strip will be reserved. The north-eastern region of the West bank will be reserved for agriculture development, as seen in figure (125). This agricultural region will be enhanced by an agro-industrial area which is suggested to be near to Tubas City. Also, the agricultural sector would be able to benefit from improvements in the quality and cost of infrastructure and increased demand for goods and services.

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Figure (124): Tourism. Source: Author, 2017.

4. Industry:

In the case of industry, according to Palestinian Industrial Estates & Free Zones Authority, there are four industrial areas which are; Gaza Industrial Area, Jericho Agro-Industrial Area, Bethlehem Industrial Area, and Jenin Industrial Area. All these areas are under development, the plan will keep these areas and complete their development. Also, we suggest other industrial areas to support the economic sector; three industrial areas, two in Hebron and one in Qalqilya. In addition to two techno-industrial areas in Tulkarm and Salfit, and three light industrial areas, two of them to enhance crafts and traditional industries in Nablus and Jerusalem, and the third one in Jericho to take advantage of the Dead Sea valuable minerals. And one Agro-industrial area near Tubas City to enhance the agricultural development area, and another Agro-industrial area south-east Gaza Strip. Three of these areas are suggested by Palestinian Industrial Estates. Each of these areas will provide jobs for surrounding areas and contribute to the development of Palestinian economy by attracting investment, providing jobs, and the development of exports, see figure (125).

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5. Digital Economy:

This sector of economy will be concentrated in city centers and along the major core cities. These businesses will open a new global labor market for college educated Palestinians to outsource Palestinian techno-skills.

Figure (125): Map of economy sector distribution of activity nodes. Source: Author, 2017.

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Conclusion:

In conclusion, our vision aimed to achieve a future independent state by creating a cohesive society to propose compact cities with concentrated urban development which will be directed in and around exciting built up areas. creating stable and efficient infrastructure in order to facilitate economic growth and global connection. Furthermore, the economy is considered as the main sector which has great potential for development in tourism, agriculture, industry, and construction sectors. The following figures 8 illustrates our national vision of a future independent Palestinian state, see figure (126).

Figure (126): National vision in the third stage. Source: Author, 2017.

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The final proposal

Urban development infrastructure Corridor

The concept of the plan starting from the development along the proposed urban corridor with a total length about 240 km, with a unique strategic geographical location in the WB and Gaza strip. The proposed national urban corridor of varying width that connect and integrate the cities of the WB to each other and in Gaza strip (figure127).

Figure (127).The proposed urban corridor in the WB and Gaza strip. (Source: based on database from GEMOL). 155

The urban corridor is accompanied by four highways proposed for increased efficiency and integration, In addition to the development of the main existing highways (90th Street and 60th Street. it is also integrated with existing regional and major road networks in the state. This corridor comprise a third link between Gaza and the West Bank, in addition to the two “safe passage” routes that have been envisioned in previous diplomatic accords. The proposed urban corridor is able to achieve fair and balanced development distribution throughout the country, and does not shed light on specific areas, but offers equal opportunities for urban and economic growth in all governorates in the two parts of the state. It would link Jenin in the northern West Bank to Rafah in Gaza strip, through intermediate stops corresponding to Palestine’s major governorates: Tulkarm, Qalqiliya, Nablus, Salfit, Ramallah, Jericho, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, North governorate, Gaza, Dir albalah, Khan younis and Rafah (figure 128 & figure 129).

Figure(128). The location of the proposed urban corridor, the proposed highways and the governorate centers in the WB and Gaza strip. (Source: based on database from GEMOL). 156

Figure (129). The integration between the developed transportation system in the urban corridor and the existing roads network in the WB and Gaza strip. (Source: based on database from GEMOL).

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People and goods will flow throughout the state and the countries around the world by using the public and private transportation system along the proposed corridor in a quick and efficient manner and with short distances and time. The framework for the development of the corridor conserve the existing open space ( parks, forests, reserves, and high agricultural value lands) and the cultural and historical heritage by avoiding passage in historical city centers, Landscape, high agricultural value lands and natural reserves. The proposed path of the corridor is highly applicable as it passes through suitable topographic levels areas in most areas overall. Moreover, in the few confined areas that contain slopes it is not difficult to implement this Corridor using bridges and tunnels if necessary. The urban development corridor can be defined as a regional integrated infrastructure and energy project, contains developed multi transportation systems, regional water pipelines, and energy projects. It includes a rapid rail line, highways, solar and wind energy generation and transmission, telecommunications lines, national water pipelines. .A central green belt acts as a green living room for community gatherings, enhancing natural ventilation and maintaining the landscape (Figure 130, figure 131 & figure 132).

