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'{{About|the disputed territory|administrative area of Jordan from 1948 to 1967|Jordanian occupation of the West Bank|Israeli official term for the Jewish settlement blocks in the area|Judea and Samaria Area}} {{Other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2013}} {{Infobox settlement | name = West Bank | native_name = | native_name_lang = <!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead --> | | settlement_type = | population_demonym = West Banker, [[Palestinian Arabs]], [[Samaritans]], [[Israeli settlement|Israeli settlers]] | image_skyline = File:We-map.png | image_alt = | image_caption = The West Bank ({{lang-ar|الضفة الغربية}} ''aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah'', {{lang-he-n|הַגָּדָה הַמַּעֲרָבִית}}, [[Romanization of Hebrew|translit.]] ''HaGadah HaMa'aravit''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Karayanni|first1=Michael|title=Conflicts in a Conflict|date=2014|page=xi}}</ref> | nickname = | area_total_km2 = 5,640 | population_total = 2,345,107 | subdivision_type = | subdivision_name = }} The '''West Bank''' ({{lang-ar|الضفة الغربية}} ''{{transl|ar|DIN|aḍ-Ḍiffah l-Ġarbiyyah}}''; {{lang-he|הגדה המערבית}}, ''HaGadah HaMa'aravit'' or '''Cisjordan'''<ref>Israel Defense Forces, Ordinance No. 187, "Ordinance about Interpretation", "The term Region of Yehuda ve-HaŠomron will be identical in meaning, for all purposes, including any legal issue or security legislation, to the term Region of HaGada HaMa'aravit", 17 December 1967, Major General Uzi Narkis, Commander of Central District and IDF Forces in the Region of ''HaGada HaMa'aravit''. Published in Hebrew and Arabic in [http://www.law.idf.il/Templates/GetFile/GetFile.aspx?FileName=XGF5b3NoLWRvY3NcdGhpa2Fca2FtemFtXGF5YTAyLTAwOS5wZGY=&InfoCenterItem=true Collection no. 9 of ordinances for the West Bank], 22 January 1968, p. 368</ref><ref>Dishon (1973) Dishon Record 1968 Published by Shiloah Institute (later the [[Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies]]) and John Wiley and Sons, ISBN 0-470-21611-5 p 441</ref> is a [[landlock]]ed territory near the [[Mediterranean]] coast of [[Western Asia]], forming the bulk of the [[State of Palestine]]. The West Bank shares boundaries ([[Demarcation line|demarcated]] by the [[Jordan]]ian-[[Israel]]i [[1949 Armistice Agreements|armistice of 1949]]) to the west, north, and south with the state of [[Israel]], and to the east, across the [[Jordan River]], with [[Jordan]]. The West Bank also contains a significant coastline along the western bank of the [[Dead Sea]].<ref name="CIA"/> The West Bank, including [[East Jerusalem]], has a land area of 5,640&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> and 220&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> water, the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea.<ref name="CIA">{{cite web| url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html| title= The World Factbook – Middle East: West Bank| publisher= Central Intelligence Agency See also [[Geography of the West Bank]]}}</ref> It has an estimated population of 2,676,740 (July 2013).<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web| url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html| title=The World Factbook - Middle East: West Bank| publisher= Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref> More than 80%, about 2,100,000,<ref name="CIA"/> are [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] Arabs, and approximately 500,000 are [[Israeli Jews|Jewish Israelis]] living in the West Bank,<ref name="CIA"/> including about 192,000 in East Jerusalem,<ref name="haaretz-27July2009">{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1103125.html |title=IDF: More than 300,000 settlers live in West Bank |work=Haaretz |location=Israel |accessdate=9 May 2010}}</ref> in [[Israeli settlements]]. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, illegal under [[international law]], though Israel disputes this.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Prolonged Military Occupation: The Israeli-Occupied Territories Since 1967|last=Roberts|first=Adam|author-link=Adam Roberts (scholar)|journal=The American Journal of International Law|volume=84|issue=1|publisher=American Society of International Law|pages=85–86|quote=The international community has taken a critical view of both deportations and settlements as being contrary to international law. General Assembly resolutions have condemned the deportations since 1969, and have done so by overwhelming majorities in recent years. Likewise, they have consistently deplored the establishment of settlements, and have done so by overwhelming majorities throughout the period (since the end of 1976) of the rapid expansion in their numbers. The Security Council has also been critical of deportations and settlements; and other bodies have viewed them as an obstacle to peace, and illegal under international law..|doi=10.2307/2203016}}</ref><ref name=maj>{{Cite book|title=The Italian Yearbook of International Law|volume=14|year=2005|editor1-last=Conforti|editor1-first=Benedetto|editor2-last=Bravo|editor2-first=Luigi|first=Marco|last=Pertile|chapter='Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory': A Missed Opportunity for International Humanitarian Law?|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|isbn=978-90-04-15027-0|page=141|quote=the establishment of the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has been considered illegal by the international community and by the majority of legal scholars.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|journal=International Journal of Constitutional Law|title=Israel: The security barrier—between international law, constitutional law, and domestic judicial review|publisher=Oxford University Press|volume=4|last=Barak-Erez|first=Daphne|author-link=Daphne Barak Erez|year=2006|page=548|quote=The real controversy hovering over all the litigation on the security barrier concerns the fate of the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. Since 1967, Israel has allowed and even encouraged its citizens to live in the new settlements established in the territories, motivated by religious and national sentiments attached to the history of the Jewish nation in the land of Israel. This policy has also been justified in terms of security interests, taking into consideration the dangerous geographic circumstances of Israel before 1967 (where Israeli areas on the Mediterranean coast were potentially threatened by Jordanian control of the West Bank ridge). The international community, for its part, has viewed this policy as patently illegal, based on the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention that prohibit moving populations to or from territories under occupation.|issue=3|doi=10.1093/icon/mol021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|chapter=Self-determination and population transfer|last=Drew|first=Catriona|title=Human rights, self-determination and political change in the occupied Palestinian territories|volume=52|series=International studies in human rights|editor-last=Bowen|editor-first=Stephen|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|year=1997|isbn=978-90-411-0502-8|pages=151–152|quote=It can thus clearly be concluded that the transfer of Israeli settlers into the occupied territories violates not only the laws of belligerent occupation but the Palestinian right of self-determination under international law. The question remains, however, whether this is of any practical value. In other words, given the view of the international community that the Israeli settlements are illegal under the law if belligerent occupation, what purpose does it serve to establish that an additional breach of international law has occurred?}}</ref> The [[International Court of Justice]] advisory ruling (2004) concluded that events that came after the 1967 occupation of the West Bank by Israel, including the [[Jerusalem Law]], Israel's peace treaty with Jordan and the [[Oslo Accords]], did not change the status of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) as occupied territory with [[Israel]] as the occupying power.<ref name=FD/><ref name=ICJ2004/> ==Etymology== [[File:City.of.salfit.west.bank.jpg|thumb|City of [[Salfit]], West Bank]] ===West Bank=== [[File:Bethlehem.JPG|thumb|250px|City of [[Bethlehem]], West Bank]] The name ''West Bank'' is a translation of the Arabic term ''ad-Diffah I-Garbiyyah'', given to the territory west of the [[Jordan River]] that fell, in 1948, under occupation and administration by [[Jordan]], which claimed subsequently to have annexed it in 1950. This annexation was recognized only by Britain, Iraq and Pakistan.<ref>[[Eyal Benvenisti]],[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=JKgeX_sdQG0C&pg=PA204 ''The International Law of Occupation''], Oxford University Press 2012 p. 204:"The so-called West Bank (of the Jordan river), including the eastern part of Jerusalem, has been since 1948 under Jordanian administration, and Jordan claimed to have annexed it in 1950. This purported annexation of parts of the former Mandatory Palestine was, however, widely regarded, including by the Arab League, as illegal and void, and was recognized only by Britain, Iraq and Pakistan."</ref> The term was chosen to differentiate the west bank of the River Jordan from the "[[East Bank]]" of this river. ===Cisjordan=== The neo-[[Latin]] name ''Cisjordan'' or ''Cis-Jordan'' (literally "on this side of the River Jordan") is the usual name for the territory in the [[Romance languages]] and [[:hu:Ciszjordánia|Hungarian]]. The name ''West Bank'', however, has become the standard usage for this [[geopolitical]] entity in English and some of the other Germanic languages since its creation following the [[Jordanian occupation of the West Bank|Jordanian army's conquest]]. In English, the name ''Cisjordan'' is occasionally used to designate the entire region between the [[Jordan River]] and the Mediterranean, particularly in the historical context of the British Mandate and earlier times.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}} The analogous ''[[Transjordan (region)|Transjordan]]'' (literally "on the other side of the River Jordan") has historically been used to designate the region now roughly comprising the state of Jordan, which lies to the east of the Jordan River. ==History== {{See also|History of the Levant|History of Palestine|History of the Northern West Bank|History of the Southern West Bank}} {{History of the Palestinian territories}} From 1517 through 1917, the area now known as the West Bank was under [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] rule as part of the provinces of [[Ottoman Syria|Syria]]. ===20th century=== [[File:Cave of the Patriarchs8.jpg|thumb|The Cave of the Patriarchs is one of the most famous holy sites in the region.]] At the 1920 [[San Remo conference]], the victorious [[Allies of World War I|Allied powers]] (France, UK, USA, etc.) allocated the area to the [[British Mandate of Palestine]] (1920–47). The San Remo Resolution adopted on 25 April 1920 incorporated the [[Balfour Declaration, 1917|Balfour Declaration]] of 1917. It and Article 22 of the Covenant of the [[League of Nations]] were the basic documents upon which the [[British Mandate for Palestine]] was constructed. <!---needs to be better merged/integrated---> In 1947, it was subsequently designated as part of a proposed Arab state by the [[United Nations]] (UN) [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine|partition plan for Palestine]]. The [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181|resolution]] recommended partition of the British Mandate into a Jewish State, an Arab State, and an [[corpus separatum (Jerusalem)|internationally administered enclave of Jerusalem]],<ref>{{cite web |url= http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/0/7f0af2bd897689b785256c330061d253 |title=A/RES/181(II) of 29 November 1947 |first= |last= |work=domino.un.org |year=1947 |accessdate=9 April 2012}}</ref> a more broad region of the modern-day West Bank was assigned to the Arab State. The resolution designated the territory described as "the hill country of Samaria and Judea" (including what is now also known as the "West Bank") as part of the proposed [[Arab]] state, but following the [[1948 Arab-Israeli War]] this area was captured by Transjordan (renamed [[Jordan]] two years after independence in 1946). [[1949 Armistice Agreements]] defined the [[Green Line (Israel)|interim boundary]] between Israel and Jordan.<ref name="JordanIsraelArmistice1949">[http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/F03D55E48F77AB698525643B00608D34 General Armistice Agreement between the Hashemite Jordan Kingdom and Israel] UN Doc S/1302/Rev.1 3 April 1949</ref> In 1950, Transjordan annexed the area west of the Jordan River, naming it "West Bank" or "Cisjordan", as "East Bank" or "Transjordan" designated the area east of the river. [[Jordanian occupation of the West Bank|Jordan ruled]] over the West Bank from 1948 until 1967. Jordan's annexation was never formally recognized by the international community, with the exception of the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="digicoll.library.wisc.edu">Joseph Massad said that the members of the Arab League granted de facto recognition and that the United States had formally recognized the annexation, except for Jerusalem. See Joseph A. Massad, Colonial Effects: The Making of National Identity in Jordan (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001),ISBN 0-231-12323-X, page 229. Records show that the United States de facto accepted the annexation without formally recognizing it. [http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/FRUS/FRUS-idx?type=turn&entity=FRUS.FRUS1950v05.p0943&id=FRUS.FRUS1950v05&isize=M United States Department of State / Foreign relations of the United States, 1950. The Near East, South Asia, and Africa] pg. 921</ref><ref name=Silverburg>It is often stated that Pakistan recognized it as well, but that seems to be incorrect; see S. R. Silverburg, Pakistan and the West Bank: A research note, Middle Eastern Studies, 19:2 (1983) 261–263.</ref> The idea of an independent Palestinian state was not raised by the Arab populations there at the time. [[Abdullah I of Jordan|King Abdullah of Jordan]] was crowned King of Jerusalem{{by whom|date=September 2014}} and granted Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank and East Jerusalem Jordanian citizenship.<ref>[[Karen Armstrong|Armstrong, Karen]]. ''Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths''. New York: Ballantine Books, 1996. p. 387.</ref> ===Israeli Military Governorate and Civil Administration=== {{main|Israeli Military Governorate|Israeli Civil Administration}} In June 1967, the West Bank and [[East Jerusalem]] were captured by Israel as a result of the [[Six-Day War]]. With the exception of East Jerusalem and the former Israeli-Jordanian [[no man's land (West Bank)|no man's land]], the West Bank was not [[Annexation|annexed]] by Israel but came under [[Israeli Military Governorate|Israeli military control]] until 1982. Although the [[1974 Arab League summit]] resolution at [[Rabat]] designated the [[Palestinian Liberation Organization]] (PLO) as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people”, Jordan did not officially relinquish its claim to the area until 1988,<ref>{{cite book| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=DWhgIe3Hq98C&pg=PA247&dq#v=onepage&q&f=false| title= The Palestine Yearbook of International Law 1987-1988| editor= Anis F. Kassim| year= 1988| page= 247}}</ref> when it severed all administrative and legal ties with the West Bank and eventually stripped West Bank Palestinians of Jordanian citizenship.<ref>{{cite book| url=http://books.google.ch/books?id=asQryfnCVsEC&pg=PA196#v=onepage&q&f=false| title= Israel, the Hashemites, and the Palestinians: The fateful triangle| editors=Efraim Karsh, P. R. Kumaraswamy| year=2003| page=196}}</ref> In 1982, as a result of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, the direct military rule was transformed into a [[Israeli Civil Administration|semi-civil authority]], operating directly under the Israeli Ministry of Defense, thus taking control of civil matters of Palestinians from the IDF to civil servants in the Ministry of Defense. The Israeli settlements were on the other hands administered subsequently as [[Judea and Samaria Area]] directly by Israel. Since the 1993 [[Oslo Accords]], the [[Palestinian Authority]] officially controls a geographically non-contiguous territory comprising approx. 11% of the West Bank (known as Area A) which remains subject to Israeli incursions. Area B (approx. 28%) is subject to joint Israeli-Palestinian military and Palestinian civil control. Area C (approx. 61%) is under full Israeli control. Though 164 nations refer to the West Bank, including [[East Jerusalem]], as “[[Israeli-occupied territories|Occupied Palestinian Territory]]”,<ref name="UNGeneva Convention">{{cite web| title = Applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, and the other occupied Arab territories| publisher = United Nations| date= 17 December 2003| url = http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/97360ee7a29e68a085256df900723485/d6f5d7049734efff85256e1200677754| accessdate=27 September 2006}}</ref><ref name="ICRCGeneva Convention">{{cite web| title= Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention: Statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross| publisher = [[International Committee of the Red Cross]]| date= 5 December 2001| url= http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/5fldpj.htm| accessdate=27 September 2006}}</ref> the state of Israel is of the view that only territories captured in war from “an established and recognized sovereign” are considered occupied territories.<ref name="GovILDisputed Territories">{{cite web| url=http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFA-Archive/2003/Pages/DISPUTED%20TERRITORIES-%20Forgotten%20Facts%20About%20the%20We.aspx| title= Disputed Territories: Forgotten Facts about the West Bank and Gaza Strip| publisher= Israeli government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs| accessdate=5 June 2012}}</ref> After the [[Battle of Gaza (2007)|2007 split]] between [[Fatah]] and [[Hamas]], the West Bank areas under [[Palestinian territories|Palestinian control]] are an exclusive part of the Palestinian Authority, while the [[Gaza Strip]] is [[Hamas Government in Gaza|ruled]] by Hamas. ===Legal status=== [[File:1947-UN-Partition-Plan-1949-Armistice-Comparison.svg|thumb|upright|alt=Map comparing the borders of the 1947 partition plan and the armistice of 1949.|{{Partition Plan-Armistice Lines comparison map legend}}]] From 1517 to 1917 the West Bank was part of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Turkey, successor state to the Ottoman Empire, [[Treaty of Lausanne|renounced]] its territorial claims in 1923, signing the [[Treaty of Lausanne]], and the area now called the West Bank became an integral part of the [[British Mandate for Palestine]]. During the Mandate period Britain had no right of sovereignty, which was held by the people under the mandate.<ref name=JQ2005>{{cite book|last=Quigley|first=John|title=The Case for Palestine An International Law Perspective|year=2005|publisher=Duke University Press|page=15}}</ref> In 1947 the UN General Assembly recommended that the area that became the West Bank become part of a future Arab state, but this proposal was opposed by the Arab states at the time. In 1948, [[Jordanian occupation of the West Bank|Jordan occupied the West Bank and annexed it in 1950]].<ref name="digicoll.library.wisc.edu"/> In 1967, Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the [[Six-Day War]]. [[UN Security Council Resolution 242]] that followed called for withdrawal from territories occupied in the conflict in exchange for peace and mutual recognition. Since 1979 the [[United Nations Security Council]],<ref>[[UN Security Council Resolution 446|Resolution 446]], [[UN Security Council Resolution 465|Resolution 465]], Resolution 484, among others</ref> the [[United Nations General Assembly]],<ref name="UNGeneva Convention"/> the United States,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/nea/8262.htm |title=Israel and the occupied territories |publisher=State.gov |date=4 March 2002 |accessdate=3 October 2010}}</ref> the EU,<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/occupied-palestinian-territory/ EU Trade, Countries and regions, Occupied Palestinian Territory]</ref> the [[International Court of Justice]],<ref>{{cite web| title = Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory| publisher = [[International Court of Justice]]| date= 9 July 2004| url = http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/85255e950050831085255e95004fa9c3/3740e39487a5428a85256ecc005e157a| accessdate=27 September 2006}}</ref> and the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]]<ref name=autogenerated5>{{cite web| title = Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention: Statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross| publisher = [[International Committee of the Red Cross]]| date= 5 December 2001| url = http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/5fldpj.htm| accessdate=27 September 2006}}</ref> refer to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as occupied Palestinian territory or the occupied territories. General Assembly resolution 58/292 (17 May 2004) affirmed that the Palestinian people have the right to sovereignty over the area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/d9d90d845776b7af85256d08006f3ae9/a2c2938216b39de485256ea70070c849?OpenDocument |title=UN Resolution 58/292 (17 May 2004) |publisher=United Nations |quote = Affirms that the status of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, remains one of military occupation, and affirms, in accordance with the rules and principles of international law and relevant resolutions of the United Nations, including Security Council resolutions, that the Palestinian people have the right to self-determination and to sovereignty over their territory and that Israel, the occupying Power, has only the duties and obligations of an occupying Power under the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949 1 and the Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, of 1907 |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> The [[International Court of Justice]] and the [[Supreme Court of Israel]] have ruled that the status of the West Bank is that of military occupation.<ref name=FD>{{cite book|last=Domb|first=Fania|title=International Law and Armed Conflict: Exploring the Faultlines|year=2007|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|isbn=9004154280|page=511|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=B1ZIIDeEc5AC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA511#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref> In its 2004 advisory opinion the International Court of Justice concluded that: {{Quote|The territories situated between the Green Line and the former eastern boundary of Palestine under the Mandate were occupied by Israel in 1967 during the armed conflict between Israel and Jordan. Under customary international law, the Court observes, these were therefore occupied territories in which Israel had the status of occupying Power. Subsequent events in these territories have done nothing to alter this situation. The Court concludes that all these territories (including East Jerusalem) remain occupied territories and that Israel has continued to have the status of occupying Power.