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Power of attorney for Palestine, from the United States.

A wakala is what lets someone act for you back home — sell a parcel, collect a deed, represent you in court — without you getting on a plane. Here is how one is made, and why so many get rejected.

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In short

You can give someone in Palestine a power of attorney (wakala) without traveling to Palestine, but the route depends on what it is for. A wakala to sell, transfer or mortgage land must be signed in person at a Palestinian embassy or consulate; the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not authenticate one made anywhere else. There is no Palestinian mission in the U.S., so that means one abroad, such as the embassy in Amman. For other matters, a wakala signed before a U.S. notary can be certified by your state, the U.S. Department of State and a Palestinian embassy. Either way, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs then authenticates it.

Last updated: October 8, 2026 · Written by the Biladi team

At a glance
Who it is for	Palestinians in the U.S. who need someone to sell, register, collect or go to court for them back home
Kinds of wakala	General · general to sell real estate · special · special to sell inherited land
To sell land	A special wakala naming the parcel by village or town, basin and parcel number, or a general one that expressly covers property sales
The two routes	Land sale, transfer or mortgage: signed in person at a Palestinian embassy or consulate → Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Other matters: U.S. notary → Secretary of State → U.S. Department of State → Palestinian embassy abroad → Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Is an apostille enough?	No. Palestine, Jordan and Syria are not parties to the Hague Apostille Convention
Most common rejection	A general wakala used to sell land, when standard ones exclude real estate

What it is

General or special: which power of attorney do you need?

A power of attorney — wakala — is a written authority letting a named person act in your place. Nearly every property, inheritance and court matter back home can be handled with one. Without it, institutions will not deal with your relative, your friend, or your lawyer, however willing they are to help.

The distinction that trips people up is between the two kinds, because getting it wrong means starting over:

General power of attorney — broad authority over your affairs. Standard versions usually exclude the sale of real estate.
General power of attorney to sell real estate — a separate, wider instrument that expressly covers selling property.
Special power of attorney — authority for one named act on one named parcel. The usual choice for a single sale.
Special power of attorney to sell inherited land — its own form, used when the parcel is not yet registered in your name.

The chain

How is a power of attorney for Palestine legalized from the U.S.?

Match the route to the purpose

Selling, transferring or mortgaging land? The wakala must be signed at a Palestinian embassy or consulate. For other matters, it can start with a U.S. notary.

Sign

In person at the embassy, or before a U.S. notary followed by certification by your state's Secretary of State and the U.S. Department of State.

Palestinian embassy

There is no Palestinian mission in the U.S., so a Palestinian embassy abroad, such as the one in Amman, issues or authenticates the wakala.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates authenticates it before it is used in Palestine. We confirm the route with you before you sign.

An apostille is not a shortcut. People are often told at a notary or courthouse that an apostille makes a document internationally valid. For this region that advice is wrong and it is expensive — Jordan, Palestine and Syria are not parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, so each needs its own chain of embassy and foreign-ministry attestation. A document with only an apostille will usually be refused, after you have paid for it.

What you need

What documents do you need for a wakala?

Your passport, and your Palestinian identity document if you hold one
The full name, identity number and address of the person you are authorizing
A land registration extract for the parcel — or, for unregistered land, a Property Tax (maliyeh) extract — issued recently (for a sale, the Palestinian Embassy in Amman asks for one no older than a month)
Proof of inheritance, if the parcel is not yet registered in your name
The exact land identifiers — village or town, basin and parcel numbers (and neighborhood, if any) — not a description
Photographs or copies as the embassy specifies, in the sizes it specifies

Where it goes wrong

Why do powers of attorney get rejected?

The wrong kind was used — a general wakala that silently excludes selling land
The parcel is described loosely instead of by its registry numbers
A supporting extract had gone stale by the time it was submitted
A name is spelled differently across the passport, the ID and the registry
An apostille was obtained instead of full consular legalization

Each of these is discovered late, usually by the person standing at a counter back home on your behalf. Every correction means another round of notarization, authentication and legalization, and another few months.

And then?

What happens after the wakala is legalized?

Plenty of firms will get a document stamped. What they do not do is the part that follows: someone has to take that wakala to the land registry, deal with the objection nobody warned you about, appear at the hearing, chase the file when it stalls, and tell you in plain language what actually happened.

That is the work Biladi does. We prepare the wakala in the right form the first time, walk it through the chain, and then use it — through vetted professionals on the ground in Palestine, Jordan and Syria — while you deal with one point of contact here in the United States.

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Questions

Power of attorney for Palestine: common questions

Do I have to travel to Palestine to sell my land?

In most cases, no. You grant a power of attorney that names the parcel and the exact act, and someone you trust acts for you on the ground. A wakala to sell land must be signed in person at a Palestinian embassy or consulate, such as the one in Amman, and then authenticated by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs before a land registry will accept it.

What is the difference between a general and a special power of attorney?

A general power of attorney covers broad categories of business, but a standard general wakala usually excludes the sale of real estate. Selling land normally needs either a general power of attorney that expressly covers property sales, or a special power of attorney naming the specific parcel and act.

Can I sign in front of any U.S. notary?

Only for matters that do not involve selling, transferring or mortgaging land, and even then a notary stamp alone carries no weight back home: the document must be certified by your state, the U.S. Department of State and a Palestinian embassy abroad, then authenticated by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A wakala to sell, transfer or mortgage land cannot be made before a U.S. notary at all: the Ministry requires it to be drawn up at a Palestinian embassy or consulate. Since the PLO office in Washington closed in 2018, there has been none in the United States, so this means a mission abroad, such as the one in Amman.

Do Jordan and Syria work the same way?

The shape is similar; the final steps differ. Jordan is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention: after the state and U.S. Department of State steps, the Embassy of Jordan in Washington legalizes the document, and Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs then authenticates it. Syria is not a party either: a power of attorney made abroad is normally signed at, or legalized by, a Syrian embassy or consulate and then certified by the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and property matters can need further clearances in Syria. In all three, an apostille on its own is not enough.

How long does a power of attorney stay valid?

It depends on the drafting and on the authority that will accept it. Some are open-ended and some expire. Supporting documents have their own limits: for a land-sale wakala, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs asks for a land registration deed issued within the last six months (30 days for an irrevocable wakala), and the Palestinian Embassy in Amman asks for one no older than a month.

Can I cancel one after granting it?

Usually yes, but revocation is a formal act in its own right. It has to be recorded and communicated to the authorities back home before it has practical effect. Deciding privately that you have changed your mind does not stop an agent still holding a legalized original.

This guide is general information about a process, not legal advice, and requirements change. Biladi is not a law firm and does not practice law in the United States. See our disclaimer.

Sources

Official sources behind this guide

Requirements change. These are the official pages this guide relies on. Check them, or ask us, before you sign anything.

Need a wakala that will actually be accepted?

Tell us what you need done back home. We will tell you which document it takes, what it will require from you, and what happens after it is stamped. It starts with a confidential $75 consultation, credited in full toward your service fee if you go ahead.

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