Figure (130). The developed and integrated transportation and infrastructure system along the path of the proposed corridor in the WB (source based on Neufert, 1980).

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Figure (131). The developed and integrated transportation and infrastructure system along the path of the proposed corridor in the Safe passage (source based on Neufert, 1980).

Figure (132). The developed and integrated transportation and infrastructure system along the path of the proposed corridor in Gaza strip (source based on Neufert, 1980). 159

Corridor stations:

West Bank and Gaza Strip has a current system of governorates, each one has main regional city. According to the assessment in the first phase and after a deep study of the redistribution of the current governorate system based on the services allocation. Anew system of policentricity has been adopted. The Palestinian communities were rearranged into five categories based on services to regional, sub regional, local, neighborhood centers, and rural settlement. The locations of the stations will need to be determined according to two main of strategic factors :

 The services distribution, each station should be located near a local center , linked to other local regional and sub regional centers with an effective public transportation .  The existing regional high ways.

Stations are an important component of the national infrastructure corridor. They facilitate the public transportation, used as a public, commercial center, and business place. In our proposal Four main stations where allocating in the west bank and two in Gaza strip (figure 133).

These stations are proposed to be linked to the regional and sub regional centers by the existing roads and train through the corridor ( figure 134). Where administrative, business and main important services where located in these centers.

The main regional and existing highway linked the stations with centers, should be accommodate integrated systems for public transportation along its length. Train and Bus Rapid Transit system where use between regional, sub regional centers and local, neighborhood centers . They are fully integrated, effective and low cost, worked to solve the problems of traffic in cities ( figure 135) .

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161 Figure (133). The distribution of the corridor stations along State of Palestine. (Source: based on database from GEMOL,2017 ).

Tubas

Jenin

Nablus

Tulkarem

Qalquilia Salfit

Figure (134). conceptual 3d model show the relation between the stations and the center of regional and sub regional center (Source: http://www.poitra.com/DesignVisualization_I-70_BrightonBoulevardInterchange.html)

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Figure (135). Public transportation station and the linkage between them .

(Source: based on database from GEMOL,2017 ). 163 Figure 8. The distribution of the corridor stations along State of Palestine. (Source: based on database from GEMOL,2017 ).

Each new station is planned to be located along the main corridor, with different areas according to their needs and the size of the community it would serve. The stations are located close but not adjacent to existing city centers, because the presence of the station in the middle of the existing center would encourage greater concentrations and crowding in settings that are already fairly well built up; the pressure to destroy historic buildings and precincts in order to build denser and higher would only grow with time.

The station location is determined based on a number of strategic factors: topography, distance from the existing center, the availability of sufficient buildable terrain and property, the legal disposition of parcels and buildings, the presence of historic or archaeological sites, etc. Wherever the station ends up, it should become attractive for urban development because of its convenience to high-quality interurban rail service.

The stations themselves should be of very high architectural quality, because they will effectively function as the national gateway into each municipal area. The station areas should have the potential to attract both public and private investment. They are natural locations for national and international businesses, for larger institutional uses, and for high-density mixed-use neighborhoods. And well-integrated new neighborhoods with a mix of uses would also be encouraged.

Each station is expected to have a business center, offices, and a shopping mall with various shops, restaurants and cafes catering to mobile needs, a police station to maintain security, parking lots for cars, buses and commercial transport trucks. As well as a Park and Ride area. One important element of the station is a public transit transportation station to transport individuals to different areas of their city. Close to it is expected to create gift shops and book stores and needed services, and a central gas station with washer and vehicles maintenance workshop (Figure 136).

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Figure (136) : bubble diagram of Station proposed Functions.

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Urban development economic sector

Introduction

Currently, Palestinian local economy is a very humble and limited; previously in phase I we mentioned the reasons why. Upon last statistics & studies prepared by many Palestinian institutions such as; Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics who indicated that Palestinian economic ingredients distributing mainly in these sectors; Industry, Constructions and real estate, Trade, & Agriculture. According to our previous analysis in phase I & phase II, we suggested that Palestine could raise to the global level by its special & unique potentials; which are Holy & Archaeological sites. Tourism is the new sector we propose to be supported in order to lead Palestine into independence economic state. Therefore, we emphasized in this study on two main sectors to support the economy; Tourism & industry that are already have the enough potentials but need management & control.

