Abstract
The construction industry is an important sector for the development of the Gaza Strip. A key factor to a successful construction project is to complete the project without any claims occurrence. Nonetheless, claims are very common in the construction industry of Palestine. The aim of this paper is to identify and rank the existing causes of claims according to their relative importance in the construction industry from the perspective of the local contractors. The paper reports on a questionnaire-based research investigation targeting local contractors by analyzing their perception towards causes of claims. The results found the main causes of claims and they are: awarding bid to the lower bidder; border closures; residents' interference during project implementation; road blockage and difficulties in passing between cities and governorate It was found that owners may not award the contract to the lowest responsive bidder. Owners may coordinate with the local residents of the area to inform them about the benefit of projects. Owners may assist contractors in removing obstacles of the project site to avoid delays. It is hoped that these findings will guide efforts to improve the performance of the construction industry and will be useful to international engineering and construction companies seeking a share in the Palestine and regional markets.