Strengths

Weaknesses

- Abundant availability of solar radiation.

- Relative availability of other renewable energy sources such as wind.

- Rainwater is generally available, and can partially meet the domestic water demand.

- Availability of local industry for some sustainable systems such as solar thermal collectors.

- Universities and research institutes are of high potential.

- Availability of a diverse engineering sector.

- Palestine has many climatic zones, this is a challenge to the design of the green building.

- Domestic waste is not recycled or efficiently reused.

- Lack of public awareness regarding sustainability and green building concepts.

- Absence of governmental intervention and relative legislations.

- Inadequate technical capacity.

- Unavailability of natural building materials, with the exception of natural stone in the West Bank and sand in Gaza Strip.

- Unavailability of sufficient local funds, and weakness of people’s financial capacity.

Opportunities

Threats

- Availability of international donors.

- Implementing sustainability can be promoted by motivating incentives.

- The proposed mass housing projects represent an opportunity to implement sustainability concepts.

- Political instability.

- Lack of unity between Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

- Israeli restrictions on basic building materials, namely in Gaza.