ABSTRACT
Planning for construction "in the West Bank is based on procedures set out in the Jordanian Town and Village Planning Law of 1966, as amended and in fact made meaningless by various military orders. The authorities' involvement was also limited at first and for all intents and purposes its efforts were confined to preventing construction in sensitive military areas. Physical infrastructure is primarily planned to accommodate Israeli interests - especially settlement construction, Jewish agricultural construction and military needs. In the relative absence of unemployment, obtaining qualified construction workers for West Bank/ Gaza Strip projects may sometimes be difficult, especially as these are more highly paid in Israel. The area commander and through him the military, the Civil Administration, and eventually the Israel government, have assumed effective control over all aspects of life in which the law is involved, including commerce and construction.
