Israeli Civil Administration

The Civil Administration (Hebrew: המנהל האזרחי‎, Ha-Minhal ha-Ezrahi) , is the Israeli governing body that operates in Judea and Samaria. It was established by the government of Israel in 1981, in order to carry out practical bureaucratic functions within the territories conquered in 1967. The Civil Administration is a part of a larger entity known as Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which is a unit in the Defense Ministry of Israel.

The nature of this body was defined in the Military decree # 947, by the 1967 military government of the West Bank and Gaza:

"We hereby establish a Civil Administration in the region [West Bank and Gaza]. The Civil Administration shall run all regional civil matters, correspondingly to this [Military] decree, for the wellbeing and for the sake of [local] population, and with the purpose of providing and operating the public services, considering the need to maintain a proper governance and public order".

The IDF description of the mandate of the Civil Administration purports that "the unit acts as a source of information integrating human quality and technological progress which coordinates activities of government bureaus, the IDF, and security establishments opposite the Palestinians through the application of government policies in factors pertaining to civilians. Additionally, the "MATPASH" Unit promotes humanitarian issues, infrastructure projects, and economical projects."^[1]

The Civil Administration is practically a "counterpart" of the Interior Ministry of Israel, and operates with its nine Israeli – District Coordination Offices (DCO), operating in the areas of Judea and Samaria. The Civil Administration is responsible for all Administrative aspects of the local population within Area C of the West Bank, and is responsible for coordinating with the Palestinian Authority, which has full administrative authority in Area A, and limited authority in Area B, as per the Oslo Accords. Among other things, it is responsible for the entrance permits from the West Bank to Israel, travel permits within the West bank, and work permits (for Palestinians seeking to enter from the West Bank to Israel in order to work).

The Civil Administration that operates as part of the COGAT unit, receives its budget from the Israeli Government.

See also

• Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT)

References

^[2]

1. ^ Dover
2. ^ Dover. "Coordinator of Government Operations in the Territories", Dover Tsahal, 2010. Retrieved on 2010-12-31.

External links

• Official COGAT/MATPASH Website
• IDF Spokesperson's Description
• Israeli gov't hiring inspectors to enforce settlement freeze, Palestine Note (blog), 30 November 2009
• Barak boosts building inspector staff, Tovah Lazaroff, Jerusalem Post, 30 November 2009
• Israel to Recruit More Building Inspectors to Enforce a Freeze on West Bank Construction, Isabel Kershner, New York Times, 29 November 2009