<ref name=FD/><ref name=ICJ2004>{{cite book|title=Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion, I. C. J. Reports|year=2004|publisher=International Court of Justice|isbn=92-1-070993-4|page=136}}</ref>}} In the same vein the Israeli Supreme Court stated in the 2004 ''Beit Sourik'' case that: {{Quote|The general point of departure of all parties – which is also our point of departure – is that Israel holds the area in belligerent occupation (occupatio bellica)......The authority of the military commander flows from the provisions of public international law regarding belligerent occupation. These rules are established principally in the Regulations Concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land, The Hague, 18 October 1907 [hereinafter – the Hague Regulations]. These regulations reflect customary international law. The military commander’s authority is also anchored in IV Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War 1949.<ref name=FD/><ref name=BietSourik>{{cite web|title=Beit Sourik Village Council v. 1.The Government of Israel 2.Commander of the IDF Forces in the West Bank|url=http://elyon1.court.gov.il/Files_ENG/04/560/020/A28/04020560.A28.HTM|publisher=The Supreme Court Sitting as the High Court of Justice|accessdate=8 May 2012}}</ref>}} The executive branch of the Israeli government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has defined the West Bank as disputed territory, whose status can only be determined through negotiations. The Ministry says that occupied territories are territories captured in war from an established and recognized [[sovereign state|sovereign]], and that since the West Bank wasn't under the legitimate and recognized sovereignty of any state prior to the [[Six-Day War]], it shouldn't be considered an occupied territory.<ref name="GovILDisputed Territories"/> The [[International Court of Justice]] ruling of 9 July 2004 however found that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is territory held by Israel under military occupation, regardless of its status prior to it coming under Israeli occupation and the Fourth Geneva convention applies ''de jure''.<ref>[http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/131/1671.pdf Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory], see paragraphs 90-101 and p.5</ref> The international community regards the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) as territories occupied by Israel.<ref>[http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE15/007/2009/en/4c407b40-e64c-11dd-9917-ed717fa5078d/mde150072009en.html Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories: The conflict in Gaza: A briefing on applicable law, investigations and accountability] Amnesty International. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-05; [http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/07/06/isrlpa13698.htm Human Rights Council Special Session on the Occupied Palestinian Territories] Human Rights Watch, 6 July 2006; [http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/06/israel.gaza.occupation.question/index.html Is Gaza 'occupied' territory?] CNN, 6 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-30.</ref> International law (Article 49 of the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]]) prohibits "transfers of the population of an occupying power to occupied territories", incurring a responsibility on the part of Israel's government to not settle Israeli citizens in the West Bank.<ref>[http://www.bbcgovernorsarchive.co.uk/docs/reviews/lubell_law_report.pdf Independent law report commissioned by the BBC Board of Governors], BBC Governors' Archive, February 2006 (pages 48–50)</ref> As of 27 September 2013, 134 (69.4%) of the 193 member states of the [[United Nations]] have [[International recognition of the State of Palestine|recognised]] the [[State of Palestine]]<ref>Evan Centanni, [http://www.polgeonow.com/2013/11/map-palestine-recognized-two-more-countries.html Map: Palestine Recognized by Two More Countries (134/193)] Political Geography Now, 2 November 2013</ref> within the [[Palestinian territories]], which are recognized by Israel to constitute a single territorial unit,<ref>[http://www.reut-institute.org/Publication.aspx?PublicationId=1095 'West Bank and Gaza Strip as a Single Territorial Unit,'] Reut Institute.</ref><ref>[http://www.europeanforum.net/country/palestinian_territories 'Palestinian Territories,'] European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity, 31 January 2014</ref> and of which the West Bank is the core of the would-be state.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21603478-aside-israels-fears-palestinian-reconciliation-has-long-way-go 'An awkward new government,'] [[The Economist]] 7 June 2014.</ref> [[File:Jericho from above.jpg|thumb|250px|City of [[Jericho]], West Bank]] ===Political status=== {{Main|Political status of the Palestinian territories}} [[File:Bush abbas presidential guard.jpg|thumb|250px|U.S. President [[George W. Bush|George Bush]] and [[Mahmoud Abbas]] in [[Ramallah]], 2008]] The future status of the West Bank, together with the [[Gaza Strip]] on the Mediterranean shore, has been the subject of negotiation between the Palestinians and Israelis, although the current [[Road Map for Peace]], proposed by the "[[Quartet on the Middle East|Quartet]]" comprising the United States, Russia, the [[European Union]], and the United Nations, envisions an independent Palestinian state in these territories living side by side with [[Israel]] (see also [[proposals for a Palestinian state]]). However, the "Road Map" states that in the first phase, Palestinians must end all attacks on Israel, whereas Israel must dismantle outposts. Since neither condition has been met since the Road Map was "accepted", by all sides, final negotiations have not yet begun on major political differences. The [[Palestinian Authority]] believes that the West Bank ought to be a part of their sovereign nation, and that the presence of Israeli military control is a violation of their right to Palestinian Authority rule. The United Nations calls the West Bank and Gaza Strip ''[[Israeli-occupied territories]]''. The United States State Department also refers to the territories as ''occupied''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3464.htm |title=Jordan (03/08) |publisher=State.gov |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/t/pm/64711.htm |title=Israel |publisher=State.gov |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90212.htm#OT |title=Israel and the Occupied Territories |publisher=State.gov |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> Many Israelis and their supporters prefer the term ''[[disputed territories]]'', because they claim part of the territory for themselves, and state the land has not, in 2000 years, been sovereign. Palestinian public opinion opposes Israeli military and settler presence on the West Bank as a violation of their right to statehood and sovereignty.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcpsr.org/survey/polls/2001/p2a.html |title=Survey Research Unit |publisher=Pcpsr.org |date=9 July 2001 |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> Israeli opinion is split into a number of views: * Complete or partial withdrawal from the West Bank in hopes of peaceful coexistence in separate states (sometimes called the "[[land for peace]]" position); (In a 2003 poll, 76% of Israelis supported a peace agreement based on that principle).<ref>{{cite web |title = Israeli public opinion regarding the conflict |publisher = The Center for Middle East Peace and Economics Cooperation |url = http://www.mifkad.org.il/en/more.asp |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070210190934/http://www.mifkad.org.il/en/more.asp |archivedate = 10 February 2007 |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref> * Maintenance of a military presence in the West Bank to reduce [[Palestinian terrorism]] by deterrence or by armed intervention, while relinquishing some degree of political control; * [[Annexation]] of the West Bank while considering the Palestinian population with Palestinian Authority citizenship with Israeli residence permit as per the [[Elon Peace Plan]]; * Annexation of the West Bank and assimilation of the Palestinian population to fully fledged Israeli citizens; *[[population transfer|Transfer]] of the East Jerusalem Palestinian population (a 2002 poll at the height of the Al Aqsa intifada found 46% of Israelis favoring Palestinian transfer of Jerusalem residents).<ref>{{cite journal |author = Asher Arian |title = A Further Turn to the Right: Israeli Public Opinion on National Security – 2002 |journal = Strategic Assessment |volume = 5 |issue = 1 |pages = 50–57 |date=June 2002 |publisher = [[Tel Aviv University]]: Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies |url = http://www.tau.ac.il/jcss/sa/v5n1p4Ari.html |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060103083229/http://www.tau.ac.il/jcss/sa/v5n1p4Ari.html |archivedate = 3 January 2006 |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref> In 2005 the United States ambassador to Israel, [[Daniel C. Kurtzer]], expressed U.S. support "for the retention by Israel of major Israeli population centres [in the West Bank] as an outcome of negotiations",<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4382343.stm 'US will accept Israel settlements'], BBC News Online, 25 March 2005.</ref> reflecting [[George W. Bush|President Bush]]'s statement a year earlier that a permanent peace treaty would have to reflect "demographic realities" on the West Bank.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4445839.stm 'UN Condemns Israeli settlements'], BBC News Online, 14 April 2005.</ref> In May 2011 US President Barack Obama officially stated US support for a future Palestinian state based on borders prior to the 1967 War, allowing for land swaps where they are mutually agreeable between the two sides. Obama was the first US president to formally support the policy, but he stated that it had been one long held by the US in its Middle East negotiations.<ref name=CNNObama>{{cite news|last=Cohen|first=Tom|title=Obama calls for Israel's return to pre-1967 borders|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2011-05-19/politics/obama.israel.palestinians_1_israel-palestinian-conflict-borders-settlements?_s=PM:POLITICS|accessdate=11 May 2012|newspaper=CNN|date=19 May 2011}}</ref><ref name=HzObama>{{cite news|last=Mozgovaya|first=Natasha|title=Obama to AIPAC: 1967 borders reflect long-standing U.S. policy|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/obama-to-aipac-1967-borders-reflect-long-standing-u-s-policy-1.363351|accessdate=11 May 2012|newspaper=Haaretz|date=22 May 2011}}</ref> {{Anchor|Geography}} ==Geography== [[File:Judean Hills from Ramallah.jpg|128 Kiopx|thumbnail|View of the [[Judaean Mountains]] from [[Ramallah]]]] The West Bank has an area of {{convert|5628|km2|sqmi}}, which comprises 21.2% of former Mandatory Palestine (excluding Jordan)<ref name=Arnon>Arie Arnon, [http://www.econ.bgu.ac.il/facultym/arnona/Israeli_Policy_towards_the_Occupied_Palestinian_Territories_The_Economic_Dimension_1967-2007.pdf ''Israeli Policy towards the Occupied Palestinian Territories: The Economic Dimension, 1967-2007'']. MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL, Volume 61, No. 4, AUTUMN 2007 (p. 575)</ref> and has generally rugged mountainous terrain. The total length of the land boundaries of the region are {{convert|404|km|0|abbr=off}}.<ref name=cia>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html CIA Factbook: West Bank]</ref> The terrain is mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in the west, but somewhat barren in the east. The elevation span between the shoreline of the Dead Sea at -408 m to the highest point at [[Mount Nabi Yunis]], at 1,030 m (3,379&nbsp;ft) [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]].<ref>[http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=1033 A house demolished, three others threatened in the town of Halhul - 24,March,2007], POICA. Retrieved 14 October 2012.</ref> The area of West Bank is landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers.<ref name=cia/> There are few natural resources in the area except the highly arable land, which comprises 27% of the land area of the region. It is mostly used as permanent pastures (32% of arable land) and seasonal agricultural uses (40%).<ref name=cia/> Forests and woodland comprise just 1%, with no permanent crops.<ref name=cia/> ===Climate=== The climate in the West Bank is mostly [[Mediterranean]], slightly cooler at elevated areas compared with the shoreline, west to the area. In the east, the West Bank includes the Judean Desert and the shoreline of the Dead Sea - both with dry and hot climate. ===Political geography=== ====Palestinian administration==== {{main|Administrative divisions of the Oslo Accords|Palestinian Authority}} [[File:Settlements2006.jpg|thumb|Map of West Bank settlements and closures in January 2006: Yellow = Palestinian urban centers. Light pink = closed military areas or settlement boundary areas or areas isolated by the [[Israeli West Bank barrier]]; dark pink = settlements, outposts or military bases. The black line = route of the Barrier]] The 1993 [[Oslo Accords]] declared the final status of the West Bank to be subject to a forthcoming settlement between [[Israel]] and the Palestinian leadership. Following these interim accords, Israel withdrew its military rule from some parts of the West Bank, which was divided into three [[administrative divisions of the Oslo Accords]]: {| class="wikitable" |- !Area!!Security!!Civil Admin!!% of WB<br/>land!!% of WB<br/>Palestinians |- |A||Palestinian||Palestinian||18%||55% |- |B||Israeli||Palestinian||21%||41% |- |C||Israeli||Israeli||61%||4%<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/World/palest.htm |title=JURIST – Palestinian Authority: Palestinian law, legal research, human rights |publisher=Jurist.law.pitt.edu |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> |} Area A, 2.7%, full civil control of the Palestinian Authority, comprises Palestinian towns, and some rural areas away from Israeli settlements in the north (between [[Jenin]], [[Nablus]], [[Tubas]], and [[Tulkarm]]), the south (around [[Hebron]]), and one in the center south of [[Salfit]].<ref name="Oslo 2">{{cite web | last = Gvirtzman | first = Haim | title = Maps of Israeli Interests in Judea and Samaria Determining the Extent of the Additional Withdrawals | date = 8 February 1998 | url = http://www.biu.ac.il/Besa/books/maps.htm | accessdate =1 September 2008}}</ref> Area B, 25.2%, adds other populated rural areas, many closer to the center of the West Bank. Area C contains all the [[Israeli settlements]] (excluding settlements in East Jerusalem), roads used to access the settlements, buffer zones (near settlements, roads, strategic areas, and Israel), and almost all of the [[Jordan Valley (Middle East)|Jordan Valley]] and the [[Judean Desert]]. Areas A and B are themselves divided among 227 separate areas (199 of which are smaller than {{convert|2|km2|sqmi|0|sp=us}}) that are separated from one another by Israeli-controlled Area C. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prb.org/Articles/2002/TheWestBankandGazaAPopulationProfile.aspx |title=The West Bank and Gaza: A Population Profile – Population Reference Bureau |publisher=Prb.org |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> Areas A, B, and C cross the 11 [[Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority|governorates]] used as administrative divisions by the Palestinian National Authority, Israel, and the IDF and named after major cities. The mainly open areas of Area C, which contains all of the basic resources of arable and building land, water springs, quarries and sites of touristic value needed to develop a viable Palestinian state,<ref>[[Jonathan Cook]], [http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/world-bank-report-is-a-message-against-israeli-occupation 'World Bank report is a message against Israeli occupation,'] The National, 15 October 2013,</ref> were to be handed over to the Palestinians by 1999 under the Oslo Accords as part of a final status agreement. This agreement was never achieved.<ref>Ron Pundak [http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/decoding-bibi-s-west-bank-agenda.premium-1.455265 'Decoding Bibi's West Bank agenda,'] at [[Haaretz]], 3 August 2012.</ref> According to [[B'tselem]], while the vast majority of the Palestinian population lives in areas A and B, the vacant land available for construction in dozens of villages and towns across the West Bank is situated on the margins of the communities and defined as area C.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.btselem.org/English/Publications/Summaries/200205_Land_Grab.asp |title=B'Tselem – Publications – Land Grab: Israel's Settlement Policy in the West Bank, May 2002 |publisher=Btselem.org |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> Less than 1% of area C is designated for use by Palestinians, who are also unable to legally build in their own existing villages in area C due to Israeli authorities' restrictions,<ref name=AUS2922p4>{{cite web |url= http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18836847/west-bank-gaza-area-c-future-palestinian-economy |title= West Bank and Gaza - Area C and the future of the Palestinian economy |page=4 |date=2 October 2013 |publisher=World Bank|quote=Less than 1 percent of Area C, which is already built up, is designated by the Israeli authorities for Palestinian use; the remainder is heavily restricted or off-limits to Palestinians, 13 with 68 percent reserved for Israeli settlements, 14 c. 21 percent for closed military zones, 15 and c. 9 percent for nature reserves (approximately 10 percent of the West Bank, 86 percent of which lies in Area C). These areas are not mutually exclusive, and overlap in some cases. In practice it is virtually impossible for Palestinians to obtain construction permits for residential or economic purposes, even within existing Palestinian villages in Area C: the application process has been described by an earlier World Bank report (2008) as fraught with "ambiguity, complexity and high cost".}}</ref><ref name=IllegalSettlements-C>"Arab illegal construction is 16 times that of Jews, per person (..) The NGO Regavim presented the committee with aerial photographs that show that the PA is systematically encouraging illegal construction in the area next to Jerusalem. The construction is funded by EU states, in contravention of the law and previous agreements (..) PA works day and night to take over state land." {{cite news|last1=Ronen|first1=Gil|title=2014: Arabs Built 550 Illegal Structures in Area C Alone|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188349|accessdate=7 December 2014|issue=Main News Inside Israel|publisher=Arutz Sheva|date=12/7/2014, 10:32 PM}}</ref> An assessment by the UN [[Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]] in 2007 found that approximately 40% of the West Bank was taken up by Israeli infrastructure. The infrastructure, consisting of settlements, the [[West Bank barrier|barrier]], military bases and closed military areas, Israeli declared nature reserves and the roads that accompany them is off-limits or tightly controlled to Palestinians.<ref name="OCHAoPtHumanitarianImpact ">{{cite web |url=http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/TheHumanitarianImpactOfIsraeliInfrastructureTheWestBank_full.pdf |format=PDF|title=The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in the West Bank |publisher=UN [[Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]] – Occupied Palestinian Territory |accessdate=9 April 2009 }}</ref> In June 2011, the Independent Commission for Human Rights published a report that found that Palestinians in the West Bank and the [[Gaza Strip]] were subjected in 2010 to an “almost systematic campaign” of human rights abuse by the [[Palestinian Authority]] and [[Hamas]], as well as by [[Israel]]i authorities, with the security forces of the PA and Hamas being responsible for torture, arrests and arbitrary detentions.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mcquaid |first=Elwood |url=http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=224143 |title='PA bans journalists from reporting human rights abuses' |work=Jerusalem Post |accessdate=31 July 2011}}</ref> ====Areas annexed by Israel==== [[File:Greater Jerusalem May 2006 CIA remote-sensing map 3500px.jpg|thumb|[[Greater Jerusalem]], May 2006. [[CIA]] [[remote sensing]] map showing areas considered settlements, plus refugee camps, fences, walls, etc.]] Through the [[Jerusalem Law]], Israel extended its administrative control over [[East Jerusalem]]. This has often been interpreted as tantamount to an official annexation, though [[Ian Lustick]], in reviewing the legal status of Israeli measures, has argued that no such annexation ever took place. The Palestinian residents have legal [[permanent residency]] status.<ref>{{cite web |title = The Quiet Deportation: Revocation of Residency of East Jerusalem Palestinians |author = Yael Stein |publisher = Joint report by [[Hamoked]] and [[B'Tselem]] |date=April 1997 |url = http://www.btselem.org/Download/199704_Quiet_Deportation_Eng.doc |type = {{DOClink}} |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = The Quiet Deportation: Revocation of Residency of East Jerusalem Palestinians (Summary) |author = Yael Stein |publisher = Joint report by [[Hamoked]] and [[B'Tselem]] |date=April 1997 |url = http://www.btselem.org/English/Publications/Summaries/199704_Quiet_Deportation.asp |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref> Rejecting the Jerusalem Law, the UN Security Council passed [[UN Security Council Resolution 478]], declaring that the law was "null and void". Although permanent residents are permitted, if they wish, to receive Israeli citizenship if they meet certain conditions including swearing allegiance to the State and renouncing any other citizenship, most Palestinians did not apply for Israeli citizenship for political reasons.<ref>{{cite web |title = Legal status of East Jerusalem and its residents |publisher = [[B'Tselem]] |url = http://www.btselem.org/english/Jerusalem/Legal_Status.asp |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref> There are various possible reasons as to why the West Bank had not been annexed<ref name="MBard"/> to Israel after its [[Six-Day War|capture in 1967]]. The government of Israel has not formally confirmed an official reason; however, historians and analysts have established a variety of such, most of them demographic. Among those most commonly cited have been: *Reluctance to award its citizenship to an overwhelming number of a potentially hostile population whose allies were sworn to the destruction of Israel.