Palestinian land laws

Palestinian land laws dictate how Palestinians are to handle their ownership of land under the Palestinian National Authority—currently only in the West Bank (see governance of the Gaza Strip). Most notably, these laws prohibit Palestinians from selling any Palestinian-owned lands to "any man or judicial body corporation of Israeli citizenship, living in Israel or acting on its behalf". These land laws were originally enacted during the Jordanian rule of the West Bank, which began after Jordan's partial victory during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and ended after the sweeping defeat of the Arab coalition to the Israeli military during the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, following which the territory was occupied by Israel. Land sales by Palestinians to Israelis are considered treasonous by the former to the Palestinian national cause because they threaten the aspiration for an independent Palestinian state. The prohibition on land-selling to Israelis in these laws is also stated as enforced in order to "halt the spread of moral, political and security corruption". Consequently, Palestinians who sell land to Israelis can be sentenced to death under Palestinian governance, although death penalties are seldom carried out; capital punishment has to be approved by the President of the Palestinian National Authority.