Public Administration in Palestine
Copyright (c) 2019 AARMS – Academic and Applied Research in Military Science
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The copyright to this article is transferred to the University of Public Service Budapest, Hungary (for U.S. government employees: to the extent transferable) effective if and when the article is accepted for publication. The copyright transfer covers the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute the article, including reprints, translations, photographic reproductions, microform, electronic form (offline, online) or any other reproductions of similar nature.
The author warrants that this contribution is original and that he/she has full power to make this grant. The author signs for and accepts responsibility for releasing this material on behalf of any and all co-authors.
An author may make an article published by University of Public Service available on a personal home page provided the source of the published article is cited and University of Public Service is mentioned as copyright holder
Abstract
The Palestinian administrative system is distinctive, relative to either the historical context or the political environment. The former is characterized by the absence of a national power, while the latter is perpetually unstable. The state-building process in Palestine has followed an inverse path, in that staffing preceded the drafting of structures, while goals and job descriptions have been pre-empted by seemingly random political appointments. This study focuses on the history of this public administration, its main characteristics, and the system’s efficiency. The methodology is descriptive. The paper demonstrates that, in spite of obstacles such as the restrictions of the occupation and the shortage of resources, the Palestinian administrative system is progressing. This progress was most obvious during the last years because of good governance practices, especially the reduction of expenditures and the improvements in public services. The Palestinian administrative system still suffers from problems like over-staffing, poor institutional coordination and inadequate attention to the agriculture and industry sectors, which limit progress and increases the public debt.