<ref name="Bard">[[Mitchell Bard|Bard]]</ref><ref name="Bamberger">{{cite book |author = David Bamberger |title = A Young Person's History of Israel |publisher = Behrman House |origyear= 1985|year= 1994 |location = USA |page = 128 |isbn = 0-87441-393-1 }}</ref> *To ultimately exchange [[land for peace]] with neighbouring states<ref name="Bard"/><ref name="Bamberger"/> *Fear that the population of ethnic Arabs, including Israeli citizens of Palestinian ethnicity, would outnumber the Jewish Israelis west of the Jordan River.<ref name="MBard">([[Mitchell Bard|Bard]]{{cite web |title = Our Positions: Solving the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict |publisher = [[Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism]] |url = http://www.freemuslims.org/issues/israel-palestine.php |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref><ref name="Bard"/> *The disputed legality of [[annexation]] under the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/07/22/2740184/carter-center-calls-for-end-to-east-jerusalem-deportations |title=Carter Center calls for end to Jerusalem deportations &#124; JTA – Jewish & Israel News |publisher=JTA |date=22 July 2010 |accessdate=3 October 2010}}</ref> The importance of demographic concerns to some significant figures in Israel's leadership was illustrated when [[Avraham Burg]], a former Knesset Speaker and former chair of the Jewish Agency for Israel, wrote in ''The Guardian'' in September 2003, :"Between the Jordan and the Mediterranean there is no longer a clear Jewish majority. And so, fellow citizens, it is not possible to keep the whole thing without paying a price. We cannot keep a Palestinian majority under an Israeli boot and at the same time think ourselves the only democracy in the Middle East. There cannot be democracy without equal rights for all who live here, Arab as well as Jew. We cannot keep the territories and preserve a Jewish majority in the world's only Jewish state – not by means that are humane and moral and Jewish."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/sep/15/comment |title=The end of Zionism|author=Avraham Burg|work=The Guardian |location=London |date= 15 September 2003|accessdate=8 September 2009}}</ref> ====Israeli settlements==== {{Main|International law and Israeli settlements}} [[File:Westbankjan06.jpg|thumb|Map of [[Israeli settlements]] on the West Bank, January 2006]] As of December 2010, 327,750 Israelis live in the 121 settlements in the West Bank officially recognised by the Israeli government, 192,000 Israelis live in settlements in East Jerusalem.<ref name="haaretz-27July2009"/> There are approximately 100 further settlement outposts which are not officially recognized by the Israeli government and are illegal under Israeli law, but have been provided with infrastructure, water, sewage, and other services by the authorities.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DE2DF163CF93AA35750C0A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 |title=Israeli Report Condemns Support for Settlement Outposts |first=Steve |last=Erlanger |date=9 March 2005 |work=New York Times }}</ref><ref name=WP>{{cite news|last=Brulliard|first=Karin|title=Israel legalizes three West Bank outposts|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israel-legalizes-three-settlement-outposts/2012/04/24/gIQAbpfieT_story.html|accessdate=11 May 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=24 April 2012}}</ref> The international consensus (including the United Nations) is that all Israeli settlements on the West Bank beyond the Green Line border are illegal under international law.<ref>{{cite book|author = Emma Playfair (Ed.)| title = International Law and the Administration of Occupied Territories|publisher = Oxford University Press|year= 1992|location = USA|page = 396|isbn = 0-19-825297-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author = Cecilia Albin|title = Justice and Fairness in International Negotiation|publisher = Cambridge University Press|year= 2001|location = Cambridge|page = 150|isbn = 0-521-79725-X}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author = Mark Gibney|author2=Stanlislaw Frankowski |title = Judicial Protection of Human Rights: Myth or Reality?|publisher = Praeger/Greenwood |year= 1999|location = Westport, Connecticut|page = 72|isbn = 0-275-96011-0}}</ref><ref>'Plia Albeck, legal adviser to the Israeli Government was born in 1937. She died on 27 September 2005, aged 68', ''The Times'', 5 October 2005, p. 71.</ref> In particular, the [[European Union]] as a whole<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ue.eu.int/uedocs/cms_data/docs/2004/12/22/%7B3FA161D9-6DA6-408F-85CE-20D0EC68DDFF%7D.pdf|title= EU Committee Report|accessdate=19 April 2007}}</ref> considers the settlements to be illegal. Significant portions of the Israeli public similarly oppose the continuing presence of Jewish Israelis in the West Bank and have supported the 2005 settlement relocation.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Dromi|first=Shai M.|title=Uneasy Settlements: Reparation Politics and the Meanings of Money in the Israeli Withdrawal from Gaza|journal=Sociological Inquiry|year=2014|volume=84|issue=1|doi=10.1111/soin.12028}}</ref> The majority of legal scholars also hold the settlements to violate international law,<ref name=autogenerated3>{{Cite book|title=The Italian Yearbook of International Law|volume=14|year=2005|editor1-last=Conforti|editor1-first=Benedetto|editor2-last=Bravo|editor2-first=Luigi|first=Marco|last=Pertile|chapter='Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory': A Missed Opportunity for International Humanitarian Law?|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|isbn=978-90-04-15027-0|page=141|quote=the establishment of the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has been considered illegal by the international community and by the majority of legal scholars.|postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->{{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref> however individuals including [[Julius Stone]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aijac.org.au/news/article/international-law-and-the-arab-israel-conflict |title=International Law and the Arab Israel Conflict |editor=Ian Lacey |author=Julius Stone |date=13 October 2003 |work=Extracts from ''Israel and Palestine - Assault on the Law of Nations'' |publisher=[[AIJAC]] |accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/the-illegal-settlements-myth/ |title=The Illegal-Settlements Myth |author=David M. Phillips |journal=[[Commentary (magazine)|Commentary]] |issue=December 2009 |accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref> and [[Eugene Rostow]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tzemachdovid.org/Facts/islegal1.shtml |title=Resolved: are the settlements legal? Israeli West Bank policies |publisher=Tzemachdovid.org |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> have argued that they are legal under international law, on a number of different grounds.<ref>{{cite news|title = FAQ on Israeli settlements|publisher = [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC News]]|date= 26 February 2004|url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/middleeast/settlements.html|accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref> Immediately after the 1967 war [[Theodor Meron]], legal counsel of Israel's Foreign Ministry advised Israeli ministers in a "top secret" memo that any policy of building settlements across occupied territories violated international law and would "contravene the explicit provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israelis-were-warned-on-illegality-of-settlements-in-1967-memo-469443.html |title=Israelis were warned on illegality of settlements in 1967 memo |author=Donald Macintyre |date=11 March 2006 |newspaper=The Independent |location=London |page=27 |accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0311-06.htm |title=Israelis Were Warned on Illegality of Settlements in 1967 Memo |publisher=Commondreams.org |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref><ref>[[Gershom Gorenberg|Gorenberg, Gershom]]. "The Accidental Empire". New York: Times Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2006. p. 99.</ref> The UN Security Council has issued several non-binding resolutions addressing the issue of the settlements. Typical of these is UN Security Council resolution 446 which states ''[the] practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity'', and it calls on Israel ''as the occupying Power, to abide scrupulously by the [[Fourth Geneva Convention|1949 Fourth Geneva Convention]].''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/d744b47860e5c97e85256c40005d01d6/ba123cded3ea84a5852560e50077c2dc |title=UNSC Resolution 446 (1979) of 22 March 1979 |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> The Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention held in Geneva on 5 December 2001 called upon "the Occupying Power to fully and effectively respect the Fourth Geneva Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and to refrain from perpetrating any violation of the Convention." The High Contracting Parties reaffirmed "the illegality of the settlements in the said territories and of the extension thereof."<ref>[http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList325/D86C9E662022D64E41256C6800366D55 Implementation of the Fourth Geneva Convention in the occupied Palestinian territories: history of a multilateral process (1997–2001)], ''International Review of the Red Cross'', 2002 – No. 847.</ref> On 30 December 2007, [[Israeli Prime Minister]] [[Ehud Olmert]] issued an order requiring approval by both the Israeli Prime Minister and Israeli Defense Minister of all settlement activities (including planning) in the West Bank.<ref>{{cite news|title=Olmert curbs WBank building, expansion and planning|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL31349948|publisher=Reuters|date=31 December 2007|accessdate=31 December 2007 | first=Adam | last=Entous}}</ref> The change had little effect with settlements continuing to expand, and new ones being established. On 31 August 2014, Israel announced it was appropriating 400 hectares of land in the West Bank to eventually house 1,000 Israel families. The appropriation was described as the largest in more than 30 years.<ref name="NewSettlement">{{cite news|title=Israel launches massive new West Bank settlement plans|url=http://www.israelherald.com/index.php/sid/225274007|date=31 August 2014|accessdate=1 September 2014|publisher=''Israel Herald''}}</ref> According to reports on Israel Radio, the development is a response to the [[2014 kidnapping and murder of Israeli teenagers]].<ref name="NewSettlement" /> ====Palestinian outposts==== [[File:Palestinian demonstration against demolish of the village susya.jpg|thumb|A Palestinian demonstration against the demolition of the village [[Susya]]|250px]] The Haaretz published on December 2005 about demolition of ''Palestinian outposts'' in [[Bil'in]],<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/news/idf-completes-evacuation-of-bil-in-outpost-1.177194 IDF completes evacuation of Bil'in 'outpost' Some 150 troops break into caravan built near West Bank village to protest construction of separation fence. ]</ref> the demolitions sparked a political debate as according to ''PeaceNow'' it was a double standard ("After what happened today in Bil'in, there is no reason that the state should defend its decision to continue the construction" credited to [[Michael Sfard]]). In January 2012, the European Union approved the "Area C and Palestinian state building" report. The report said Palestinian presence in Area C has been continuously undermined by Israel and that state building efforts in Area C of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the EU were of "utmost importance in order to support the creation of a contiguous and viable Palestinian state". The EU will support various projects to "support the Palestinian people and help maintain their presence".<ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4174682,00.html Europe to pursue Area C projects], YnetNews 12 January 2012</ref><ref name=jps41-3>{{cite journal|title=A2. European Union, Internal Report on "Area C and Palestinian State Building," Brussels, January 2012 (excerpts)|journal=Journal of Palestine Studies|volume=41|issue=3 (Spring 2012)|pages=220–223|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/jps.2012.XLI.3.220|publisher=University of California Press|doi=10.1525/jps.2012.xli.3.220}}</ref> In May 2012, a petition<ref name="may8p">http://www.regavim.org.il/images/stories/hakl.pdf</ref> was filed to the [[Israeli Supreme Court]] about the legality of more 15<ref name="may8p"/> Palestinian outposts and Palestinian building in "Area C". The cases were filed by the non-profit Regavim: National Land Protection Trust.<ref name="nrgheb">[http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/366/534.html?hp=1&cat=404&loc=11 Dozens of Palestinian outposts created in Judea and Samaria: The Supreme Court will decide]</ref><ref>[http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=208098&R=R2 Illegal Palestinian quarry near Beit Fajar to close]</ref> The petition was one of 30 different petitions with the common ground of illegal land takeover and illegal construction and use of natural resources. Some of the petitions (27) had been set for trials<ref name="list_of_pettions">[http://www.regavim.org.il/index.php/activity/allpetitions List of petitions by the Regavim NGO]</ref> and the majority received a verdict. ''Ynet News'' stated on 11 Jan 2013 that a group of 200 Palestinians with unknown number of foreign activists created an outpost named [[Bab al-Shams]] ("Gate of the Sun"), contains 50 tents<ref>{{cite web|title=Palestinians erect outpost in E1 zone|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4331277,00.html}}</ref> ''Ynet News'' stated on 18 January 2013 that Palestinian activists built an outpost on a disputed area in [[Beit Iksa]], where Israel plans to construct part of the separation fence in the Jerusalem vicinity while the Palestinians claim that the area belongs to the residents of [[Beit Iksa]]. named [[Bab al-Krama]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Report: IDF fire injures 2 Palestinians|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4334255,00.html}}</ref> ====West Bank barrier==== {{main|Israeli West Bank barrier}} [[File:West Bank barrier.jpg|thumb|[[West Bank barrier]] (''Separating Wall'')]] [[File:Qalandiya Checkpoint.jpg|85 Kiopx|thumb|left|[[Kalandia|Qalandiya]] Checkpoint between [[Ramallah]] and [[Jerusalem]]]] The [[Israeli West Bank barrier]] is a physical [[separation barrier|barrier]] ordered for construction by the Israeli Government, consisting of a network of fences with vehicle-barrier trenches surrounded by an on average {{convert|60|m|ft|0|sp=us}} wide exclusion area (90%) and up to {{convert|8|m|ft|0|sp=us}} high concrete walls (10%) (although in most areas the wall is not nearly that high).<ref>{{cite web|title=HCJ 7957/04 Mara’abe v. The Prime Minister of Israel|url=http://elyon1.court.gov.il/Files_ENG/04/570/079/A14/04079570.A14.pdf|publisher=Supreme Court of Israeli (High Court of Justice)|accessdate=17 December 2012}}</ref> It is located mainly within the West Bank, partly along the [[1949 Armistice Agreements|1949 Armistice line]], or "[[Green Line (Israel)|Green Line]]" between the West Bank and Israel. As of April 2006 the length of the barrier as approved by the Israeli government is {{convert|703|km|mi|sp=us}} long.{{Update inline|date=November 2012}} Approximately 58.4% has been constructed, 8.96% is under construction, and construction has not yet begun on 33% of the barrier.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.btselem.org/english/Separation_Barrier/Statistics.asp |title=B'Tselem – The Separation Barrier – Statistics |publisher=Btselem.org |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> The space between the barrier and the green line is a closed military zone known as the [[Seam Zone]], cutting off 8.5% of the West Bank and encompassing dozens of villages and tens of thousands of Palestinians.<ref name=B>{{cite web|title=Separation Barrier: 9 July 2006: Two Years after the ICJ's Decision on the Separation Barrier|publisher=[[B'tselem]]|date=9 July 2006|accessdate=11 May 2007|url=http://www.btselem.org/english/separation_barrier/20060709_Hague_2nd_anniversary.asp}}</ref><ref name=CBC>{{cite news|title=Indepth Middle East:Israel's Barrier|author=Margarat Evans|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]|date=6 January 2006|accessdate=5 November 2007|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/middleeast/israel_barrier.html}}</ref><ref name=ICJ>{{cite web|title=Israel's Separation Barrier:Challenges to the Rule of Law and Human Rights: Executive Summary Part I and II|publisher=[[International Commission of Jurists]]|date=6 July 2004|accessdate=11 May 2007|url=http://www.icj.org/news.php3?id_article=3410&lang=en&print=true}}</ref> The barrier generally runs along or near the 1949 Jordanian-Israeli armistice/Green Line, but diverges in many places to include on the Israeli side several of the highly populated areas of Jewish settlements in the West Bank such as [[East Jerusalem]], [[Ariel (city)|Ariel]], [[Gush Etzion]], [[Immanuel (town)|Immanuel]], [[Karnei Shomron]], [[Givat Ze'ev]], [[Oranit]], and [[Maale Adumim]]. Supporters of the barrier claim it is necessary for protecting Israeli civilians from Palestinian attacks, which increased significantly during the Al-Aqsa Intifada;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.securityfence.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/questions.htm |title=Israel Security Fence – Ministry of Defense |publisher=Securityfence.mod.gov.il |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zionism-israel.com/map_of_israel_security_problem_distances.htm |title=Map of Palestine – Land of Israel, 1845 |publisher=Zionism-israel.com |accessdate=3 October 2010}}</ref> it has helped reduce incidents of terrorism by 90% from 2002 to 2005; over a 96% reduction in terror attacks in the six years ending in 2007,<ref>Wall Street Journal, "After Sharon", 6 January 2006.</ref> though Israel's State Comptroller has acknowledged that most of the suicide bombers crossed into Israel through existing checkpoints.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/d80185e9f0c69a7b85256cbf005afeac/c4c1970ae0ba634b85256e510073d1e3/$FILE/PA-ICJ%20written%20statement%20(exec%20summary).pdf#page=8| title=Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory|date=30 January 2004}}</ref> Its supporters claim that the [[Philosophic burden of proof|onus]] is now on the Palestinian Authority to fight terrorism.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/news/sen-clinton-i-support-w-bank-fence-pa-must-fight-terrorism-1.173922 Sen. Clinton: I support W. Bank fence, PA must fight terrorism]. Haaretz, 13 November 2005</ref> Opponents claim the barrier is an illegal attempt to annex Palestinian land under the guise of security,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.btselem.org/english/Publications/summaries/200512_Under_the_Guise_of_Security.asp |title=Under the Guise of Security |publisher=Btselem.org |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> violates international law,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/07/09/israel.barrier/index.html |title=U.N. court rules West Bank barrier illegal |publisher=CNN |date=9 July 2004 |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> has the intent or effect to pre-empt final status negotiations,<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,976105,00.html Set in stone], The Guardian, 15 June 2003</ref> and severely restricts Palestinian livelihoods, particularly limiting their freedom of movement within and from the West Bank thereby undermining their economy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13623699.2013.873643?journalCode=fmcs20#.UvHtHD15PSg |title=Settlements and separation in the West Bank: future implications for health. Patrick Bogue, Richard Sullivan, Anonymous and Guglielmo Chelazzi Grandinetti|publisher=Medicine, Conflict and Survival. 2014.|date=February 2014}}</ref> ====Administrative divisions==== {{main|Administrative divisions of the Oslo Accords}} =====Palestinian governorates===== {{main|Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority}} [[File:WestBankGovernatesNonLabeled.png|thumb|100px|[[Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority|Northern Governorates]]]] After the signing of the [[Oslo Accords]], the West Bank was divided into 11 [[governorate]]s under the jurisdiction of the [[Palestinian National Authority]]. Since 2007 there are two governments claiming to be the legitimate government of the Palestinian National Authority, one based in the West Bank and one based in the Gaza Strip. {| class="wikitable sortable" !Governorate<ref name=geohive/>!!Population<ref name=geohive>{{cite web|url=http://www.geohive.com/cntry/palestine.aspx|title=Occupied Palestinian Territory: Administrative units|accessdate=24 October 2012|publisher=GeoHive}}</ref>!!Area (km<sup>2</sup>)<ref name=geohive/> |- |[[Jenin Governorate]]||align="right"| 256,212 ||align="right"| 583 |- |[[Tubas Governorate]]||align="right"| 48,771 ||align="right"| 372 |- |[[Tulkarm Governorate]]||align="right"| 158,213 ||align="right"| 239 |- |[[Nablus Governorate]]||align="right"| 321,493 ||align="right"| 592 |- |[[Qalqilya Governorate]]||align="right"| 91,046 ||align="right"| 164 |- |[[Salfit Governorate]]||align="right"| 59,464 ||align="right"| 191 |- |[[Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate]]||align="right"| 278,018 ||align="right"| 844 |- |[[Jericho Governorate]]||align="right"| 41,724 ||align="right"| 608 |- |[[Jerusalem Governorate]]<br/>(including Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem with Israeli citizenship)||align="right"| 362,521 ||align="right"| 344 |- |[[Bethlehem Governorate]]||align="right"| 176,515 ||align="right"| 644 |- |[[Hebron Governorate]]||align="right"| 551,129 ||align="right"| 1,060 |- !Total!! style="text-align:right;"| 2,345,107 !!align="right"| 5,671 |} ===== Israeli administrative districts ===== {{see also|Judea and Samaria Area}} The West Bank is further divided into 8 administrative regions: Menashe ([[Jenin]] area), HaBik'a ([[Jordan Valley (Middle East)|Jordan Valley]]), [[Samaria|Shomron]] ([[Shechem]] area, known in Arabic as [[Nablus]]), Efrayim ([[Tulkarm]] area), Binyamin ([[Ramallah]]/[[al-Bireh]] area), Maccabim ([[Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut|Maccabim]] area), [[Gush Etzion|Etzion]] ([[Bethlehem]] area) and [[Judea|Yehuda]] ([[Hebron]] area). ==Economy== {{Main|Economy of the Palestinian territories}} The economy of the Palestinian territories is chronically depressed, with [[unemployment]] rates constantly over 20% since 2000 (19% in the West Bank in first half of 2013).