The laws in force today in the Gaza Strip come from 5 different sources, reflecting the 5 different authorities (Ottoman, British, Egyptian, Israeli, Palestinian Authority) which have controlled the Gaza Strip, as part of Palestine, in the twentieth century.
The laws of the Ottoman empire were used for approximately 400 years until 1917. By the mid-nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire was being influenced by legal developments in Europe, particularly France, which lead to the codification of many of laws including the Land Code of 1857, and Civil Code (Mejelle in Arabic) which to a great extent are still in force today.
As part of Palestine, the Gaza Strip was occupied from 1918 to 1948 by the British military. During this British Mandate Period, the British government exercised full powers of legislation and administration. The laws in force as of 1917 continued except to the extent that they were subsequently amended or replaced by British Mandate laws. During this 30-year period, there was extensive legislative activity , and many of the laws from this period are still in force today.
After the war of 1948 with Israel, the Gaza Strip was administered by Egypt. However, it was not annexed by Egypt and only a few Egyptian statutes were enforced inside Gaza. Further, Gaza had its own independent legislature, judiciary and executive body. Therefore, the pre-existing mix of Ottoman and British laws remained in force, even with the enactment by the Palestinian legislative council of Basic Laws in 1955 and 1962 which served as constitutions for Gaza.
After the Six-Day War of 1967, Israeli forces occupied the Gaza Strip. The military commander of the Israeli occupation forces, and later his delegate in the Civil Administration, have exercised legislative, executive and judicial powers inside Gaza. The Israel military courts and military committees had complete jurisdiction over certain criminal matters, all land disputes, taxes, natural resources and fiscal matters. Pursuant to military enactments, Israeli settlers inside Gaza were not subject to local laws but only to Israeli laws. Since 1967, there have been approximately 1,300 military orders issued as well as many more which have never been published.
See Palestinian Self-governing Territories
In summary, the laws in force today in Gaza are mainly from the
British Mandate period except as amended or revoked by Israeli
military orders.