I. Tourism sector: Tourism usually based on Holy & Archaeological sites. Palestine is the most country witnessed diversity of religions & cultures, but to think toward economy; tourists can support local economy against daily services in the place, such as Hotels, Restaurants & Recreational areas. Other aspect can play major role in the local economy is the ancient markets in the historical Palestinian cities like Nablus, Jerusalem, Jericho, Bethlehem, & Hebron. This can promote the Palestinian industries such as embroidery, olive oil products, Dead Sea products, etc. The other important issue for the tourist is the coastal resorts as recreational zones & physiotherapy centers to live in special experience within the Palestinian context.

Ibrahim Al Khalil Historical Path This is an historical, cultural, & social (hospitality) path, started from 4000 years ago. Mainly it is a pedestrian path with Total length equal 1078 km. . Old historical path: Erbil – Diyarbakir – Urfa – Aleppo – Hums – Damascus – Gilboa – Jenin – Negef – Sina – Tabuk – Medina - Makkah . Current path: Urfa – Negev. see figure (137)

Ibrahim Al-Khalil Path in Palestine In Palestine, it is also a pedestrian path within 21 day. Total length equal 321 Km, extends from the north of West Bank; from Jenin city to the south; Hebron city passing through five cities (Jenin, Nablus, Jericho, Bethlehem, & Hebron).

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Figure (137): Total path of Ibrahim Al-Khalil. Source: Google map.

As seem in figure (138), Ibrahim Al- Khalil Path in the Palestinian lands, passing the West Bank vertically and has several rests in Palestinian heritage villages. Sometimes the rest within local family, other rests in guesthouses, & sometimes they feel the Bedouin camps experience, and through total path tourists pass from the most of the archaeological sites. In the cost of Dead Sea, we proposed extension for the Ibrahim Al- Khalil Path as seen in below figure.

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Figure (138): Ibrahim Al-Khalil Path in Palestine. Source: Author,2017 Religious & Cultural centers development As seen in figure (139), the most important religious & cultural centers such as; Jerusalem, Bethlehem, & Hebron. Also proposed two development areas in Jericho & Gaza as costal resorts & recreational areas. In Jericho & Tubas are proposed to be physiotherapy & cultural cities. In Gaza per comprehensive analysis, we proposed new seaport as seen in the below figure including also tourism development area. In Ramallah, Nablus, & Gaza they have the potential to be cultural & tourism cities.

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Figure (139): Ancient markets, Palestinian historical cities centers. Source: Author,2017.

Ancient markets As we mentioned the important role of the ancient markets within the historical Palestinian cities. In figure (138) shown part of the ancient Jerusalem market, a special spiritual experience the tourists can feel within this place and can’t be forgotten. In figure (140), we can see the five historical Palestinian cities; Nablus, Jericho, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, & Hebron. Each of these cities has special experience.

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Figure (140): Ancient markets, Palestinian historical cities centers. Source: Author,2017

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II. Industrial sector Mainly industrial areas will concentrate around five categories per shown in figure (141); first category is agroindustry & animal Industry. Already there are existing factories for packaging and packing of vegetables, and others for dairy and cheese industry, which concentrated in Jenin, Ramallah, & Bethlehem. Per our vision, we proposed new zones in Gaza, Galgilya & Jericho. Second category is quarries and stone industry; Palestine celebrated by its unique stone and its industry such as CNC & water get techniques. Usually these workshops concentrate in the South between Bethlehem & Hebron. Other industry is the techno park “Information Technology Business Park”; three zones distributed between Palestinian cities adjacent universities to cover West Bank lands, other proposed in Gaza. The Forth category is the light industry for (plastic, Nylon, paper,). Last category will be a seawater desalination station, most Palestinian natural resources occupied by the colonizer, in addition to the potable water, so we have to live & think of alternatives, desalination of the sea is a common solution in many countries have limited water resources. Proposed industrial cities based on comprehensive analysis for the need & areas potentials. Based on local economic analysis, Palestinian depending on “Israeli side” regarding electricity, so we have to think of local alternative, our vision we have the ability to generate electricity by solar panel in two zones; Jericho & Gaza.

