GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Ministry of Finance in the Gaza Strip is advertising that its Land Authority will sell the site of the police station in Sheikh Radwan, west of Gaza City. The announcement earlier this month raised many questions about the legality of such a sale.

The Land Authority in the Gaza Strip is a government body responsible for all official transactions of government and public lands.

Safi al-Mahdouh, a lawyer focusing on land affairs, told Al-Monitor that the applicable law in the Palestinian territories prohibits selling government land without a direct authorization from the head of state. "Such transactions must be directly authorized by the head of state, which is referred to in the law as the high representative,” Mahdouh added.

Hassan Abu Riala, deputy director of the Gaza Strip Land Authority, told Al-Monitor the sale announcement was made after the Gaza government ordered the Land Authority to sell the site. He refused to answer further questions, saying, “I suggest you speak to the Ministry of Interior, which is the competent authority. The Land Authority is only instructed to make the sale.”