Land Registration, Management, Rights and Urban Planning in Palestine

The process of land registration is an essential issue that contributes to securing tenure and developing communities. There has been great interest in developing the land registration process throughout history. In Palestine, different regimes ruled the country over the past century (Ottoman, British, Jordanian, and Israeli) which aimed to impose their control and manage land development. This created many obstacles and hindered the land registration process to this day. This chapter deals with land registration process as an effective tool in urban planning and urban development in Palestine. A case study approach was conducted to analyse two projects in two urban areas (Abu Falah and Bil’in in Ramallah governance). Literature and data (qualitative and quantitative) were collected from several theoretical reviews, map analyses, field visits, and personal interviews. According to the analysis, the new procedures of land registration developed new guidelines which combined urban planning and land registration with effective community participation. It also created a land information database which facilitated the decision-making process. As long-term consequences, land registration process contributed to developing infrastructure, improving investments, and land markets. Eventually, this research proved that land registration process has created social, economic, and political tools for urban planning and urban development in Palestine.