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Figure (141): Ancient markets, Palestinian historical cities centers. Source: Author,2017

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Services

In this phase of the project of planning an independent state of Palestine a framework was formulated of the services distribution based on existing services of each governorate and according to future economic development and proposed corridor, as shown in figure 142.

Figure 142: Framework layers. Source: Author,2017.

The future urban expansion and development is guided by the existing environment, biodiversity and natural reserves to avoid urban sprawl and the destruction of the existing biodiversity and ecology. figure 143 shows the green space distribution and its relation with proposed corridor and new urban centers. Creating independent state of Palestine in order to maintain the balanced system of urban settlements needs to appropriate geographic boundaries for the states. The importance of choosing the most suitable level for each center with a special focus on population, geographic distribution and political aspects should also be taken into account.

Figure 143: Ecology and High Value Land. Source: Author,2017. 173

Concept of State Planning:

The new Palestinian state is to be divided into Four main states to receive considerable power to regulate their own affairs competitively. These states are to be created within historical boundaries with identifying a regional center and merging smaller regional entities (districts) into larger states, in order to have a better balanced system of more or less equally strong functional units. The four states are the following: Northern State (Nablus), Middle State (Jerusalem), Southern State (Hebron) and Coastal State (Gaza), see figure 144.

Figure 144: Palestinian state and the four proposed states. Source: Author,2017. 174

Concept of Polycentric Development: A polycentric urban system is to be organized according to the principal of multi-functionality. The decentralized urban structure will be based on the role, size and position of each center. On the other hand, Future distribution of population density is to be implemented on some regional, sub-regional, local centers as well as neighborhoods. As shown in the figure 145, the centers are distributed along the state to achieve polycentricity system.

Figure 145: The Poylcentricity of The New Proposed States. Source: Author,2017. 175

Concept of Connectivity: Efficient connecting links between cities and their hinterland, peripheral and less developed regions supporting the polycentricity at the district level, see Figure 146.

Figure 146: The Connectivity of The New Proposed States. Source: Author,2017. 176

The hierarchy of centers’ classification Theory behind creating the Palestinian service centers is related to the perspective of the Palestinian people of how they define their centers and to the main facilities that allow some regions to become centers. The hierarchy of centers depends mainly on the size of the centers according to the number of inhabitants, the type of function of the center, the number of functions and the accessibility with the region. According to the future development, the regions are classified into four levels of centers based on the number of public services, the served population in each region and the function of the region. The levels are to be classified as follows: 1. Regional Level: At this level, Nablus, Jerusalem, Hebron and Gaza City are considered to be the regional centers as they all already have the appropriate population size, available services and geographic locations in Palestine.

2. Sub-regional Level: At this level, main cities in the region are considered sub-regional according to smaller population size and medium-level services.

3. Local Level: Localities in this level are mainly based on the minimal provided services. They complete the role of the sub-regional centers.

4. Neighborhood Level: At this level, areas with lower development and less services are included. Table 1 includes some but not all existing neighborhoods.

The four main states are to be allocated as follows:

1. Northern State: Nablus is the regional center of the state with approximately current population of 380,000 and a 2030 expected population of 466,000. Figure 147 and table 1 illustrate the centers distribution. The distribution of essential services among the local centers and neighborhoods and the major services are distributed within regional and sub-regional centers, see figure 148.

Figure 147: Main Centers of Northern State. Source: Author,2017.

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Figure 148: Distribution of services of Center. Source: Author,2017.

Table 1: Centers distribution of Northern State. Source: Author, 2017.

List of Localities within each center's Level for new Palestinian State

Regional Sub-Regional District Center Center Local Center Neighbor 'Asira, a- Beit Wazan, Beit Iba Sabastiya Shamaliya 'Awarta 'Askar

Nablus Balata Beita Huwara Jamma'in Salem Tell Aqraba Beit Furik

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Kabalan Faqqu'a Deir Abu Da'if Silat al-Harithiya Birqin al-Yamun Kfar Dan al-Zababdeh al-Judeidah Meithalun Siris Jenin 'Araba Jaba' Qabatiya Kafr Ra'i Silat a-Dhahr 'Ajja Tura al- Barta'a A- Ya'bad Gharbiyah Sharqiya Shams 'Izbat Shufa Anabta Bal'a Beit Lid Tulkarm Qaffin Deir al-Ghusun Attil 'Illar Bardala Tammun Tubas Tayasir al-Far'a 'Aqqaba Azzun Beit Lid Qalqilia Hajja Salfit Bidya a-Zawiya Kafr a-Dik

2. Middle State: Jerusalem is the regional center of the state with approximately current population of 420,000 and a 2030 expected population of 533,000. Figure 149 and table 2 illustrates the centers distribution. The figure 150 shows the distribution of the local centers, neighborhoods, regional and sub-regional centers.

