Support Palestinian Local Authorities To Deliver Planning Functions To Communities At Risk Of Displacement In The Israeli Controlled Area C Of The West Bank – The Case Of Khirbet 'Abdallah Al Yunis, Jenin

Spatial planning has proven to be a remarkable entry point for the strengthening of core state functions and supporting state building efforts in Palestine. UN-Habitat and other stakeholders with support from key bilateral partners/donors provided support to MoLG in a range of spatial planning interventions designed to defend the rights of Palestinian communities in Area C and bolster the capacity of core state institutions to perform their functions. By end of 2017 through all initiatives there were 145 multi-layered plans produced with and for Palestinian communities in Area C, over 10,000 Palestinians involved in participatory processes in determining the shape and design of their future built environment, and freezing the eviction and displacement of more than 55,000 Palestinians in the West Bank territory. In addition, EU and EU member states, and like-minded countries like Switzerland are supporting the implementation of a range of social infrastructure projects in the Palestinian communities that has prepared local outline plans in Area C through the Municipal Development and Lending Fund (MDLF). Under a previous financial support from the EU and UK/DFID, UN-Habitat and MoLG with contributions from local partners and stakeholders have adopted the Policy Paper “Towards Establishing Local Planning Committees and Adapting Local Outline Plans in Area C as De-Facto Planning and Implementation Model.” The Policy Paper recommends the establishment of LPCs to ensure planning control functions and coordination commensurate to that already occurring in Areas A and B. The activation/establishment of LPCs would allow local authorities to provide planning functions across Areas A, B, and C, build intra-governmental collaboration, extend the management reach of MoLG, and utilize spatial planning as an instrument for improved coordination of service delivery at the local level and fostering of territorial economic development. The latter point is especially important should local government have to step in during an emergency or crisis to support the coordination of services by non-government actors. The Success Story of Al ‘Aqaba In 2011, two years before the submission of its local outline plan to the ICA, an ad-hoc LPC was established in the village of Al ‘Aqaba to the north-east of Tubas city in Tubas governorate. Al ‘Aqaba is a small Palestinian village scattered across one of the many rolling hills at the edge of the Jordan Valley. Since then, the LPC of Al ‘Aqaba has issued 43 building permits, without receiving any demolition orders from the ICA. The Israeli military continues to use 2,000 dunums of the village land for military exercises, which has resulted in disruption of life in the village, including deaths of villagers, and expropriation of land previously used by the village for agriculture. Because of these Israeli policies, the villagers are unable to use more than 60 percent of their arable land . The existence of Al ‘Aqaba LPC, in line with the local adoption of its outline plan, paved the way for the implementation of several development projects with total budget of about USD 200,000, that is supporting the resilience of 216 inhabitants living in the village . Purpose and Justification Local Priorities The project aims at supporting the Palestinian local authorities to deliver planning functions to communities at risk of displacement in the Israeli controlled Area C of the West Bank by piloting the case of Khirbet 'Abdallah Al Yunis in Jenin. This will contribute to providing safe, gender-sensitive, inclusive, and resilient built environment that would have a broader positive impact, especially on youth and women groups who will be engaged in the process. The activation of LPC will complement the work that has been initiated in partnership with local community based on the statutory planning tool - local outline plan - prepared and submitted to the ICA. This planning approach confirms with the policy adopted by UN agencies working in Area C. National Priorities The activation of LPC is in alignment with priority no. 2 of the Area C Strategic Framework 2018-2019 re. enhance and empower the work of local government units in Area C and extend their management/ administrative reach to respond more nimbly to the needs of local population. This is of course in alignment with pillar 2 of National Policy Agenda 2017-2022 related to enhancing public services provision. In the same time, the project responds to the UNDAF Strategic Priority2: Supporting equal access to accountable, effective and responsive democratic governance for all.  International PrioritiesThis project contributes to realizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda adopted by State of Palestine. More specifically, the project will contribute to localizing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 11 SDG 16).