<ref name=AUS2922p2a>{{cite web |url= http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18836847/west-bank-gaza-area-c-future-palestinian-economy |title= West Bank and Gaza - Area C and the future of the Palestinian economy |page=2 |date=2 October 2013 |publisher=World Bank|quote=Consequently, unemployment rates have remained very high in the Palestinian territories...After initial post-Oslo rates of about 9 percent in the mid-1990s, unemployment rose to 28 percent of the labor force in 2000 with the onset of the second intifada and the imposition of severe movement and access restrictions; it has remained high ever since and is currently about 22 percent. What is more, almost 24 percent of the workforce is employed by the PA, an uncommonly high proportion that reflects the lack of dynamism in the private sector.}}</ref> ===Consequences of occupation=== The main reason for economic depression is the Israeli occupation.<ref name=AUS2922p2b>{{cite web |url= http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18836847/west-bank-gaza-area-c-future-palestinian-economy |title= West Bank and Gaza - Area C and the future of the Palestinian economy |page=2 |date=2 October 2013 |publisher=World Bank|quote=While internal Palestinian political divisions have contributed to investor aversion to the Palestinian territories, Israeli restrictions on trade, movement and access are clearly the binding constraint to investment: these restrictions substantially increase the cost of trade and make it impossible to import many production inputs into the Palestinian territories, as illustrated, for instance, on the example of the telecommunications sector. For Gaza, the restrictions on import and export are in particular severe. In addition to the restrictions on labor movement between the Palestinian territories, the restrictions on movement of labor within the West Bank have been shown to have a strong impact on employability, wages, and economic growth. Israeli restrictions render much economic activity very difficult or impossible to conduct on about 61 percent of the West Bank territory, called Area C. Restrictions on movement and access, and the stunted potential of Area C.}}</ref> According to a 2007 [[World Bank]] report, the Israeli occupation of the West Bank has destroyed the Palestinian economy, in violation of the 2005 [[Agreement on Movement and Access]]. All major roads (with a total length of 700&nbsp;km) are basically off-limits to Palestinians, making it impossible to do normal business. Economic recovery would reduce Palestinian dependence on international aid by one billion dollars per year.<ref>[http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWESTBANKGAZA/Resources/WestBankrestrictions9Mayfinal.pdf Movement and access restrictions in the West Bank: Uncertainty and inefficiency in the Palestinian economy]. World Bank Technical Team. 9 May 2007.</ref> A more comprehensive 2013 [[World Bank]] report calculates that, if the [[Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip|Interim Agreement]] was respected and restrictions lifted, a few key industries alone would produce USD 2.2 billion per annum more (or 23% of 2011 Palestinian GDP) and reduce by some USD 800 million (50%) the Palestinian Authority's deficit; the employment would increase by 35%.<ref name=AUS2922pviii>{{cite web |url= http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18836847/west-bank-gaza-area-c-future-palestinian-economy |title= West Bank and Gaza - Area C and the future of the Palestinian economy |page=viii |date=2 October 2013 |publisher=World Bank|quote=[...] assumed that the various physical, legal, regulatory and bureaucratic constraints that currently prevent investors from obtaining construction permits, and accessing land and water resources are lifted, as envisaged under the Interim Agreement. [...] It is understood that realizing the full potential of such investments requires other changes as well - first, the rolling back of the movement and access restrictions in force outside Area C, which prevent the easy export of Palestinian products and inhibit tourists and investors from accessing Area C; and second, further reforms by the Palestinian Authority to better enable potential investors to register businesses, enforce contracts, and acquire finance. [...] Neglecting indirect positive effects, we estimate that the potential additional output from the sectors evaluated in this report alone would amount to at least USD 2.2 billion per annum in valued added terms - a sum equivalent to 23 percent of 2011 Palestinian GDP. The bulk of this would come from agriculture and Dead Sea minerals exploitation. [...] x. Tapping this potential output could dramatically improve the PA's fiscal position. Even without any improvements in the efficiency of tax collection, at the current rate of tax/GDP of 20 percent the additional tax revenues associated with such an increase in GDP would amount to some USD 800 million. Assuming that expenditures remain at the same level, this extra resource would notionally cut the fiscal deficit by half - significantly reducing the need for donor recurrent budget support. This major improvement in fiscal sustainability would in turn generate significant positive reputational benefits for the PA and would considerably enhance investor confidence. xi. The impact on Palestinian livelihoods would be impressive. An increase in GDP equivalent to 35 percent would be expected to create substantial employment, sufficient to put a significant dent in the currently high rate of unemployment. If an earlier estimated one-to-one relationship between growth and employment was to hold, this increase in GDP would lead to a 35 percent increase in employment. This level of growth in employment would also put a large dent in poverty, as recent estimates show that unemployed Palestinians are twice as likely to be poor as their employed counterparts.}}</ref> In August 2014, Palestinian leaders said they would apply to the [[United Nations Security Council]] for the establishment of a timetable for ending the Israeli occupation. The application would be made on 15 September 2014, following an [[Arab League]] meeting on 5 September 2014 at which support for the move would be requested. Unless a timetable was established, the Palestinian leadership said it would apply to the [[International Criminal Court]] where it would hold Israel responsible for its actions not only in the West Bank, but also in the [[Gaza Strip]].<ref name="PLOun">{{cite news|title=Set 'timetable' to end Israeli occupation, Palestine to UN|url=http://www.arabherald.com/index.php/sid/225199125|date=28 August 2014|accessdate=28 August 2014|publisher=''Arab Herald''}}</ref> ==Demographics== {{Main|Demographics of the Palestinian territories}} [[File:Nablus Children Victor Grigas 2011 -1-84.jpg|thumb|Palestinian girl in [[Nablus]] in the West Bank]] In December 2007, an official census conducted by the Palestinian Authority found that the [[Palestinian Arab]] population of the West Bank (including [[East Jerusalem]]) was 2,345,000.<ref>{{cite web |title = Palestinians grow by a million in decade |publisher = [[The Jerusalem Post]] |date = 9 February 2008 |url = http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=91497|accessdate =11 October 2011}}</ref><ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html#People CIA Factbook| West Bank| People</ref> However, the [[World Bank]] and American-Israeli Demographic Research Group identified a 32% discrepancy between first-grade enrollment statistics documented by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)’ 2007 projections,<ref>[http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=38108 THE PALESTINIAN CENSUS – SMOKE & MIRRORS], Independent Media Review Analysis, 11 February 2008</ref> with questions also raised about the PCBS’ growth assumptions for the period 1997–2003.<ref>[http://www.biu.ac.il/Besa/MSPS65.pdf The Million Person Gap: The Arab Population in the West Bank and Gaza], Mideast Security and Policy Studies No. 65, February 2006</ref> [[Israeli Border Police]] in 2006 observed 25,000 Palestinian Arabs emigrating from Palestinian Authority-controlled territories.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3808053,00.html |title=President Clinton, you're wrong! |publisher=Ynetnews.com |date=15 November 2009 |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> The [[Israeli Civil Administration]] put the number of Palestinians in the West Bank at 2,657,029 as of May 2012.<ref>[http://www.molad.org/en/articles/articlePrint.php?id=295 Wrong Number]</ref><ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.532703 How many Palestinians actually live in the West Bank?]</ref> [[File:Tal Menashe - students in the garden.JPG|thumb|Jewish children in [[Tal Menashe]].]] There are 389,250 [[Israeli settlement|Israeli settlers]] living in the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem,<ref>[http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/189430#.VLbVsoFq-K0 15,000 More Jews in Judea-Samaria in 2014], ''Arutz Sheva''</ref> as well as around 375,000 living in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem. There are also small ethnic groups, such as the [[Samaritans]] living in and around [[Nablus]], numbering in the hundreds. As of October 2007, around 23,000 Palestinians in the West Bank worked in Israel every day, while another 9,200 worked in Israeli settlements. In addition, around 10,000 Palestinian traders from the West Bank were allowed to travel every day into Israel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g7NNG7m5AEfoCjIspXI7lya2LTFg |title=Israel labour laws apply to Palestinian workers |publisher=Google |date=10 October 2007 |accessdate=3 October 2010}}</ref> In 2008, approximately 30% of Palestinians or 754,263 persons living in the West Bank were [[Palestinian refugees|refugees]] or descendants of refugees from villages and towns located in what became Israel during the [[1948 Arab-Israeli War]], according to [[UNRWA]] statistics.<ref>{{cite web |title = UNRWA in Figures: Figures as of 31 December 2004 |publisher = United Nations |date=April 2005 |url = http://www.un.org/unrwa/publications/pdf/uif-dec04.pdf |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060928061448/http://www.un.org/unrwa/publications/pdf/uif-dec04.pdf |archivedate = 28 September 2006 |format = PDF |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics |publisher = [[Palestinian National Authority]] [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] |year= 2007 |url = http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/ |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = Can trust be rebuilt? |author = Ksenia Svetlova |publisher = [[The Jerusalem Post]] |date= 1 December 2005 |url = http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=2&cid=1132475665870&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929140645/http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=2&cid=1132475665870&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |archivedate = 29 September 2007 |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref> A 2011 EU report titled "Area C and Palestinian State Building" reported that before the Israeli occupation in 1967, between 200,000 and 320,000 Palestinians used to live in the Jordan Valley, 90% which is in Area C, but demolition of Palestinian homes and prevention of new buildings has seen the number drop to 56,000, 70% of which live in Area A, in Jericho.<ref name="EUobserver 13 January 2012">{{cite news |url=http://euobserver.com/24/114879 |title=EU ministers look to Israeli grab of Palestinian farmland |author=Andrew Rettman |date=13 January 2012 |newspaper=EUobserver |accessdate=29 January 2012}}</ref><ref name=h20120112>{{cite news|author1=Amira Hass|title=EU report: Israel policy in West Bank endangers two-state solution|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/eu-report-israel-policy-in-west-bank-endangers-two-state-solution-1.406945|publisher=Haaretz|date=12 January 2012}}</ref><ref name=jps>{{cite journal|title=A2. European Union, Internal Report on "Area C and Palestinian State Building," Brussels, January 2012 (excerpts)|journal=Journal of Palestine Studies|date=2012|volume=41|issue=3|pages=220–223|doi=10.1525/jps.2012.XLI.3.220|publisher=University of California Press}}</ref> In a similar period, the Jewish population in Area C has grown from 1,200 to 310,000.<ref name="EUobserver 13 January 2012"/> ===Major population centers=== [[File:Ariel085.jpg|1.25 MBpx|thumb|right|Settlement of [[Ariel (city)|Ariel]]]] [[File:Ramallah Residential.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Residential neighborhood of [[Ramallah]]]] {| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left:1em;" |+Significant population centers |- ! Center !! Population |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Al-Bireh]] | style="text-align:right;"|38,202<ref name="PCBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Beitar Illit]] | style="text-align:right;"|37,600<ref name="Israeli CBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Ariel (city)|Ariel]] | style="text-align:right;"|17,700<ref name="Israeli CBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Bethlehem]] | style="text-align:right;"|25,266<ref name="PCBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Hebron]] (al-Khalil) | style="text-align:right;"|163,146<ref name="PCBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Jericho]] | style="text-align:right;"|18,346<ref name="PCBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Jenin]] | style="text-align:right;"|90,004<ref name="PCBS">[http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_PCBS/Downloads/book1487.pdf 2007 Locality Population Statistics]. [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS).</ref> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Ma'ale Adummim]] | style="text-align:right;"|33,259<ref name="Israeli CBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Modi'in Illit]] | style="text-align:right;"|48,600<ref name="Israeli CBS">[http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton62/st02_15.pdf 2010 Locality Population Statistics]. [[Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS).</ref> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Nablus]] | style="text-align:right;"|136,132<ref name="PCBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Qalqilyah]] | style="text-align:right;"|41,739<ref name="PCBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Ramallah]] | style="text-align:right;"|27,460<ref name="PCBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Tulkarm]] | style="text-align:right;"|51,300<ref name="PCBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Yattah]] | style="text-align:right;"|48,672<ref name="PCBS"/> |} The most densely populated part of the region is a mountainous spine, running north-south, where the cities of [[Jerusalem]], [[Nablus]], [[Ramallah]], [[al-Bireh]], [[Jenin]], [[Bethlehem]], [[Hebron]] and [[Yattah]] are located as well as the [[Israeli settlements]] of [[Ariel (city)|Ariel]], [[Ma'ale Adumim]] and [[Beitar Illit]]. Ramallah, although relatively mid in population compared to other major cities as [[Hebron]], [[Nablus]] and [[Jenin]], serves as an economic and political center for the Palestinians. Near Ramallah the new city of [[Rawabi]] is under construction.<ref>[http://www.jpost.com/VideoArticles/Video/Article.aspx?id=244475 Palestinian city of Rawabi to serve 'nation in the making'.] [[Jerusalem Post]], 11 May 2011</ref><ref>[http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/un-chief-says-time-1327886.html UN chief says time running out for peace deal.] [[Atlanta Journal]], 2 February 2012</ref> [[Jenin]] in the extreme north and is the capital of north of the West Bank and is on the southern edge of the [[Jezreel Valley]]. [[Modi'in Illit]], [[Qalqilyah]] and [[Tulkarm]] are in the low foothills adjacent to the [[Israeli Coastal Plain]], and [[Jericho]] and [[Tubas]] are situated in the [[Jordan Valley (Middle East)|Jordan Valley]], north of the [[Dead Sea]]. ===Religion=== The population of the West Bank is 80–85% Muslim (mostly Sunni) and 12–14% Jewish. The remainder are Christian (mostly Greek Orthodox) and others.<ref name=autogenerated4>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html |title=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |accessdate=14 January 2015}}</ref> ==Transportation and communications== ===Roads=== [[File:Road 5066 A.JPG|thumb|250px|Road in the West Bank]] In 2010, the West Bank and Gaza Strip together had {{convert|4686|km|mi|-0|abbr=on}} of roadways.<ref name="CIA"/> Transportation infrastructure is particularly problematic as Palestinian use of roads in Area C is highly restricted, and travel times can be inordinate; the Palestinian Authority has also been unable to develop roads, airports or railways in or through Area C,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18344690/west-bank-gaza-area-c-future-palestinian-economy |title= West Bank and Gaza - Area C and the future of the Palestinian economy|author=World Bank |website= |publisher=World Bank, Washington DC |accessdate=18 January 2014|year=2013|quote=UNOCHA analysis suggests that less than one percent of the land in Area C is currently available to Palestinians for construction; permit data also shows that it is almost impossible to obtain permission to build in Area C. Less than 6 percent of all requests made between 2000 and 2007 secured approval. This situation applies not only to housing but to public economic infrastructure (roads, water reservoirs, waste treatment plants) and industrial plant, and to the access roads and utility lines needed to connect Areas A and B across Area C. [...] The outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000 interrupted this trend, bringing increased violence and uncertainty - and most significantly, the intensification by Israel of a complex set of security-related restrictions that impeded the movement of people and goods and fragmented the Palestinian territories into small enclaves lacking economic cohesion. [...] Transportation infrastructure is particularly problematic as Palestinian use of roads in Area C is highly restricted, and travel times can be inordinate; the Palestinian Authority has also been unable to develop roads, airports or railways in or through Area C.}}</ref> while many other roads were restricted only to public transportation and to Palestinians who have special permits from Israeli authorities.<ref name="humanitarianinfo2">{{cite web|url=http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/OCHAoPt_ClosureAnalysis0106_En.pdf |title=Westbank closure count and analysis, January 2006 |format=PDF |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/a39191b210be1d6085256da90053dee5/43fc268b1bf484fd85256c610065c63a!OpenDocument|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013101735/http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/a39191b210be1d6085256da90053dee5/43fc268b1bf484fd85256c610065c63a!OpenDocument|archivedate=13 October 2007 |title=A/57/366/Add.1 of 16 September 2002 |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/5ba47a5c6cef541b802563e000493b8c/5189f43f72a68a2785256c61005a58ea!OpenDocument|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013101725/http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/5ba47a5c6cef541b802563e000493b8c/5189f43f72a68a2785256c61005a58ea!OpenDocument|archivedate=13 October 2007 |title=A/57/366 of 29 August 2002 |publisher=United Nations |author=YESHA |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> At certain times, Israel maintained more than 600 checkpoints or roadblocks in the region.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/23/60minutes/main4749723.shtml |title=60 Minutes &#124; Middle East &#124; Time Running Out For A Two-State Solution? |publisher=cbsnews.com |date=25 January 2009|accessdate=29 January 2009}}</ref> As such, movement restrictions were also placed on main roads traditionally used by Palestinians to travel between cities, and such restrictions are still blamed for poverty and economic depression in the West Bank.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/WBN102.pdf| title=Protection of Civilians – Weekly Briefing Notes|date=20–26 April 2005|publisher=OCHA|accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref> Underpasses and bridges (28 of which have been constructed and 16 of which are planned) link Palestinian areas separated from each other by Israeli settlements and bypass roads"<ref name="humanitarianinfo1">{{cite web|url=http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/ochaHU0805_En.pdf|title=Closure Count and Analysis|publisher=OCHA|date=August 2005|accessdate=3 March 2011}}</ref> [[File:Jericho checkpoint 2005.jpg|thumb|Checkpoint before entering [[Jericho]], 2005]] Israeli restrictions were tightened in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18344690/west-bank-gaza-area-c-future-palestinian-economy |title= West Bank and Gaza - Area C and the future of the Palestinian economy|author=World Bank |website= |publisher=World Bank, Washington DC |accessdate=18 January 2014|year=2013|quote=Exports from Gaza to the West Bank and Israeli markets, traditionally Gaza's main export destinations, are prohibited (according to Gisha, an Israeli non-profit organization founded in 2005 to protect the freedom of movement of Palestinians, especially Gaza residents, 85 percent of Gaza products were exported to Israel and the West Bank prior to 2007, at which point Israeli restrictions were tightened).}}</ref> {{As of|2007|8}}, a divided highway is currently under construction that will pass through the West Bank. The highway has a concrete wall dividing the two sides, one designated for Israeli vehicles, the other for Palestinian. The wall is designed to allow Palestinians to pass north-south through Israeli-held land and facilitate the building of additional Jewish settlements in the Jerusalem neighborhood.<ref>Erlanger, Steven. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/11/world/middleeast/11road.html A Segregated Road in an Already Divided Land], ''[[The New York Times]]'', (11 August 2007) Retrieved 11 August 2007</ref> {{As of|2012|2}}, a plan for 475-kilometer rail network, establishing 11 new rail lines in West Bank, was confirmed by Israeli Transportation Ministry. The West Bank network would include one line running through Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Ma'aleh Adumim, Bethlehem and Hebron. Another would provide service along the Jordanian border from Eilat to the Dead Sea, Jericho and Beit She'an and from there toward Haifa in the west and in also in a northeasterly direction. The proposed scheme also calls for shorter routes, such as between Nablus and Tul Karm in the West Bank, and from Ramallah to the Allenby Bridge crossing into Jordan.