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Figure 119: Main Centers of Middle State. Source: Author, 2017.

Figure 150: Distribution of services of Center of Middle state. Source: Author, 2017. 180

Table 2: Centers distribution of Middle State. Source: Author, 2017.

List of Localities within each center's Level for new Palestinian State

Regional Sub-Regional District Center Center Local Center Neighbor al-'Eizariye Jabal Mukaber Develop new local center a-Sawahrah Sur Baher a-Sharqiya Hizma Shu'fat

'Anata Qatanna Dahiyat al-Bareed Bir Nabala Bidu Beit Hanina al-Jib Kafr 'Aqab Bir Nabala Abu Qash Deir Dobwan Bir Zeit Silwad al-Mazra'a- Jerusalem Ramallah Turmusaya Sinjil Sharqiya al-Birah Bani Zeid Beit Rima Ni'lin Qibya Beit Ur a-Tahta Beit Liqya 'Aqbat Jaber al-'Oja Jericho Develop new local center Al-Jiftlik Fasayil a-Duheisheh Husan Nahhalin al- Khader Bethlehem al-'Ubeidieh Beit Fajjar Beit Sahur Za'tara Tuqu'

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3. Southern State: Hebron is the regional center of the state with approximately current population of 710,000 and a 2030 expected population of 1,006,000. Figure 151 and table 3 illustrates the centers distribution. The figure 152 shows the distribution of the local centers, neighborhoods, regional and sub-regional centers.

Table 3: Centers distribution of Southern State. Source: Author, 2017.

List of Localities within each center's Level for new Palestinian State

Regional Sub-Regional District Center Center Local Center Neighbor

Tapuah Shuyukh Sair, A-Shuyukh, Bani Na'im al-Arrub

Beit Ummer Beit Ula

Surif Kharas Halhul Safa Tarqumya

Beit Kahil

a-Ramadin Beit a-Rush Adh-Dhahiriye al-Burj al-Fauqa Hebron Kureise Imreish

Beit 'Awwa Hadab al-Fawwar

Dura Idthna al-Majd Al-Kum

a-Tapaqa Deir Samit

Khursa

al-Heila Beit 'Amra

Yatta a-Samu' Kahllet al-Maiya Al-Muntar

al-Karmil

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Figure 151: Main Centers of Southern State. Source: Author, 2017.

Figure 152: Distribution of services of Center. Source: Author, 2017.

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4. Coastal State: Gaza is the regional center of the state with approximately current population of 630,000 and a 2030 expected population of 1,037,000. Figure 153 and table 4 illustrates the centers distribution. The figure 154 shows the distribution of the local centers, neighborhoods, regional and sub-regional centers.

Figure 153: Main Centers of Coastal State. Source: Author, 2017.

Figure 154: Distribution of services of Center in Coastal State. Source: Author, 2017. 184

Table 4: Centers distribution of Coastal State. Source: Author, 2017.

List of Localities within each center's Level for new Palestinian State

Regional Sub-Regional District Center Center Local Center Neighbor al-Mughraqa al-Zahra Juhor a-Dik

Develop new local center Jabalya Beit Lahia, Beit Hanun Um al-Naser a-Nuseirat al-Bureij al-Musaddar Deir al-Balah al-Magazi a-Zawayda Wadi a-Salqa al-Qarara Qa'al-Qurein Gaza Bani Sunaila al-Mawasi al-Fukhkhari Khan Yunis Absan Qizan an-Najjar Khuza'a Qa'al-Kharaba Um Kameil al-Shoka Rafah Um al-Kilab Tel al-Sultan al-Bayuk

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Amalgamation Rural centers and some less-developed neighborhoods are merged together in one community center and are provided with essential services such as a: school, clinic, recreational center, service-oriented mini mall and public service facilities. The total population of each amalgamation should not exceed 5000 inhabitant and a maximum distance between each localities of 3 km. In order to represent amalgamation in this study, two examples are highlighted (them being Yatta and Tubas) to describe the term, see figure 155.

