The Palestinian Authority (PA) is in theearly phase of its e‐government journey and aims to utilizeICT to deliver services to its citizens and businesses toimprove social well‐being and facilitate economicdevelopment. The PA aims to serve 12.1 million Palestiniansin the West Bank (2.7 million), the Gaza Strip (1.7million), and the remaining 7.7 million Palestinians who aredispersed among 28 different countries. Many Palestiniansare refugees, including more than one million in the GazaStrip, 750,000 in the West Bank, and about 250,000 inIsrael. Of the Palestinian population residing abroad,otherwise known as the Palestinian diaspora, more than halfare considered stateless, lacking citizenship in anycountry. The combination of the ongoing Israeli‐Palestinianconflict as well as the diaspora situation makesimplementation of e‐government projects in the West Bank andGaza (WBG) unique and complex. A review of e‐governmentdocumentation and stakeholder interviews reveals that the PAhas made reasonable progress on e‐government amidst achallenging environment, but it is still in the nascentphase in terms of delivering benefits to its constituents.There are numerous challenges for the successfulimplementation of e‐government, including geopoliticalconflict, insufficient legislation to facilitate electronictransactions, limited budget to support e‐governmentprojects, inadequate policies and standards, and limitedcapacity within the e‐government unit under the Ministry ofTelecommunications and Information Technology (MTIT). The PAis at a key moment in its e‐government journey. It is anopportunistic time to drive modernization of its publicadministration and public service delivery through use ofICT, offer better services to citizens, and promote economic growth.
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