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-draws-plan-for-475-kilometer-rail-network-in-west-bank-1.414976|title=Israel draws plan for 475-kilometer rail network in West Bank|publisher=haaretz|date= February 2012|accessdate=23 December 2012}}</ref> ===Airports=== The only airport in the West Bank is the [[Atarot Airport]] near [[Ramallah]], but it has been closed since 2001. ===Telecom=== {{Main|Telecommunications in the Palestinian territories}} The Palestinian [[Paltel]] telecommunication companies provide communication services such as [[landline]], [[cellular network]] and Internet in the West Bank and [[Gaza Strip]]. Dialling code [[+970]] is used in the West Bank and all over the Palestinian territories. Until 2007, the Palestinian mobile market was monopolized by [[Jawwal]]. A new [[mobile operator]] for the territories launched in 2009 under the name of [[Wataniya Telecom]]. The number of Internet users increased from 35,000 in 2000 to 356,000 in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.internetworldstats.com/me/ps.htm |title=Palestine Internet Usage and Telecommunications Report |publisher=Internetworldstats.com|accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref> ===Radio and television=== The [[Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation]] broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675&nbsp;kHz; numerous local privately owned stations are also in operation. Most Palestinian households have a radio and TV, and satellite dishes for receiving international coverage are widespread. Recently, PalTel announced and has begun implementing an initiative to provide ADSL broadband internet service to all households and businesses. Israel's cable television company [[Hot (Israel)|HOT]], satellite television provider ([[Direct broadcast satellite|DBS]]) [[Yes (Israel)|Yes]], AM and FM radio broadcast stations and public television broadcast stations all operate. Broadband internet service by Bezeq's ADSL and by the cable company are available as well. The [[Al-Aqsa Voice]] broadcasts from Dabas Mall in [[Tulkarem]] at 106.7 FM. The [[Al-Aqsa TV]] station shares these offices. ==Higher education== Seven universities are operating in the West Bank: * [[Bethlehem University]], a [[Roman Catholic]] institution of the [[Brothers of the Christian Schools|Lasallian]] tradition partially funded by the [[Holy See|Vatican]],{{Citation needed|date=July 2012}} opened its doors in 1973.<ref>{{cite web|author=Philip Daoud|url=http://www.bethlehem.edu/about/history.shtml |title=Bethlehem University – History |publisher=Bethlehem.edu |date=3 October 1973 |accessdate=3 October 2010}}</ref> * In 1975, Birzeit College (located in the town of [[Bir Zeit]] north of [[Ramallah]]) became [[Birzeit University]] after adding third- and fourth-year college-level programs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.birzeit.edu/about_bzu/p/2542 |title=Birzeit University History |publisher=Birzeit.edu |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> * An-Najah College in [[Nablus]] likewise became [[An-Najah National University]] in 1977.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.najah.edu/page/63 |title=History of An-Najah National University |publisher=Najah.edu |date=25 June 2000 |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> * [[Hebron University]] was established as College of Shari'a in 1971 and became Hebron University in 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hebron.edu/index.php/en/about-hu/-facts-a-figures.html |title=Hebron University facts and figures |publisher=Hebron.edu |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> * [[Al-Quds University]] was founded in 1995, unifying several colleges and faculties in and around East Jerusalem.<ref>{{cite web|author=Al-Quds University :: Webmaster :: WDU |url=http://old.alquds.edu/gen_info/index.php?page=overview |title=Al-Quds University, General Information |publisher=Old.alquds.edu |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> * In 2000, the [[Arab American University]] – the only private university in the West Bank – was founded outside of [[Zababdeh]], with the purpose of providing courses according to the [[Education in the United States|American system of education]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aauj.edu/AAUJ_WEBSITE/index.php |title=The Arab American University |publisher=Aauj.edu |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> * [[Ariel University]] is located in the [[Israeli settlement]] of [[Ariel (city)|Ariel]] and was granted full university status in 17 July 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18879786 |title=Israel's first settlement university stirs controversy |work=[[BBC]] |date=17 July 2012 |accessdate=12 January 2014}}</ref> It was established in 1982. Most universities in the West Bank have politically active student bodies, and elections of student council officers are normally along party affiliations. Although the establishment of the universities was initially allowed by the Israeli authorities, some were sporadically ordered closed by the Israeli Civil Administration during the 1970s and 1980s to prevent political activities and violence against the [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]]. Some universities remained closed by military order for extended periods during years immediately preceding and following the first Palestinian Intifada, but have largely remained open since the signing of the Oslo Accords despite the advent of the Al-Aqsa Intifada (Second Intifada) in 2000. The founding of Palestinian universities has greatly increased education levels among the population in the West Bank. According to a Birzeit University study, the percentage of Palestinians choosing local universities as opposed to foreign institutions has been steadily increasing; as of 1997, 41% of Palestinians with bachelor's degrees had obtained them from Palestinian institutions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://home.birzeit.edu/dsp/research/publications/2002/49e.pdf | title=Education and Human Development| publisher=Birzeit University|year= 2002|format=PDF |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> According to UNESCO, Palestinians are one of the most highly educated groups in the Middle East "despite often difficult circumstances".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=17238&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |title=UNESCO &#124; Education – Palestinian Authority |publisher=Portal.unesco.org |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> The literacy rate among Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip according to the [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS) is 94.6% for 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/PressRelease/Illiteracy_2010E.pdf|title=On the Eve of the International Illiteracy day, 8th of September|publisher=Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics| date=7 September 2010|accessdate=3 March 2011}}</ref> ==See also== *[[West Bank closures]] ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} *Albin, Cecilia (2001). ''Justice and Fairness in International Negotiation''. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-79725-X *Bamberger, David (1985, 1994). ''A Young Person's History of Israel''. Behrman House. ISBN 0-87441-393-1 *Dowty, Alan (2001). ''The Jewish State: A Century Later''. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22911-8 * Eldar, Akiva and Zertal, Idith (2007). ''Lords of the land: the war over Israel's settlements in the occupied territories, 1967–2007'', Nation Books. ISBN 978-1-56858-414-0 *Gibney, Mark and Frankowski, Stanislaw (1999). ''Judicial Protection of Human Rights''. Praeger/Greenwood. ISBN 0-275-96011-0 * Gordon, Neve (2008).''Israel's Occupation''. University of California Press, Berkeley CA, ISBN 0-520-25531-3 *Gorenberg, Gershom. ''The Accidental Empire''. Times Books, Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0-8050-8241-7. 2006. * Howell, Mark (2007). ''What Did We Do to Deserve This? Palestinian Life under Occupation in the West Bank'', Garnet Publishing. ISBN 1-85964-195-4 *[[Michael Oren|Oren, Michael]] (2002). ''Six Days of War'', Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515174-7 *Playfair, Emma (Ed.) (1992). ''International Law and the Administration of Occupied Territories''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-825297-8 *[[Avi Shlaim|Shlaim, Avi]] (2000). ''The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World'', W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-04816-0 {{refend}} ==External links== {{Sister project links}} *[http://atlas.pcbs.gov.ps/atlas/default.asp Statistical Atlas of Palestine] – [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] *[http://report.globalintegrity.org/West%20Bank/2008 Global Integrity Report: West Bank] has governance and anti-corruption profile. *{{CIA World Factbook link|we|West Bank}} *[http://www.state.gov/p/nea/ci/pt/index.htm Palestinian Territories] at the [[United States Department of State]] *[http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/palestine.htm Palestine] from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs'' *[http://www.passia.org/index_pfacts.htm Palestine Facts & Info] from Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs *[http://www.un.org/Depts/dpi/palestine/ United Nations – Question of Palestine] *[http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0n1m0 Disputed Territories: Forgotten Facts about the West Bank and Gaza Strip] – from Israeli government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs *{{dmoz|Regional/Middle_East/Palestinian_Territory|West Bank}} *[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/txu-oclc-244806184-wbank_08.jpg Large map of West Bank (2008) – C.I.A./Univ. of Texas, Austin] *[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/westbank_july_1992.jpg Large map of West Bank (1992)] *[http://www.poica.org/maps/index.php A series of geopolitical maps of the West Bank] *[http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/88_july31.html 1988 "Address to the Nation" by King Hussein of Jordan Ceding Jordanian Claims to the West Bank to the PLO] *[http://www.camdenabudis.org/ Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association&nbsp;– establishing links between the North London Borough of Camden and the town of Abu Dis in the West Bank] *[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/p_refugee_camps.jpg Map of Palestinian Refugee Camps 1993 (UNRWA/C.I.A./Univ. of Texas, Austin)] *[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/cia08/israel_sm_2008.gif Map of Israel 2008 (C.I.A./Univ. of Texas, Austin)] *[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/isettlementswb93.jpg Map of Israeli Settlements in the West Bank Dec. 1993 (C.I.A./Univ. of Texas, Austin)] *[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/gazastrip.jpg Map of Israeli Settlements in the Gaza Strip Dec. 1993 (C.I.A./Univ. of Texas, Austin)] * [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2009/aug/24/israel-settlements-west-bank Israeli Settlements interactive map and Israeli land use] from ''[[The Guardian]]'' *[http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/ocha_opt_west_bank_access_restrictions_dec_2012_geopdf_mobile.pdf West Bank access restrictions map (highly detailed), by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs] * [http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21577111-jewish-settlements-expand-palestinians-are-being-driven-away-squeeze-them ''Squeeze them out; As Jewish settlements expand, the Palestinians are being driven away''] 4 May 2013 [[The Economist]] <!-- === Cultural heritage === * ''Protection, conservation and valorization of Palestinian Cultural Patrimony'', Fabio Maniscalco (ed.), monographic collection [http://web.tiscali.it/mediterraneum_isform ''"Mediterraneum. Protection and valorization of cultural and environmental patrimony"''], vol. 5 (Al Quds University of Jerusalem&nbsp;– University L'Orientale of Naples), Massa Publisher --> {{commons category|West Bank|<br/>West Bank}} {{Coord|32|00|N|35|23|E|region:PS|display=title}} [[Category:West Bank| ]] [[Category:Geography of the West Bank|*]] [[Category:Geography of the Palestinian territories]] [[Category:Geography of the Middle East]] [[Category:Fertile Crescent]] [[Category:Israeli-occupied territories]]'
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'{{About|the disputed territory|administrative area of Jordan from 1948 to 1967|Jordanian occupation of the West Bank|Israeli official term for the Jewish settlement blocks in the area|Judea and Samaria Area}} {{Other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2013}} {{Infobox settlement | name = West Bank | native_name = | native_name_lang = <!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead --> | | settlement_type = | population_demonym = West Banker, [[Palestinian Arabs]], [[Samaritans]], [[Israeli settlement|Israeli settlers]] | image_skyline = File:We-map.png | image_alt = | image_caption = The West Bank ({{lang-ar|الضفة الغربية}} ''aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah'', {{lang-he-n|הַגָּדָה הַמַּעֲרָבִית}}, [[Romanization of Hebrew|translit.]] ''HaGadah HaMa'aravit''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Karayanni|first1=Michael|title=Conflicts in a Conflict|date=2014|page=xi}}</ref> | nickname = | area_total_km2 = 5,640 | population_total = 2,345,107 | subdivision_type = | subdivision_name = }} The '''West Bank''' ({{lang-ar|الضفة الغربية}} ''{{transl|ar|DIN|aḍ-Ḍiffah l-Ġarbiyyah}}''; {{lang-he|הגדה המערבית}}, ''HaGadah HaMa'aravit'' or '''Cisjordan'''<ref>Israel Defense Forces, Ordinance No. 187, "Ordinance about Interpretation", "The term Region of Yehuda ve-HaŠomron will be identical in meaning, for all purposes, including any legal issue or security legislation, to the term Region of HaGada HaMa'aravit", 17 December 1967, Major General Uzi Narkis, Commander of Central District and IDF Forces in the Region of ''HaGada HaMa'aravit''. Published in Hebrew and Arabic in [http://www.law.idf.il/Templates/GetFile/GetFile.aspx?FileName=XGF5b3NoLWRvY3NcdGhpa2Fca2FtemFtXGF5YTAyLTAwOS5wZGY=&InfoCenterItem=true Collection no. 9 of ordinances for the West Bank], 22 January 1968, p. 368</ref><ref>Dishon (1973) Dishon Record 1968 Published by Shiloah Institute (later the [[Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies]]) and John Wiley and Sons, ISBN 0-470-21611-5 p 441</ref> is a [[landlock]]ed territory near the [[Mediterranean]] coast of [[Western Asia]], forming the bulk of the [[State of Palestine]]. The West Bank shares boundaries ([[Demarcation line|demarcated]] by the [[Jordan]]ian-[[Israel]]i [[1949 Armistice Agreements|armistice of 1949]]) to the west, north, and south with the state of [[Israel]], and to the east, across the [[Jordan River]], with [[Jordan]]. The West Bank also contains a significant coastline along the western bank of the [[Dead Sea]].<ref name="CIA"/> The West Bank, including [[East Jerusalem]], has a land area of 5,640&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> and 220&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> water, the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea.<ref name="CIA">{{cite web| url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html| title= The World Factbook – Middle East: West Bank| publisher= Central Intelligence Agency See also [[Geography of the West Bank]]}}</ref> It has an estimated population of 2,676,740 (July 2013).<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web| url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html| title=The World Factbook - Middle East: West Bank| publisher= Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref> More than 80%, about 2,100,000,<ref name="CIA"/> are [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] Arabs, and approximately 500,000 are [[Israeli Jews|Jewish Israelis]] living in the West Bank,<ref name="CIA"/> including about 192,000 in East Jerusalem,<ref name="haaretz-27July2009">{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1103125.html |title=IDF: More than 300,000 settlers live in West Bank |work=Haaretz |location=Israel |accessdate=9 May 2010}}</ref> in [[Israeli settlements]]. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, illegal under [[international law]], though Israel disputes this.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Prolonged Military Occupation: The Israeli-Occupied Territories Since 1967|last=Roberts|first=Adam|author-link=Adam Roberts (scholar)|journal=The American Journal of International Law|volume=84|issue=1|publisher=American Society of International Law|pages=85–86|quote=The international community has taken a critical view of both deportations and settlements as being contrary to international law. General Assembly resolutions have condemned the deportations since 1969, and have done so by overwhelming majorities in recent years. Likewise, they have consistently deplored the establishment of settlements, and have done so by overwhelming majorities throughout the period (since the end of 1976) of the rapid expansion in their numbers. The Security Council has also been critical of deportations and settlements; and other bodies have viewed them as an obstacle to peace, and illegal under international law..|doi=10.2307/2203016}}</ref><ref name=maj>{{Cite book|title=The Italian Yearbook of International Law|volume=14|year=2005|editor1-last=Conforti|editor1-first=Benedetto|editor2-last=Bravo|editor2-first=Luigi|first=Marco|last=Pertile|chapter='Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory': A Missed Opportunity for International Humanitarian Law?|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|isbn=978-90-04-15027-0|page=141|quote=the establishment of the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has been considered illegal by the international community and by the majority of legal scholars.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|journal=International Journal of Constitutional Law|title=Israel: The security barrier—between international law, constitutional law, and domestic judicial review|publisher=Oxford University Press|volume=4|last=Barak-Erez|first=Daphne|author-link=Daphne Barak Erez|year=2006|page=548|quote=The real controversy hovering over all the litigation on the security barrier concerns the fate of the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. Since 1967, Israel has allowed and even encouraged its citizens to live in the new settlements established in the territories, motivated by religious and national sentiments attached to the history of the Jewish nation in the land of Israel. This policy has also been justified in terms of security interests, taking into consideration the dangerous geographic circumstances of Israel before 1967 (where Israeli areas on the Mediterranean coast were potentially threatened by Jordanian control of the West Bank ridge). The international community, for its part, has viewed this policy as patently illegal, based on the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention that prohibit moving populations to or from territories under occupation.|issue=3|doi=10.1093/icon/mol021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|chapter=Self-determination and population transfer|last=Drew|first=Catriona|title=Human rights, self-determination and political change in the occupied Palestinian territories|volume=52|series=International studies in human rights|editor-last=Bowen|editor-first=Stephen|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|year=1997|isbn=978-90-411-0502-8|pages=151–152|quote=It can thus clearly be concluded that the transfer of Israeli settlers into the occupied territories violates not only the laws of belligerent occupation but the Palestinian right of self-determination under international law. The question remains, however, whether this is of any practical value. In other words, given the view of the international community that the Israeli settlements are illegal under the law if belligerent occupation, what purpose does it serve to establish that an additional breach of international law has occurred?}}</ref> The [[International Court of Justice]] advisory ruling (2004) concluded that events that came after the 1967 occupation of the West Bank by Israel, including the [[Jerusalem Law]], Israel's peace treaty with Jordan and the [[Oslo Accords]], did not change the status of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) as occupied territory with [[Israel]] as the occupying power.<ref name=FD/><ref name=ICJ2004/> ==Etymology== [[File:City.of.salfit.west.bank.jpg|thumb|City of [[Salfit]], West Bank]] ===West Bank=== there fixed it your welcome lolgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggsgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggs gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggs gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggs gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggs gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggs ===Cisjordan=== The neo-[[Latin]] name ''Cisjordan'' or ''Cis-Jordan'' (literally "on this side of the River Jordan") is the usual name for the territory in the [[Romance languages]] and [[:hu:Ciszjordánia|Hungarian]]. The name ''West Bank'', however, has become the standard usage for this [[geopolitical]] entity in English and some of the other Germanic languages since its creation following the [[Jordanian occupation of the West Bank|Jordanian army's conquest]]. In English, the name ''Cisjordan'' is occasionally used to designate the entire region between the [[Jordan River]] and the Mediterranean, particularly in the historical context of the British Mandate and earlier times.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}} The analogous ''[[Transjordan (region)|Transjordan]]'' (literally "on the other side of the River Jordan") has historically been used to designate the region now roughly comprising the state of Jordan, which lies to the east of the Jordan River. ==History== {{See also|History of the Levant|History of Palestine|History of the Northern West Bank|History of the Southern West Bank}} {{History of the Palestinian territories}} From 1517 through 1917, the area now known as the West Bank was under [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] rule as part of the provinces of [[Ottoman Syria|Syria]]. ===20th century=== [[File:Cave of the Patriarchs8.jpg|thumb|The Cave of the Patriarchs is one of the most famous holy sites in the region.]] At the 1920 [[San Remo conference]], the victorious [[Allies of World War I|Allied powers]] (France, UK, USA, etc.) allocated the area to the [[British Mandate of Palestine]] (1920–47). The San Remo Resolution adopted on 25 April 1920 incorporated the [[Balfour Declaration, 1917|Balfour Declaration]] of 1917. It and Article 22 of the Covenant of the [[League of Nations]] were the basic documents upon which the [[British Mandate for Palestine]] was constructed. <!