A B

Figure 155: examples of amalgamation (A) in Yatta, and (B) in Tubas.

Urban Expansion and Existing Israeli Settlements:

Urban expansion of new neighborhood towns and centers are to be allocated and guided towards areas C. This is best showcased in the Northern and Middle States, as seen in figure 156, the highlighted red areas include new centers and amalgamation of smaller centers that aim to dissolve the remnants of the occupation and absorbing existing illegal Israeli settlements.

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A B

Figure 156: Proposed urban expansion and new centers to replace existing illegal settlements in the (A) Northern State and (B) Middle State. Source: Author, 2017.

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Urban Core

In order to achieve balance development in two part of Palestinian state, two urban cores are considered to complement each other’s, one in West bank and another in Gaza Strip see figure (157). The selection of the two cores based on their potential of development, their geographic location, potential of accommodating population growth and achieve sustainable growth, ability to achieve economic growth in many sectors like tourism, business and industry. Finally, the significance of these urban centers as many of them have historical, culture, religious values and the potential of development and complement each other’s.

Figure (157): The Urban Cores. Source: Author,2017

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In West Bank four urban centers will form the core which are Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Jericho. Each one will have a function according to their potentials; Jerusalem will be the capital and it will have the administrative, culture, financial and tourism functions. Ramallah will have the business function, while Jericho and Bethlehem will have Tourism and culture functions. In Gaza Strip the urban core will include the northern area of the Strip. The function of Gaza will be administrative, business and tourism in addition to the economic value that the seaport will add it. The functions of all urban centers within the cores will be integrated together to achieve the concept of polycentricism.

The population growth will be guided to promote future compact cities and sustainable growth with these concept the urban expansion area in WB core will be along the two side of the proposed corridor with more potential of future development. Urban development aims to achieve urban regeneration, town center revitalization, higher densities, mixed-use development, promotion of public transport, and the concentration of urban development around public transport nodes. The proposed corridor within the cores areas will be easy accessible from all urban centers. The core in WB will have one main station approximately locate in the middle of the core. The tram line will serve from station towards the centers of Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Bethlehem, and from the city centers to amalgamation centers, another tram line will serve form station directly to the local airport in Jerusalem, while Jericho will connect with the corridor by two highways. The Tram lines will also serve inside city centers, these lines and the proposed corridor will enhance and encourage the use of public transportation. In Jericho, the tram will connect the city center with international airport which locate north-east the city which mean that the accessibility to the airport will be within accounted minuets from and to corridor. To avoid the traffic congestion inside inner cities three proposed ring-roads see figure (158). The edge along the Dead Sea will allocated for tourism development which include; recreation, hotels, public beaches, treatment centers to benefit from high value of Dead Sea minerals, and it will include new urban centers to live and work. Based on the role of scientific research and technology in the service of development the core area in WB will include research center in Birzeit according to its potentials because of the existence university and techno-park, the center will promote scientific research and excellence at the regional level. See figure (159).

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Figure (158): West Bank Urban Core. Source: Author, 2017

Figure (159): West Bank Urban Core. Source: Author, 2017 190

The urban growth in Gaza core will be limited due to the high density and lack of available land, but there is a possibility of expansion to the west of the corridor see figure (160), the expansion will be with the same concept in WB. The tram tine will be serve all urban within the Gaza city and connect Gaza with other centers. Due to the lake of land availability the seaport proposed to be in the north of the Strip by landfill the sea and create an island to serve as a seaport. The seaport will be directly connected with the corridor by underground highway, and the station will be in the sea island. The exciting industrial area to the west of Gaza will be connected with corridor. The connection between seaport, airports, and corridor will be easy accessible.

Figure (160): Gaza Strip Urban Core. Source: Author, 2017

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المراجع العربية: مركز االحصاء الوطني الفلسطيني, )6102(, أحوال السكان الفلسطينيين المقيمين في فلسطين. مركز اإلحصاء الوطني الفلسطيني.) 5101(. إحصاءات النقل واالتصاالت في األراضي الفلسطينية التقرير السنوي. .

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