Palestine launches its first agricultural cluster
The Palestinian government decided to allow investors to use Palestinian endowment lands in the West Bank for new agricultural projects that contribute to the advancement of the Palestinian economy and to protect them from Israeli expropriation.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Palestinian government is moving forward in its 100-day plan that was approved in May to promote the Palestinian economy and strengthen partnership between the public and private sectors.
On Sept. 3, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced that endowment lands in the West Bank will be available for investors.
Endowment lands are areas of land that no one is allowed to own, according to Islamic law. They are rather rented, with the rental proceeds exclusively going to the Palestinian Ministry of Religious Endowments. All of these lands have been registered in the name of this ministry in accordance with Article 57 of Jordanian Law No. 26 of 1996 on Awqaf (Arabic for religious endowments) and Islamic affairs and holy places, currently applicable in the West Bank.
Shtayyeh made this announcement while launching the first agricultural cluster in Qalqilya governorate in the northern West Bank. The cluster project, to which the Palestinian government allocated $23 million, aims to reclaim agricultural lands, establish new water wells and cultivate all of the areas allocated for agriculture in Qalqilya.
