Introduction Processes of urban planning are generally presented as positive, equitable and legitimate innovations aiming at producing better spatial, social and economic human environments.5 However, it is essential to realize that planning is not just a professional and technical procedure, but also a sociopolitical action that determines the allocation of resources.6 Therefore, the design and organization of space often serve as a political strategy.7 In this Working Paper, we will look into issues of zoning and planning in Mandate Palestine (Israel proper, the West Bank including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip). Although the whole territory of Mandate Palestine is under the control of one authority, Israel, each territorial unit has a legal framework based on the different legal systems applied in that specific piece of land. Israeli zoning and planning policies aim to contain the growing Palestinian population. As a result, thousands of Palestinian families live in overcrowded and unsafe conditions because they are prevented from using their land or accessing public land. The natural growth in population, in addition to the lack of modern facilities and infrastructure, leaves many families in substandard, underdeveloped living conditions. This Working Paper shows how Israeli zoning and planning policies adapt in space and time, and the role they have been playing in the inexorable displacement of Palestinians. Following the pattern outlined in the Introduction Paper for this Series, zoning and planning policies have been put in place since the Nakba in 1948 and the establishment of Israel as a result, until this day. Different geopolitical locations in Mandate Palestine have been subject to different legal, and thus zoning and planning regimes. Planning and zoning laws seek to regulate and control rural and urban development and land use.8 There is no specific international instrument covering zoning and planning, and even the international legal framework covering the right to property is quite limited. However, zoning and planning 5 6 7 8 Jabareen, “The Politics of State Planning in Achieving Geopolitical Ends,” 27. Khamaisi, “Barriers in Achieving Urban Planning Rights in Jerusalem’s Socio-Cultural Conflict,” 14. Chiodelli, “The Jerusalem Master Plan: Planning into the Conflict,” 5. Chief Justice Robert French AC, “Property, Planning and Human Rights.” 9