Could you please explain to me whether or not something I heard about Palestine is correct or not? I heard that Palestine is a Wakf, i.e. it is a Muslim trusts could you please confirm that to me along with the Islamic evidence.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

The scholars agreed that when 'Umar conquered Ancient Syria, he set it as an endowment. The reason was that during his reign there were many conquests and the Islamic state expanded, therefore its expenses increased. So, 'Umar considered that he should not divide the land which was conquered by force among the conquerors, rather he thought of setting it as an endowment for all the Muslims and imposed a given tax on whoever sows the land.

Al-Awzaa'i said: 'When 'Umar, and the companions conquered Ancient Syria, they agreed to leave village dwellers in their villages with whatever land they had, so that they would cultivate it and pay tax on it to the Muslims. They were of the view that no Muslim should buy the land that these villagers had, and these villagers should not sell it to them neither by their own will nor being forced to do so. The Muslims disliked buying or appropriating the land because 'Umar, and the companions agreed to set these lands as an endowment for the entire Muslims. This land should not be sold or inherited as it will be used as a force in making Jihaad against the non-Muslims whom the Muslims have not yet fought against.'

Allaah Knows best.