---needs to be better merged/integrated---> In 1947, it was subsequently designated as part of a proposed Arab state by the [[United Nations]] (UN) [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine|partition plan for Palestine]]. The [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181|resolution]] recommended partition of the British Mandate into a Jewish State, an Arab State, and an [[corpus separatum (Jerusalem)|internationally administered enclave of Jerusalem]],<ref>{{cite web |url= http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/0/7f0af2bd897689b785256c330061d253 |title=A/RES/181(II) of 29 November 1947 |first= |last= |work=domino.un.org |year=1947 |accessdate=9 April 2012}}</ref> a more broad region of the modern-day West Bank was assigned to the Arab State. The resolution designated the territory described as "the hill country of Samaria and Judea" (including what is now also known as the "West Bank") as part of the proposed [[Arab]] state, but following the [[1948 Arab-Israeli War]] this area was captured by Transjordan (renamed [[Jordan]] two years after independence in 1946). [[1949 Armistice Agreements]] defined the [[Green Line (Israel)|interim boundary]] between Israel and Jordan.<ref name="JordanIsraelArmistice1949">[http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/F03D55E48F77AB698525643B00608D34 General Armistice Agreement between the Hashemite Jordan Kingdom and Israel] UN Doc S/1302/Rev.1 3 April 1949</ref> In 1950, Transjordan annexed the area west of the Jordan River, naming it "West Bank" or "Cisjordan", as "East Bank" or "Transjordan" designated the area east of the river. [[Jordanian occupation of the West Bank|Jordan ruled]] over the West Bank from 1948 until 1967. Jordan's annexation was never formally recognized by the international community, with the exception of the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="digicoll.library.wisc.edu">Joseph Massad said that the members of the Arab League granted de facto recognition and that the United States had formally recognized the annexation, except for Jerusalem. See Joseph A. Massad, Colonial Effects: The Making of National Identity in Jordan (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001),ISBN 0-231-12323-X, page 229. Records show that the United States de facto accepted the annexation without formally recognizing it. [http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/FRUS/FRUS-idx?type=turn&entity=FRUS.FRUS1950v05.p0943&id=FRUS.FRUS1950v05&isize=M United States Department of State / Foreign relations of the United States, 1950. The Near East, South Asia, and Africa] pg. 921</ref><ref name=Silverburg>It is often stated that Pakistan recognized it as well, but that seems to be incorrect; see S. R. Silverburg, Pakistan and the West Bank: A research note, Middle Eastern Studies, 19:2 (1983) 261–263.</ref> The idea of an independent Palestinian state was not raised by the Arab populations there at the time. [[Abdullah I of Jordan|King Abdullah of Jordan]] was crowned King of Jerusalem{{by whom|date=September 2014}} and granted Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank and East Jerusalem Jordanian citizenship.<ref>[[Karen Armstrong|Armstrong, Karen]]. ''Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths''. New York: Ballantine Books, 1996. p. 387.</ref> ===Israeli Military Governorate and Civil Administration=== {{main|Israeli Military Governorate|Israeli Civil Administration}} In June 1967, the West Bank and [[East Jerusalem]] were captured by Israel as a result of the [[Six-Day War]]. With the exception of East Jerusalem and the former Israeli-Jordanian [[no man's land (West Bank)|no man's land]], the West Bank was not [[Annexation|annexed]] by Israel but came under [[Israeli Military Governorate|Israeli military control]] until 1982. Although the [[1974 Arab League summit]] resolution at [[Rabat]] designated the [[Palestinian Liberation Organization]] (PLO) as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people”, Jordan did not officially relinquish its claim to the area until 1988,<ref>{{cite book| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=DWhgIe3Hq98C&pg=PA247&dq#v=onepage&q&f=false| title= The Palestine Yearbook of International Law 1987-1988| editor= Anis F. Kassim| year= 1988| page= 247}}</ref> when it severed all administrative and legal ties with the West Bank and eventually stripped West Bank Palestinians of Jordanian citizenship.<ref>{{cite book| url=http://books.google.ch/books?id=asQryfnCVsEC&pg=PA196#v=onepage&q&f=false| title= Israel, the Hashemites, and the Palestinians: The fateful triangle| editors=Efraim Karsh, P. R. Kumaraswamy| year=2003| page=196}}</ref> In 1982, as a result of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, the direct military rule was transformed into a [[Israeli Civil Administration|semi-civil authority]], operating directly under the Israeli Ministry of Defense, thus taking control of civil matters of Palestinians from the IDF to civil servants in the Ministry of Defense. The Israeli settlements were on the other hands administered subsequently as [[Judea and Samaria Area]] directly by Israel. Since the 1993 [[Oslo Accords]], the [[Palestinian Authority]] officially controls a geographically non-contiguous territory comprising approx. 11% of the West Bank (known as Area A) which remains subject to Israeli incursions. Area B (approx. 28%) is subject to joint Israeli-Palestinian military and Palestinian civil control. Area C (approx. 61%) is under full Israeli control. Though 164 nations refer to the West Bank, including [[East Jerusalem]], as “[[Israeli-occupied territories|Occupied Palestinian Territory]]”,<ref name="UNGeneva Convention">{{cite web| title = Applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, and the other occupied Arab territories| publisher = United Nations| date= 17 December 2003| url = http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/97360ee7a29e68a085256df900723485/d6f5d7049734efff85256e1200677754| accessdate=27 September 2006}}</ref><ref name="ICRCGeneva Convention">{{cite web| title= Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention: Statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross| publisher = [[International Committee of the Red Cross]]| date= 5 December 2001| url= http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/5fldpj.htm| accessdate=27 September 2006}}</ref> the state of Israel is of the view that only territories captured in war from “an established and recognized sovereign” are considered occupied territories.<ref name="GovILDisputed Territories">{{cite web| url=http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFA-Archive/2003/Pages/DISPUTED%20TERRITORIES-%20Forgotten%20Facts%20About%20the%20We.aspx| title= Disputed Territories: Forgotten Facts about the West Bank and Gaza Strip| publisher= Israeli government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs| accessdate=5 June 2012}}</ref> After the [[Battle of Gaza (2007)|2007 split]] between [[Fatah]] and [[Hamas]], the West Bank areas under [[Palestinian territories|Palestinian control]] are an exclusive part of the Palestinian Authority, while the [[Gaza Strip]] is [[Hamas Government in Gaza|ruled]] by Hamas. ===Legal status=== [[File:1947-UN-Partition-Plan-1949-Armistice-Comparison.svg|thumb|upright|alt=Map comparing the borders of the 1947 partition plan and the armistice of 1949.|{{Partition Plan-Armistice Lines comparison map legend}}]] From 1517 to 1917 the West Bank was part of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Turkey, successor state to the Ottoman Empire, [[Treaty of Lausanne|renounced]] its territorial claims in 1923, signing the [[Treaty of Lausanne]], and the area now called the West Bank became an integral part of the [[British Mandate for Palestine]]. During the Mandate period Britain had no right of sovereignty, which was held by the people under the mandate.<ref name=JQ2005>{{cite book|last=Quigley|first=John|title=The Case for Palestine An International Law Perspective|year=2005|publisher=Duke University Press|page=15}}</ref> In 1947 the UN General Assembly recommended that the area that became the West Bank become part of a future Arab state, but this proposal was opposed by the Arab states at the time. In 1948, [[Jordanian occupation of the West Bank|Jordan occupied the West Bank and annexed it in 1950]].<ref name="digicoll.library.wisc.edu"/> In 1967, Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the [[Six-Day War]]. [[UN Security Council Resolution 242]] that followed called for withdrawal from territories occupied in the conflict in exchange for peace and mutual recognition. Since 1979 the [[United Nations Security Council]],<ref>[[UN Security Council Resolution 446|Resolution 446]], [[UN Security Council Resolution 465|Resolution 465]], Resolution 484, among others</ref> the [[United Nations General Assembly]],<ref name="UNGeneva Convention"/> the United States,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/nea/8262.htm |title=Israel and the occupied territories |publisher=State.gov |date=4 March 2002 |accessdate=3 October 2010}}</ref> the EU,<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/occupied-palestinian-territory/ EU Trade, Countries and regions, Occupied Palestinian Territory]</ref> the [[International Court of Justice]],<ref>{{cite web| title = Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory| publisher = [[International Court of Justice]]| date= 9 July 2004| url = http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/85255e950050831085255e95004fa9c3/3740e39487a5428a85256ecc005e157a| accessdate=27 September 2006}}</ref> and the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]]<ref name=autogenerated5>{{cite web| title = Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention: Statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross| publisher = [[International Committee of the Red Cross]]| date= 5 December 2001| url = http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/5fldpj.htm| accessdate=27 September 2006}}</ref> refer to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as occupied Palestinian territory or the occupied territories. General Assembly resolution 58/292 (17 May 2004) affirmed that the Palestinian people have the right to sovereignty over the area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/d9d90d845776b7af85256d08006f3ae9/a2c2938216b39de485256ea70070c849?OpenDocument |title=UN Resolution 58/292 (17 May 2004) |publisher=United Nations |quote = Affirms that the status of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, remains one of military occupation, and affirms, in accordance with the rules and principles of international law and relevant resolutions of the United Nations, including Security Council resolutions, that the Palestinian people have the right to self-determination and to sovereignty over their territory and that Israel, the occupying Power, has only the duties and obligations of an occupying Power under the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949 1 and the Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, of 1907 |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> The [[International Court of Justice]] and the [[Supreme Court of Israel]] have ruled that the status of the West Bank is that of military occupation.<ref name=FD>{{cite book|last=Domb|first=Fania|title=International Law and Armed Conflict: Exploring the Faultlines|year=2007|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|isbn=9004154280|page=511|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=B1ZIIDeEc5AC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA511#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref> In its 2004 advisory opinion the International Court of Justice concluded that: {{Quote|The territories situated between the Green Line and the former eastern boundary of Palestine under the Mandate were occupied by Israel in 1967 during the armed conflict between Israel and Jordan. Under customary international law, the Court observes, these were therefore occupied territories in which Israel had the status of occupying Power. Subsequent events in these territories have done nothing to alter this situation. The Court concludes that all these territories (including East Jerusalem) remain occupied territories and that Israel has continued to have the status of occupying Power.<ref name=FD/><ref name=ICJ2004>{{cite book|title=Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion, I. C. J. Reports|year=2004|publisher=International Court of Justice|isbn=92-1-070993-4|page=136}}</ref>}} In the same vein the Israeli Supreme Court stated in the 2004 ''Beit Sourik'' case that: {{Quote|The general point of departure of all parties – which is also our point of departure – is that Israel holds the area in belligerent occupation (occupatio bellica)......The authority of the military commander flows from the provisions of public international law regarding belligerent occupation. These rules are established principally in the Regulations Concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land, The Hague, 18 October 1907 [hereinafter – the Hague Regulations]. These regulations reflect customary international law. The military commander’s authority is also anchored in IV Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War 1949.<ref name=FD/><ref name=BietSourik>{{cite web|title=Beit Sourik Village Council v. 1.The Government of Israel 2.Commander of the IDF Forces in the West Bank|url=http://elyon1.court.gov.il/Files_ENG/04/560/020/A28/04020560.A28.HTM|publisher=The Supreme Court Sitting as the High Court of Justice|accessdate=8 May 2012}}</ref>}} The executive branch of the Israeli government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has defined the West Bank as disputed territory, whose status can only be determined through negotiations. The Ministry says that occupied territories are territories captured in war from an established and recognized [[sovereign state|sovereign]], and that since the West Bank wasn't under the legitimate and recognized sovereignty of any state prior to the [[Six-Day War]], it shouldn't be considered an occupied territory.<ref name="GovILDisputed Territories"/> The [[International Court of Justice]] ruling of 9 July 2004 however found that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is territory held by Israel under military occupation, regardless of its status prior to it coming under Israeli occupation and the Fourth Geneva convention applies ''de jure''.<ref>[http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/131/1671.pdf Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory], see paragraphs 90-101 and p.5</ref> The international community regards the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) as territories occupied by Israel.<ref>[http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE15/007/2009/en/4c407b40-e64c-11dd-9917-ed717fa5078d/mde150072009en.html Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories: The conflict in Gaza: A briefing on applicable law, investigations and accountability] Amnesty International. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-05; [http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/07/06/isrlpa13698.htm Human Rights Council Special Session on the Occupied Palestinian Territories] Human Rights Watch, 6 July 2006; [http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/06/israel.gaza.occupation.question/index.html Is Gaza 'occupied' territory?] CNN, 6 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-30.</ref> International law (Article 49 of the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]]) prohibits "transfers of the population of an occupying power to occupied territories", incurring a responsibility on the part of Israel's government to not settle Israeli citizens in the West Bank.<ref>[http://www.bbcgovernorsarchive.co.uk/docs/reviews/lubell_law_report.pdf Independent law report commissioned by the BBC Board of Governors], BBC Governors' Archive, February 2006 (pages 48–50)</ref> As of 27 September 2013, 134 (69.4%) of the 193 member states of the [[United Nations]] have [[International recognition of the State of Palestine|recognised]] the [[State of Palestine]]<ref>Evan Centanni, [http://www.polgeonow.com/2013/11/map-palestine-recognized-two-more-countries.html Map: Palestine Recognized by Two More Countries (134/193)] Political Geography Now, 2 November 2013</ref> within the [[Palestinian territories]], which are recognized by Israel to constitute a single territorial unit,<ref>[http://www.reut-institute.org/Publication.aspx?PublicationId=1095 'West Bank and Gaza Strip as a Single Territorial Unit,'] Reut Institute.</ref><ref>[http://www.europeanforum.net/country/palestinian_territories 'Palestinian Territories,'] European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity, 31 January 2014</ref> and of which the West Bank is the core of the would-be state.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21603478-aside-israels-fears-palestinian-reconciliation-has-long-way-go 'An awkward new government,'] [[The Economist]] 7 June 2014.</ref> [[File:Jericho from above.jpg|thumb|250px|City of [[Jericho]], West Bank]] ===Political status=== {{Main|Political status of the Palestinian territories}} [[File:Bush abbas presidential guard.jpg|thumb|250px|U.S. President [[George W. Bush|George Bush]] and [[Mahmoud Abbas]] in [[Ramallah]], 2008]] The future status of the West Bank, together with the [[Gaza Strip]] on the Mediterranean shore, has been the subject of negotiation between the Palestinians and Israelis, although the current [[Road Map for Peace]], proposed by the "[[Quartet on the Middle East|Quartet]]" comprising the United States, Russia, the [[European Union]], and the United Nations, envisions an independent Palestinian state in these territories living side by side with [[Israel]] (see also [[proposals for a Palestinian state]]). However, the "Road Map" states that in the first phase, Palestinians must end all attacks on Israel, whereas Israel must dismantle outposts. Since neither condition has been met since the Road Map was "accepted", by all sides, final negotiations have not yet begun on major political differences. The [[Palestinian Authority]] believes that the West Bank ought to be a part of their sovereign nation, and that the presence of Israeli military control is a violation of their right to Palestinian Authority rule. The United Nations calls the West Bank and Gaza Strip ''[[Israeli-occupied territories]]''. The United States State Department also refers to the territories as ''occupied''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3464.htm |title=Jordan (03/08) |publisher=State.gov |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/t/pm/64711.htm |title=Israel |publisher=State.gov |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90212.htm#OT |title=Israel and the Occupied Territories |publisher=State.gov |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> Many Israelis and their supporters prefer the term ''[[disputed territories]]'', because they claim part of the territory for themselves, and state the land has not, in 2000 years, been sovereign. Palestinian public opinion opposes Israeli military and settler presence on the West Bank as a violation of their right to statehood and sovereignty.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcpsr.org/survey/polls/2001/p2a.html |title=Survey Research Unit |publisher=Pcpsr.org |date=9 July 2001 |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> Israeli opinion is split into a number of views: * Complete or partial withdrawal from the West Bank in hopes of peaceful coexistence in separate states (sometimes called the "[[land for peace]]" position); (In a 2003 poll, 76% of Israelis supported a peace agreement based on that principle).<ref>{{cite web |title = Israeli public opinion regarding the conflict |publisher = The Center for Middle East Peace and Economics Cooperation |url = http://www.mifkad.org.il/en/more.asp |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070210190934/http://www.mifkad.org.il/en/more.asp |archivedate = 10 February 2007 |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref> * Maintenance of a military presence in the West Bank to reduce [[Palestinian terrorism]] by deterrence or by armed intervention, while relinquishing some degree of political control; * [[Annexation]] of the West Bank while considering the Palestinian population with Palestinian Authority citizenship with Israeli residence permit as per the [[Elon Peace Plan]]; * Annexation of the West Bank and assimilation of the Palestinian population to fully fledged Israeli citizens; *[[population transfer|Transfer]] of the East Jerusalem Palestinian population (a 2002 poll at the height of the Al Aqsa intifada found 46% of Israelis favoring Palestinian transfer of Jerusalem residents).<ref>{{cite journal |author = Asher Arian |title = A Further Turn to the Right: Israeli Public Opinion on National Security – 2002 |journal = Strategic Assessment |volume = 5 |issue = 1 |pages = 50–57 |date=June 2002 |publisher = [[Tel Aviv University]]: Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies |url = http://www.tau.ac.il/jcss/sa/v5n1p4Ari.html |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060103083229/http://www.tau.ac.il/jcss/sa/v5n1p4Ari.html |archivedate = 3 January 2006 |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref> In 2005 the United States ambassador to Israel, [[Daniel C. Kurtzer]], expressed U.S. support "for the retention by Israel of major Israeli population centres [in the West Bank] as an outcome of negotiations",<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4382343.stm 'US will accept Israel settlements'], BBC News Online, 25 March 2005.</ref> reflecting [[George W. Bush|President Bush]]'s statement a year earlier that a permanent peace treaty would have to reflect "demographic realities" on the West Bank.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4445839.stm 'UN Condemns Israeli settlements'], BBC News Online, 14 April 2005.</ref> In May 2011 US President Barack Obama officially stated US support for a future Palestinian state based on borders prior to the 1967 War, allowing for land swaps where they are mutually agreeable between the two sides. Obama was the first US president to formally support the policy, but he stated that it had been one long held by the US in its Middle East negotiations.<ref name=CNNObama>{{cite news|last=Cohen|first=Tom|title=Obama calls for Israel's return to pre-1967 borders|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2011-05-19/politics/obama.israel.palestinians_1_israel-palestinian-conflict-borders-settlements?_s=PM:POLITICS|accessdate=11 May 2012|newspaper=CNN|date=19 May 2011}}</ref><ref name=HzObama>{{cite news|last=Mozgovaya|first=Natasha|title=Obama to AIPAC: 1967 borders reflect long-standing U.S. policy|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/obama-to-aipac-1967-borders-reflect-long-standing-u-s-policy-1.363351|accessdate=11 May 2012|newspaper=Haaretz|date=22 May 2011}}</ref> {{Anchor|Geography}} ==Geography== [[File:Judean Hills from Ramallah.jpg|128 Kiopx|thumbnail|View of the [[Judaean Mountains]] from [[Ramallah]]]] The West Bank has an area of {{convert|5628|km2|sqmi}}, which comprises 21.2% of former Mandatory Palestine (excluding Jordan)<ref name=Arnon>Arie Arnon, [http://www.econ.bgu.ac.il/facultym/arnona/Israeli_Policy_towards_the_Occupied_Palestinian_Territories_The_Economic_Dimension_1967-2007.pdf ''Israeli Policy towards the Occupied Palestinian Territories: The Economic Dimension, 1967-2007'']. MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL, Volume 61, No. 4, AUTUMN 2007 (p. 575)</ref> and has generally rugged mountainous terrain. The total length of the land boundaries of the region are {{convert|404|km|0|abbr=off}}.