AI regulation in Palestine: laws & policy (2026)

Legal framework

Palestinian National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (2023), led by the Ministry of Telecommunications and Digital Economy; non-binding strategy and responsible-AI principles rather than enacted AI legislation.

Key points: artificial intelligence in Palestine

1. 01National AI Strategy (2023)

   In 2021 the Palestinian Council of Ministers formed a national AI team, headed by the Ministry of Telecommunications and Digital Economy with government, academic and private-sector members; it produced a National AI Strategy launched in 2023 covering government modernization, sectoral development, legal framework and capacity building.

   trade.gov

2. 02No binding AI law yet

   There is no comprehensive or sector-specific AI statute in force. The strategy itself only calls for building a legal framework addressing human rights, monitoring, liability, fairness, accountability and transparency, work that is still planned, not enacted.

   trade.gov

3. 03Priority sectors

   The strategy's first phase targets AI in transportation, energy, agriculture, environment, water management, healthcare, Arabic-language processing, economic planning, manufacturing, smart infrastructure, tourism and cybersecurity, plus integration into government services.

   trade.gov unescwa.org

4. 04UNESCO ethics alignment

   Palestine engaged with UNESCO's ethics-of-AI framework, using the Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) to gauge preparedness for ethical/responsible AI, and was among the pilot countries for the Global Index on Responsible AI completed in September 2023.

   unesco.org trade.gov

5. 05Data protection still draft

   A supporting personal-data-protection legal foundation is not settled: civil-society body 7amleh analyzed a Personal Data Protection draft law-by-decree from a human-rights perspective, indicating the privacy framework underpinning AND AI accountability remains at the draft stage.

   7amleh.org

6. 06Early-stage implementation

   Implementation is nascent, governance bodies, draft instruments, pilot programs in education and data infrastructure, and university AI/robotics programs, but institutionalization is described as still in early stages, with no enforcement regime.

   council.science unescwa.org

Sources

1. 1.trade.gov/market-intelligence/west-bank-palestinian-national-strategy-artificia
2. 2.unescwa.org/news/new-technologies-and-artificial-intelligence-palestine
3. 3.unesco.org/ethics-ai/en/articles/tracking-national-commitments-global-index-resp
4. 4.7amleh.org/post/position-paper-personal-data-protection-draft-law-by-decree-from
5. 5.council.science/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/AI-Paper-Case-Study-Palestine_V2.pdf