Palestine

The Palestinian territory is located in the Middle East and is made by two parts, the West Bank northeast of the Dead Sea, and the Gaza Strip which extends along the Mediterranean Sea reaching the border with Egypt to the southwest. The West Bank extends over an area of 5,660 km² and is formed by a fairly barren and arid hilly and mountainous territory, which slightly exceeds a thousand meters in height in the Nabi Yunis, (1,030 m.); the Gaza Strip, on the other hand, extends for about 365 km² and is mostly flat.

The only river of a certain size and length is the Jordan, (250 km in total, including Israeli and Jordanian sections), which flows into the Dead Sea.

The climate is Mediterranean with rather hot summers and medium rainfall concentrated in the winter period.

Palestine is administratively divided into 16 Governorates, (5 in the Gaza Strip, 11 in the West Bank). East Jerusalem has 311,000 inhabitants, the effective administrative centers are Ramallah, with 43,000 inhabitants in the West Bank, and Gaza with 707,000 inhabitants and an urban agglomeration of 1,681,000. 

Climate Change is causing severe water stress on the Palestinian territory.

The known conflict between Israel and Palestine leads to a struggle for the use of natural resources. The vast desert areas, the scarcity of rains and the low quality of the water of the Jordan, scarce and brackish, in facts become further instruments of clash.

Bilateral cooperation with Palestine begins with the signing, on February 23, 2016, of the first Memorandum of Understanding between MASE and the Palestine Environment Quality Authority, (EQA). Today the cooperation between the two countries continues due to the signing of the new Memorandum of Understanding which identifies joint initiatives on mitigation and adaptation.

Cooperation, Italy and Palestine renew Environmental Agreement

Rome, June 6, 2023 – The Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin and Ms. Adalah Atira, Minister of Environment Quality Authority of Palestine, (EQA) have signed the new Memorandum of Understanding. This has a duration of 5 years and renews the collaboration in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development.

Bilateral cooperation with Palestine began on February 23, 2016, with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, focused in particular on waste management, reduction of air pollution, contrast to soil degradation, protection of biodiversity, improvement of monitoring the state of the environment, and strengthening the legal and institutional framework for its defense and protection.

Counterpart: the Environment Quality Authority of Palestine, (EQA).

Intervention areas:

• Improve water resource management and protect water-related ecosystems, (SDG 6);
• Promote access to sustainable, renewable and efficient energy, (SDG7);
• Encourage sustainable consumption and production patterns, (SDG 12);
• Strengthen and coordinate the efforts to combat global climate change and address its adverse effects, (SDG 13);
• Promote sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources, (SDG 14);
• Protect, restore and enhance the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, (SDG 15);
• Enhance international support for capacity building in developing countries, (SDG 17).