<ref name=cia>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html CIA Factbook: West Bank]</ref> The terrain is mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in the west, but somewhat barren in the east. The elevation span between the shoreline of the Dead Sea at -408 m to the highest point at [[Mount Nabi Yunis]], at 1,030 m (3,379&nbsp;ft) [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]].<ref>[http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=1033 A house demolished, three others threatened in the town of Halhul - 24,March,2007], POICA. Retrieved 14 October 2012.</ref> The area of West Bank is landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers.<ref name=cia/> There are few natural resources in the area except the highly arable land, which comprises 27% of the land area of the region. It is mostly used as permanent pastures (32% of arable land) and seasonal agricultural uses (40%).<ref name=cia/> Forests and woodland comprise just 1%, with no permanent crops.<ref name=cia/> ===Climate=== The climate in the West Bank is mostly [[Mediterranean]], slightly cooler at elevated areas compared with the shoreline, west to the area. In the east, the West Bank includes the Judean Desert and the shoreline of the Dead Sea - both with dry and hot climate. ===Political geography=== ====Palestinian administration==== {{main|Administrative divisions of the Oslo Accords|Palestinian Authority}} [[File:Settlements2006.jpg|thumb|Map of West Bank settlements and closures in January 2006: Yellow = Palestinian urban centers. Light pink = closed military areas or settlement boundary areas or areas isolated by the [[Israeli West Bank barrier]]; dark pink = settlements, outposts or military bases. The black line = route of the Barrier]] The 1993 [[Oslo Accords]] declared the final status of the West Bank to be subject to a forthcoming settlement between [[Israel]] and the Palestinian leadership. Following these interim accords, Israel withdrew its military rule from some parts of the West Bank, which was divided into three [[administrative divisions of the Oslo Accords]]: {| class="wikitable" |- !Area!!Security!!Civil Admin!!% of WB<br/>land!!% of WB<br/>Palestinians |- |A||Palestinian||Palestinian||18%||55% |- |B||Israeli||Palestinian||21%||41% |- |C||Israeli||Israeli||61%||4%<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/World/palest.htm |title=JURIST – Palestinian Authority: Palestinian law, legal research, human rights |publisher=Jurist.law.pitt.edu |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> |} Area A, 2.7%, full civil control of the Palestinian Authority, comprises Palestinian towns, and some rural areas away from Israeli settlements in the north (between [[Jenin]], [[Nablus]], [[Tubas]], and [[Tulkarm]]), the south (around [[Hebron]]), and one in the center south of [[Salfit]].<ref name="Oslo 2">{{cite web | last = Gvirtzman | first = Haim | title = Maps of Israeli Interests in Judea and Samaria Determining the Extent of the Additional Withdrawals | date = 8 February 1998 | url = http://www.biu.ac.il/Besa/books/maps.htm | accessdate =1 September 2008}}</ref> Area B, 25.2%, adds other populated rural areas, many closer to the center of the West Bank. Area C contains all the [[Israeli settlements]] (excluding settlements in East Jerusalem), roads used to access the settlements, buffer zones (near settlements, roads, strategic areas, and Israel), and almost all of the [[Jordan Valley (Middle East)|Jordan Valley]] and the [[Judean Desert]]. Areas A and B are themselves divided among 227 separate areas (199 of which are smaller than {{convert|2|km2|sqmi|0|sp=us}}) that are separated from one another by Israeli-controlled Area C. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prb.org/Articles/2002/TheWestBankandGazaAPopulationProfile.aspx |title=The West Bank and Gaza: A Population Profile – Population Reference Bureau |publisher=Prb.org |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> Areas A, B, and C cross the 11 [[Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority|governorates]] used as administrative divisions by the Palestinian National Authority, Israel, and the IDF and named after major cities. The mainly open areas of Area C, which contains all of the basic resources of arable and building land, water springs, quarries and sites of touristic value needed to develop a viable Palestinian state,<ref>[[Jonathan Cook]], [http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/world-bank-report-is-a-message-against-israeli-occupation 'World Bank report is a message against Israeli occupation,'] The National, 15 October 2013,</ref> were to be handed over to the Palestinians by 1999 under the Oslo Accords as part of a final status agreement. This agreement was never achieved.<ref>Ron Pundak [http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/decoding-bibi-s-west-bank-agenda.premium-1.455265 'Decoding Bibi's West Bank agenda,'] at [[Haaretz]], 3 August 2012.</ref> According to [[B'tselem]], while the vast majority of the Palestinian population lives in areas A and B, the vacant land available for construction in dozens of villages and towns across the West Bank is situated on the margins of the communities and defined as area C.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.btselem.org/English/Publications/Summaries/200205_Land_Grab.asp |title=B'Tselem – Publications – Land Grab: Israel's Settlement Policy in the West Bank, May 2002 |publisher=Btselem.org |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> Less than 1% of area C is designated for use by Palestinians, who are also unable to legally build in their own existing villages in area C due to Israeli authorities' restrictions,<ref name=AUS2922p4>{{cite web |url= http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18836847/west-bank-gaza-area-c-future-palestinian-economy |title= West Bank and Gaza - Area C and the future of the Palestinian economy |page=4 |date=2 October 2013 |publisher=World Bank|quote=Less than 1 percent of Area C, which is already built up, is designated by the Israeli authorities for Palestinian use; the remainder is heavily restricted or off-limits to Palestinians, 13 with 68 percent reserved for Israeli settlements, 14 c. 21 percent for closed military zones, 15 and c. 9 percent for nature reserves (approximately 10 percent of the West Bank, 86 percent of which lies in Area C). These areas are not mutually exclusive, and overlap in some cases. In practice it is virtually impossible for Palestinians to obtain construction permits for residential or economic purposes, even within existing Palestinian villages in Area C: the application process has been described by an earlier World Bank report (2008) as fraught with "ambiguity, complexity and high cost".}}</ref><ref name=IllegalSettlements-C>"Arab illegal construction is 16 times that of Jews, per person (..) The NGO Regavim presented the committee with aerial photographs that show that the PA is systematically encouraging illegal construction in the area next to Jerusalem. The construction is funded by EU states, in contravention of the law and previous agreements (..) PA works day and night to take over state land." {{cite news|last1=Ronen|first1=Gil|title=2014: Arabs Built 550 Illegal Structures in Area C Alone|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188349|accessdate=7 December 2014|issue=Main News Inside Israel|publisher=Arutz Sheva|date=12/7/2014, 10:32 PM}}</ref> An assessment by the UN [[Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]] in 2007 found that approximately 40% of the West Bank was taken up by Israeli infrastructure. The infrastructure, consisting of settlements, the [[West Bank barrier|barrier]], military bases and closed military areas, Israeli declared nature reserves and the roads that accompany them is off-limits or tightly controlled to Palestinians.<ref name="OCHAoPtHumanitarianImpact ">{{cite web |url=http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/TheHumanitarianImpactOfIsraeliInfrastructureTheWestBank_full.pdf |format=PDF|title=The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in the West Bank |publisher=UN [[Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]] – Occupied Palestinian Territory |accessdate=9 April 2009 }}</ref> In June 2011, the Independent Commission for Human Rights published a report that found that Palestinians in the West Bank and the [[Gaza Strip]] were subjected in 2010 to an “almost systematic campaign” of human rights abuse by the [[Palestinian Authority]] and [[Hamas]], as well as by [[Israel]]i authorities, with the security forces of the PA and Hamas being responsible for torture, arrests and arbitrary detentions.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mcquaid |first=Elwood |url=http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=224143 |title='PA bans journalists from reporting human rights abuses' |work=Jerusalem Post |accessdate=31 July 2011}}</ref> ====Areas annexed by Israel==== [[File:Greater Jerusalem May 2006 CIA remote-sensing map 3500px.jpg|thumb|[[Greater Jerusalem]], May 2006. [[CIA]] [[remote sensing]] map showing areas considered settlements, plus refugee camps, fences, walls, etc.]] Through the [[Jerusalem Law]], Israel extended its administrative control over [[East Jerusalem]]. This has often been interpreted as tantamount to an official annexation, though [[Ian Lustick]], in reviewing the legal status of Israeli measures, has argued that no such annexation ever took place. The Palestinian residents have legal [[permanent residency]] status.<ref>{{cite web |title = The Quiet Deportation: Revocation of Residency of East Jerusalem Palestinians |author = Yael Stein |publisher = Joint report by [[Hamoked]] and [[B'Tselem]] |date=April 1997 |url = http://www.btselem.org/Download/199704_Quiet_Deportation_Eng.doc |type = {{DOClink}} |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = The Quiet Deportation: Revocation of Residency of East Jerusalem Palestinians (Summary) |author = Yael Stein |publisher = Joint report by [[Hamoked]] and [[B'Tselem]] |date=April 1997 |url = http://www.btselem.org/English/Publications/Summaries/199704_Quiet_Deportation.asp |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref> Rejecting the Jerusalem Law, the UN Security Council passed [[UN Security Council Resolution 478]], declaring that the law was "null and void". Although permanent residents are permitted, if they wish, to receive Israeli citizenship if they meet certain conditions including swearing allegiance to the State and renouncing any other citizenship, most Palestinians did not apply for Israeli citizenship for political reasons.<ref>{{cite web |title = Legal status of East Jerusalem and its residents |publisher = [[B'Tselem]] |url = http://www.btselem.org/english/Jerusalem/Legal_Status.asp |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref> There are various possible reasons as to why the West Bank had not been annexed<ref name="MBard"/> to Israel after its [[Six-Day War|capture in 1967]]. The government of Israel has not formally confirmed an official reason; however, historians and analysts have established a variety of such, most of them demographic. Among those most commonly cited have been: *Reluctance to award its citizenship to an overwhelming number of a potentially hostile population whose allies were sworn to the destruction of Israel.<ref name="Bard">[[Mitchell Bard|Bard]]</ref><ref name="Bamberger">{{cite book |author = David Bamberger |title = A Young Person's History of Israel |publisher = Behrman House |origyear= 1985|year= 1994 |location = USA |page = 128 |isbn = 0-87441-393-1 }}</ref> *To ultimately exchange [[land for peace]] with neighbouring states<ref name="Bard"/><ref name="Bamberger"/> *Fear that the population of ethnic Arabs, including Israeli citizens of Palestinian ethnicity, would outnumber the Jewish Israelis west of the Jordan River.<ref name="MBard">([[Mitchell Bard|Bard]]{{cite web |title = Our Positions: Solving the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict |publisher = [[Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism]] |url = http://www.freemuslims.org/issues/israel-palestine.php |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref><ref name="Bard"/> *The disputed legality of [[annexation]] under the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/07/22/2740184/carter-center-calls-for-end-to-east-jerusalem-deportations |title=Carter Center calls for end to Jerusalem deportations &#124; JTA – Jewish & Israel News |publisher=JTA |date=22 July 2010 |accessdate=3 October 2010}}</ref> The importance of demographic concerns to some significant figures in Israel's leadership was illustrated when [[Avraham Burg]], a former Knesset Speaker and former chair of the Jewish Agency for Israel, wrote in ''The Guardian'' in September 2003, :"Between the Jordan and the Mediterranean there is no longer a clear Jewish majority. And so, fellow citizens, it is not possible to keep the whole thing without paying a price. We cannot keep a Palestinian majority under an Israeli boot and at the same time think ourselves the only democracy in the Middle East. There cannot be democracy without equal rights for all who live here, Arab as well as Jew. We cannot keep the territories and preserve a Jewish majority in the world's only Jewish state – not by means that are humane and moral and Jewish."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/sep/15/comment |title=The end of Zionism|author=Avraham Burg|work=The Guardian |location=London |date= 15 September 2003|accessdate=8 September 2009}}</ref> ====Israeli settlements==== {{Main|International law and Israeli settlements}} [[File:Westbankjan06.jpg|thumb|Map of [[Israeli settlements]] on the West Bank, January 2006]] As of December 2010, 327,750 Israelis live in the 121 settlements in the West Bank officially recognised by the Israeli government, 192,000 Israelis live in settlements in East Jerusalem.<ref name="haaretz-27July2009"/> There are approximately 100 further settlement outposts which are not officially recognized by the Israeli government and are illegal under Israeli law, but have been provided with infrastructure, water, sewage, and other services by the authorities.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DE2DF163CF93AA35750C0A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 |title=Israeli Report Condemns Support for Settlement Outposts |first=Steve |last=Erlanger |date=9 March 2005 |work=New York Times }}</ref><ref name=WP>{{cite news|last=Brulliard|first=Karin|title=Israel legalizes three West Bank outposts|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israel-legalizes-three-settlement-outposts/2012/04/24/gIQAbpfieT_story.html|accessdate=11 May 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=24 April 2012}}</ref> The international consensus (including the United Nations) is that all Israeli settlements on the West Bank beyond the Green Line border are illegal under international law.<ref>{{cite book|author = Emma Playfair (Ed.)| title = International Law and the Administration of Occupied Territories|publisher = Oxford University Press|year= 1992|location = USA|page = 396|isbn = 0-19-825297-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author = Cecilia Albin|title = Justice and Fairness in International Negotiation|publisher = Cambridge University Press|year= 2001|location = Cambridge|page = 150|isbn = 0-521-79725-X}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author = Mark Gibney|author2=Stanlislaw Frankowski |title = Judicial Protection of Human Rights: Myth or Reality?|publisher = Praeger/Greenwood |year= 1999|location = Westport, Connecticut|page = 72|isbn = 0-275-96011-0}}</ref><ref>'Plia Albeck, legal adviser to the Israeli Government was born in 1937. She died on 27 September 2005, aged 68', ''The Times'', 5 October 2005, p. 71.</ref> In particular, the [[European Union]] as a whole<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ue.eu.int/uedocs/cms_data/docs/2004/12/22/%7B3FA161D9-6DA6-408F-85CE-20D0EC68DDFF%7D.pdf|title= EU Committee Report|accessdate=19 April 2007}}</ref> considers the settlements to be illegal. Significant portions of the Israeli public similarly oppose the continuing presence of Jewish Israelis in the West Bank and have supported the 2005 settlement relocation.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Dromi|first=Shai M.|title=Uneasy Settlements: Reparation Politics and the Meanings of Money in the Israeli Withdrawal from Gaza|journal=Sociological Inquiry|year=2014|volume=84|issue=1|doi=10.1111/soin.12028}}</ref> The majority of legal scholars also hold the settlements to violate international law,<ref name=autogenerated3>{{Cite book|title=The Italian Yearbook of International Law|volume=14|year=2005|editor1-last=Conforti|editor1-first=Benedetto|editor2-last=Bravo|editor2-first=Luigi|first=Marco|last=Pertile|chapter='Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory': A Missed Opportunity for International Humanitarian Law?|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|isbn=978-90-04-15027-0|page=141|quote=the establishment of the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has been considered illegal by the international community and by the majority of legal scholars.|postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->{{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref> however individuals including [[Julius Stone]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aijac.org.au/news/article/international-law-and-the-arab-israel-conflict |title=International Law and the Arab Israel Conflict |editor=Ian Lacey |author=Julius Stone |date=13 October 2003 |work=Extracts from ''Israel and Palestine - Assault on the Law of Nations'' |publisher=[[AIJAC]] |accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/the-illegal-settlements-myth/ |title=The Illegal-Settlements Myth |author=David M. Phillips |journal=[[Commentary (magazine)|Commentary]] |issue=December 2009 |accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref> and [[Eugene Rostow]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tzemachdovid.org/Facts/islegal1.shtml |title=Resolved: are the settlements legal? Israeli West Bank policies |publisher=Tzemachdovid.org |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> have argued that they are legal under international law, on a number of different grounds.<ref>{{cite news|title = FAQ on Israeli settlements|publisher = [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC News]]|date= 26 February 2004|url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/middleeast/settlements.html|accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref> Immediately after the 1967 war [[Theodor Meron]], legal counsel of Israel's Foreign Ministry advised Israeli ministers in a "top secret" memo that any policy of building settlements across occupied territories violated international law and would "contravene the explicit provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israelis-were-warned-on-illegality-of-settlements-in-1967-memo-469443.html |title=Israelis were warned on illegality of settlements in 1967 memo |author=Donald Macintyre |date=11 March 2006 |newspaper=The Independent |location=London |page=27 |accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0311-06.htm |title=Israelis Were Warned on Illegality of Settlements in 1967 Memo |publisher=Commondreams.org |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref><ref>[[Gershom Gorenberg|Gorenberg, Gershom]]. "The Accidental Empire". New York: Times Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2006. p. 99.</ref> The UN Security Council has issued several non-binding resolutions addressing the issue of the settlements. Typical of these is UN Security Council resolution 446 which states ''[the] practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity'', and it calls on Israel ''as the occupying Power, to abide scrupulously by the [[Fourth Geneva Convention|1949 Fourth Geneva Convention]].''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/d744b47860e5c97e85256c40005d01d6/ba123cded3ea84a5852560e50077c2dc |title=UNSC Resolution 446 (1979) of 22 March 1979 |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> The Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention held in Geneva on 5 December 2001 called upon "the Occupying Power to fully and effectively respect the Fourth Geneva Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and to refrain from perpetrating any violation of the Convention." The High Contracting Parties reaffirmed "the illegality of the settlements in the said territories and of the extension thereof."<ref>[http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList325/D86C9E662022D64E41256C6800366D55 Implementation of the Fourth Geneva Convention in the occupied Palestinian territories: history of a multilateral process (1997–2001)], ''International Review of the Red Cross'', 2002 – No. 847.</ref> On 30 December 2007, [[Israeli Prime Minister]] [[Ehud Olmert]] issued an order requiring approval by both the Israeli Prime Minister and Israeli Defense Minister of all settlement activities (including planning) in the West Bank.<ref>{{cite news|title=Olmert curbs WBank building, expansion and planning|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL31349948|publisher=Reuters|date=31 December 2007|accessdate=31 December 2007 | first=Adam | last=Entous}}</ref> The change had little effect with settlements continuing to expand, and new ones being established. On 31 August 2014, Israel announced it was appropriating 400 hectares of land in the West Bank to eventually house 1,000 Israel families. The appropriation was described as the largest in more than 30 years.<ref name="NewSettlement">{{cite news|title=Israel launches massive new West Bank settlement plans|url=http://www.israelherald.com/index.php/sid/225274007|date=31 August 2014|accessdate=1 September 2014|publisher=''Israel Herald''}}</ref> According to reports on Israel Radio, the development is a response to the [[2014 kidnapping and murder of Israeli teenagers]].<ref name="NewSettlement" /> ====Palestinian outposts==== [[File:Palestinian demonstration against demolish of the village susya.jpg|thumb|A Palestinian demonstration against the demolition of the village [[Susya]]|250px]] The Haaretz published on December 2005 about demolition of ''Palestinian outposts'' in [[Bil'in]],<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/news/idf-completes-evacuation-of-bil-in-outpost-1.177194 IDF completes evacuation of Bil'in 'outpost' Some 150 troops break into caravan built near West Bank village to protest construction of separation fence. ]</ref> the demolitions sparked a political debate as according to ''PeaceNow'' it was a double standard ("After what happened today in Bil'in, there is no reason that the state should defend its decision to continue the construction" credited to [[Michael Sfard]]). In January 2012, the European Union approved the "Area C and Palestinian state building" report. The report said Palestinian presence in Area C has been continuously undermined by Israel and that state building efforts in Area C of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the EU were of "utmost importance in order to support the creation of a contiguous and viable Palestinian state". The EU will support various projects to "support the Palestinian people and help maintain their presence".<ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4174682,00.html Europe to pursue Area C projects], YnetNews 12 January 2012</ref><ref name=jps41-3>{{cite journal|title=A2. European Union, Internal Report on "Area C and Palestinian State Building," Brussels, January 2012 (excerpts)|journal=Journal of Palestine Studies|volume=41|issue=3 (Spring 2012)|pages=220–223|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/jps.2012.XLI.3.220|publisher=University of California Press|doi=10.1525/jps.2012.xli.3.220}}</ref> In May 2012, a petition<ref name="may8p">http://www.regavim.org.il/images/stories/hakl.pdf</ref> was filed to the [[Israeli Supreme Court]] about the legality of more 15<ref name="may8p"/> Palestinian outposts and Palestinian building in "Area C". The cases were filed by the non-profit Regavim: National Land Protection Trust.<ref name="nrgheb">[http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/366/534.html?hp=1&cat=404&loc=11 Dozens of Palestinian outposts created in Judea and Samaria: The Supreme Court will decide]</ref><ref>[http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=208098&R=R2 Illegal Palestinian quarry near Beit Fajar to close]</ref> The petition was one of 30 different petitions with the common ground of illegal land takeover and illegal construction and use of natural resources. Some of the petitions (27) had been set for trials<ref name="list_of_pettions">[http://www.regavim.org.il/index.php/activity/allpetitions List of petitions by the Regavim NGO]</ref> and the majority received a verdict. ''Ynet News'' stated on 11 Jan 2013 that a group of 200 Palestinians with unknown number of foreign activists created an outpost named [[Bab al-Shams]] ("Gate of the Sun"), contains 50 tents<ref>{{cite web|title=Palestinians erect outpost in E1 zone|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4331277,00.html}}</ref> ''Ynet News'' stated on 18 January 2013 that Palestinian activists built an outpost on a disputed area in [[Beit Iksa]], where Israel plans to construct part of the separation fence in the Jerusalem vicinity while the Palestinians claim that the area belongs to the residents of [[Beit Iksa]]. named [[Bab al-Krama]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Report: IDF fire injures 2 Palestinians|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4334255,00.html}}</ref> ====West Bank barrier==== {{main|Israeli West Bank barrier}} [[File:West Bank barrier.jpg|thumb|[[West Bank barrier]] (''Separating Wall'')]] [[File:Qalandiya Checkpoint.jpg|85 Kiopx|thumb|left|[[Kalandia|Qalandiya]] Checkpoint between [[Ramallah]] and [[Jerusalem]]]] The [[Israeli West Bank barrier]] is a physical [[separation barrier|barrier]] ordered for construction by the Israeli Government, consisting of a network of fences with vehicle-barrier trenches surrounded by an on average {{convert|60|m|ft|0|sp=us}} wide exclusion area (90%) and up to {{convert|8|m|ft|0|sp=us}} high concrete walls (10%) (although in most areas the wall is not nearly that high).<ref>{{cite web|title=HCJ 7957/04 Mara’abe v. The Prime Minister of Israel|url=http://elyon1.court.gov.il/Files_ENG/04/570/079/A14/04079570.A14.pdf|publisher=Supreme Court of Israeli (High Court of Justice)|accessdate=17 December 2012}}</ref> It is located mainly within the West Bank, partly along the [[1949 Armistice Agreements|1949 Armistice line]], or "[[Green Line (Israel)|Green Line]]" between the West Bank and Israel. As of April 2006 the length of the barrier as approved by the Israeli government is {{convert|703|km|mi|sp=us}} long.{{Update inline|date=November 2012}} Approximately 58.4% has been constructed, 8.96% is under construction, and construction has not yet begun on 33% of the barrier.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.btselem.org/english/Separation_Barrier/Statistics.asp |title=B'Tselem – The Separation Barrier – Statistics |publisher=Btselem.org |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> The space between the barrier and the green line is a closed military zone known as the [[Seam Zone]], cutting off 8.5% of the West Bank and encompassing dozens of villages and tens of thousands of Palestinians.<ref name=B>{{cite web|title=Separation Barrier: 9 July 2006: Two Years after the ICJ's Decision on the Separation Barrier|publisher=[[B'tselem]]|date=9 July 2006|accessdate=11 May 2007|url=http://www.btselem.org/english/separation_barrier/20060709_Hague_2nd_anniversary.asp}}</ref><ref name=CBC>{{cite news|title=Indepth Middle East:Israel's Barrier|author=Margarat Evans|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]|date=6 January 2006|accessdate=5 November 2007|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/middleeast/israel_barrier.html}}</ref><ref name=ICJ>{{cite web|title=Israel's Separation Barrier:Challenges to the Rule of Law and Human Rights: Executive Summary Part I and II|publisher=[[International Commission of Jurists]]|date=6 July 2004|accessdate=11 May 2007|url=http://www.icj.org/news.php3?id_article=3410&lang=en&print=true}}</ref> The barrier generally runs along or near the 1949 Jordanian-Israeli armistice/Green Line, but diverges in many places to include on the Israeli side several of the highly populated areas of Jewish settlements in the West Bank such as [[East Jerusalem]], [[Ariel (city)|Ariel]], [[Gush Etzion]], [[Immanuel (town)|Immanuel]], [[Karnei Shomron]], [[Givat Ze'ev]], [[Oranit]], and [[Maale Adumim]]. Supporters of the barrier claim it is necessary for protecting Israeli civilians from Palestinian attacks, which increased significantly during the Al-Aqsa Intifada;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.securityfence.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/questions.htm |title=Israel Security Fence – Ministry of Defense |publisher=Securityfence.mod.gov.il |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zionism-israel.com/map_of_israel_security_problem_distances.htm |title=Map of Palestine – Land of Israel, 1845 |publisher=Zionism-israel.com |accessdate=3 October 2010}}</ref> it has helped reduce incidents of terrorism by 90% from 2002 to 2005; over a 96% reduction in terror attacks in the six years ending in 2007,<ref>Wall Street Journal, "After Sharon", 6 January 2006.</ref> though Israel's State Comptroller has acknowledged that most of the suicide bombers crossed into Israel through existing checkpoints.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/d80185e9f0c69a7b85256cbf005afeac/c4c1970ae0ba634b85256e510073d1e3/$FILE/PA-ICJ%20written%20statement%20(exec%20summary).pdf#page=8| title=Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory|date=30 January 2004}}</ref> Its supporters claim that the [[Philosophic burden of proof|onus]] is now on the Palestinian Authority to fight terrorism.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/news/sen-clinton-i-support-w-bank-fence-pa-must-fight-terrorism-1.173922 Sen. Clinton: I support W. Bank fence, PA must fight terrorism]. Haaretz, 13 November 2005</ref> Opponents claim the barrier is an illegal attempt to annex Palestinian land under the guise of security,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.btselem.org/english/Publications/summaries/200512_Under_the_Guise_of_Security.asp |title=Under the Guise of Security |publisher=Btselem.org |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> violates international law,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/07/09/israel.barrier/index.html |title=U.N. court rules West Bank barrier illegal |publisher=CNN |date=9 July 2004 |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> has the intent or effect to pre-empt final status negotiations,<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,976105,00.html Set in stone], The Guardian, 15 June 2003</ref> and severely restricts Palestinian livelihoods, particularly limiting their freedom of movement within and from the West Bank thereby undermining their economy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13623699.2013.873643?journalCode=fmcs20#.UvHtHD15PSg |title=Settlements and separation in the West Bank: future implications for health. Patrick Bogue, Richard Sullivan, Anonymous and Guglielmo Chelazzi Grandinetti|publisher=Medicine, Conflict and Survival. 2014.|date=February 2014}}</ref> ====Administrative divisions==== {{main|Administrative divisions of the Oslo Accords}} =====Palestinian governorates===== {{main|Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority}} [[File:WestBankGovernatesNonLabeled.png|thumb|100px|[[Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority|Northern Governorates]]]] After the signing of the [[Oslo Accords]], the West Bank was divided into 11 [[governorate]]s under the jurisdiction of the [[Palestinian National Authority]]. Since 2007 there are two governments claiming to be the legitimate government of the Palestinian National Authority, one based in the West Bank and one based in the Gaza Strip. {| class="wikitable sortable" !Governorate<ref name=geohive/>!!Population<ref name=geohive>{{cite web|url=http://www.geohive.com/cntry/palestine.aspx|title=Occupied Palestinian Territory: Administrative units|accessdate=24 October 2012|publisher=GeoHive}}</ref>!!Area (km<sup>2</sup>)<ref name=geohive/> |- |[[Jenin Governorate]]||align="right"| 256,212 ||align="right"| 583 |- |[[Tubas Governorate]]||align="right"| 48,771 ||align="right"| 372 |- |[[Tulkarm Governorate]]||align="right"| 158,213 ||align="right"| 239 |- |[[Nablus Governorate]]||align="right"| 321,493 ||align="right"| 592 |- |[[Qalqilya Governorate]]||align="right"| 91,046 ||align="right"| 164 |- |[[Salfit Governorate]]||align="right"| 59,464 ||align="right"| 191 |- |[[Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate]]||align="right"| 278,018 ||align="right"| 844 |- |[[Jericho Governorate]]||align="right"| 41,724 ||align="right"| 608 |- |[[Jerusalem Governorate]]<br/>(including Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem with Israeli citizenship)||align="right"| 362,521 ||align="right"| 344 |- |[[Bethlehem Governorate]]||align="right"| 176,515 ||align="right"| 644 |- |[[Hebron Governorate]]||align="right"| 551,129 ||align="right"| 1,060 |- !Total!! style="text-align:right;"| 2,345,107 !!align="right"| 5,671 |} ===== Israeli administrative districts ===== {{see also|Judea and Samaria Area}} The West Bank is further divided into 8 administrative regions: Menashe ([[Jenin]] area), HaBik'a ([[Jordan Valley (Middle East)|Jordan Valley]]), [[Samaria|Shomron]] ([[Shechem]] area, known in Arabic as [[Nablus]]), Efrayim ([[Tulkarm]] area), Binyamin ([[Ramallah]]/[[al-Bireh]] area), Maccabim ([[Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut|Maccabim]] area), [[Gush Etzion|Etzion]] ([[Bethlehem]] area) and [[Judea|Yehuda]] ([[Hebron]] area). ==Economy== {{Main|Economy of the Palestinian territories}} The economy of the Palestinian territories is chronically depressed, with [[unemployment]] rates constantly over 20% since 2000 (19% in the West Bank in first half of 2013).<ref name=AUS2922p2a>{{cite web |url= http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18836847/west-bank-gaza-area-c-future-palestinian-economy |title= West Bank and Gaza - Area C and the future of the Palestinian economy |page=2 |date=2 October 2013 |publisher=World Bank|quote=Consequently, unemployment rates have remained very high in the Palestinian territories...After initial post-Oslo rates of about 9 percent in the mid-1990s, unemployment rose to 28 percent of the labor force in 2000 with the onset of the second intifada and the imposition of severe movement and access restrictions; it has remained high ever since and is currently about 22 percent. What is more, almost 24 percent of the workforce is employed by the PA, an uncommonly high proportion that reflects the lack of dynamism in the private sector.}}</ref> ===Consequences of occupation=== The main reason for economic depression is the Israeli occupation.<ref name=AUS2922p2b>{{cite web |url= http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18836847/west-bank-gaza-area-c-future-palestinian-economy |title= West Bank and Gaza - Area C and the future of the Palestinian economy |page=2 |date=2 October 2013 |publisher=World Bank|quote=While internal Palestinian political divisions have contributed to investor aversion to the Palestinian territories, Israeli restrictions on trade, movement and access are clearly the binding constraint to investment: these restrictions substantially increase the cost of trade and make it impossible to import many production inputs into the Palestinian territories, as illustrated, for instance, on the example of the telecommunications sector. For Gaza, the restrictions on import and export are in particular severe. In addition to the restrictions on labor movement between the Palestinian territories, the restrictions on movement of labor within the West Bank have been shown to have a strong impact on employability, wages, and economic growth. Israeli restrictions render much economic activity very difficult or impossible to conduct on about 61 percent of the West Bank territory, called Area C. Restrictions on movement and access, and the stunted potential of Area C.}}</ref> According to a 2007 [[World Bank]] report, the Israeli occupation of the West Bank has destroyed the Palestinian economy, in violation of the 2005 [[Agreement on Movement and Access]]. All major roads (with a total length of 700&nbsp;km) are basically off-limits to Palestinians, making it impossible to do normal business. Economic recovery would reduce Palestinian dependence on international aid by one billion dollars per year.<ref>[http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWESTBANKGAZA/Resources/WestBankrestrictions9Mayfinal.pdf Movement and access restrictions in the West Bank: Uncertainty and inefficiency in the Palestinian economy]. World Bank Technical Team. 9 May 2007.</ref> A more comprehensive 2013 [[World Bank]] report calculates that, if the [[Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip|Interim Agreement]] was respected and restrictions lifted, a few key industries alone would produce USD 2.2 billion per annum more (or 23% of 2011 Palestinian GDP) and reduce by some USD 800 million (50%) the Palestinian Authority's deficit; the employment would increase by 35%.<ref name=AUS2922pviii>{{cite web |url= http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18836847/west-bank-gaza-area-c-future-palestinian-economy |title= West Bank and Gaza - Area C and the future of the Palestinian economy |page=viii |date=2 October 2013 |publisher=World Bank|quote=[...] assumed that the various physical, legal, regulatory and bureaucratic constraints that currently prevent investors from obtaining construction permits, and accessing land and water resources are lifted, as envisaged under the Interim Agreement. [...] It is understood that realizing the full potential of such investments requires other changes as well - first, the rolling back of the movement and access restrictions in force outside Area C, which prevent the easy export of Palestinian products and inhibit tourists and investors from accessing Area C; and second, further reforms by the Palestinian Authority to better enable potential investors to register businesses, enforce contracts, and acquire finance. [...] Neglecting indirect positive effects, we estimate that the potential additional output from the sectors evaluated in this report alone would amount to at least USD 2.2 billion per annum in valued added terms - a sum equivalent to 23 percent of 2011 Palestinian GDP. The bulk of this would come from agriculture and Dead Sea minerals exploitation. [...] x. Tapping this potential output could dramatically improve the PA's fiscal position. Even without any improvements in the efficiency of tax collection, at the current rate of tax/GDP of 20 percent the additional tax revenues associated with such an increase in GDP would amount to some USD 800 million. Assuming that expenditures remain at the same level, this extra resource would notionally cut the fiscal deficit by half - significantly reducing the need for donor recurrent budget support. This major improvement in fiscal sustainability would in turn generate significant positive reputational benefits for the PA and would considerably enhance investor confidence. xi. The impact on Palestinian livelihoods would be impressive. An increase in GDP equivalent to 35 percent would be expected to create substantial employment, sufficient to put a significant dent in the currently high rate of unemployment. If an earlier estimated one-to-one relationship between growth and employment was to hold, this increase in GDP would lead to a 35 percent increase in employment. This level of growth in employment would also put a large dent in poverty, as recent estimates show that unemployed Palestinians are twice as likely to be poor as their employed counterparts.}}</ref> In August 2014, Palestinian leaders said they would apply to the [[United Nations Security Council]] for the establishment of a timetable for ending the Israeli occupation. The application would be made on 15 September 2014, following an [[Arab League]] meeting on 5 September 2014 at which support for the move would be requested. Unless a timetable was established, the Palestinian leadership said it would apply to the [[International Criminal Court]] where it would hold Israel responsible for its actions not only in the West Bank, but also in the [[Gaza Strip]].<ref name="PLOun">{{cite news|title=Set 'timetable' to end Israeli occupation, Palestine to UN|url=http://www.arabherald.com/index.php/sid/225199125|date=28 August 2014|accessdate=28 August 2014|publisher=''Arab Herald''}}</ref> ==Demographics== {{Main|Demographics of the Palestinian territories}} [[File:Nablus Children Victor Grigas 2011 -1-84.jpg|thumb|Palestinian girl in [[Nablus]] in the West Bank]] In December 2007, an official census conducted by the Palestinian Authority found that the [[Palestinian Arab]] population of the West Bank (including [[East Jerusalem]]) was 2,345,000.<ref>{{cite web |title = Palestinians grow by a million in decade |publisher = [[The Jerusalem Post]] |date = 9 February 2008 |url = http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=91497|accessdate =11 October 2011}}</ref><ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html#People CIA Factbook| West Bank| People</ref> However, the [[World Bank]] and American-Israeli Demographic Research Group identified a 32% discrepancy between first-grade enrollment statistics documented by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)’ 2007 projections,<ref>[http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=38108 THE PALESTINIAN CENSUS – SMOKE & MIRRORS], Independent Media Review Analysis, 11 February 2008</ref> with questions also raised about the PCBS’ growth assumptions for the period 1997–2003.<ref>[http://www.biu.ac.il/Besa/MSPS65.pdf The Million Person Gap: The Arab Population in the West Bank and Gaza], Mideast Security and Policy Studies No. 65, February 2006</ref> [[Israeli Border Police]] in 2006 observed 25,000 Palestinian Arabs emigrating from Palestinian Authority-controlled territories.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3808053,00.html |title=President Clinton, you're wrong! |publisher=Ynetnews.com |date=15 November 2009 |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> The [[Israeli Civil Administration]] put the number of Palestinians in the West Bank at 2,657,029 as of May 2012.<ref>[http://www.molad.org/en/articles/articlePrint.php?id=295 Wrong Number]</ref><ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.532703 How many Palestinians actually live in the West Bank?]</ref> [[File:Tal Menashe - students in the garden.JPG|thumb|Jewish children in [[Tal Menashe]].]] There are 389,250 [[Israeli settlement|Israeli settlers]] living in the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem,<ref>[http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/189430#.VLbVsoFq-K0 15,000 More Jews in Judea-Samaria in 2014], ''Arutz Sheva''</ref> as well as around 375,000 living in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem. There are also small ethnic groups, such as the [[Samaritans]] living in and around [[Nablus]], numbering in the hundreds. As of October 2007, around 23,000 Palestinians in the West Bank worked in Israel every day, while another 9,200 worked in Israeli settlements. In addition, around 10,000 Palestinian traders from the West Bank were allowed to travel every day into Israel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g7NNG7m5AEfoCjIspXI7lya2LTFg |title=Israel labour laws apply to Palestinian workers |publisher=Google |date=10 October 2007 |accessdate=3 October 2010}}</ref> In 2008, approximately 30% of Palestinians or 754,263 persons living in the West Bank were [[Palestinian refugees|refugees]] or descendants of refugees from villages and towns located in what became Israel during the [[1948 Arab-Israeli War]], according to [[UNRWA]] statistics.<ref>{{cite web |title = UNRWA in Figures: Figures as of 31 December 2004 |publisher = United Nations |date=April 2005 |url = http://www.un.org/unrwa/publications/pdf/uif-dec04.pdf |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060928061448/http://www.un.org/unrwa/publications/pdf/uif-dec04.pdf |archivedate = 28 September 2006 |format = PDF |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics |publisher = [[Palestinian National Authority]] [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] |year= 2007 |url = http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/ |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = Can trust be rebuilt? |author = Ksenia Svetlova |publisher = [[The Jerusalem Post]] |date= 1 December 2005 |url = http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=2&cid=1132475665870&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929140645/http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=2&cid=1132475665870&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |archivedate = 29 September 2007 |accessdate =27 September 2006 }}</ref> A 2011 EU report titled "Area C and Palestinian State Building" reported that before the Israeli occupation in 1967, between 200,000 and 320,000 Palestinians used to live in the Jordan Valley, 90% which is in Area C, but demolition of Palestinian homes and prevention of new buildings has seen the number drop to 56,000, 70% of which live in Area A, in Jericho.<ref name="EUobserver 13 January 2012">{{cite news |url=http://euobserver.com/24/114879 |title=EU ministers look to Israeli grab of Palestinian farmland |author=Andrew Rettman |date=13 January 2012 |newspaper=EUobserver |accessdate=29 January 2012}}</ref><ref name=h20120112>{{cite news|author1=Amira Hass|title=EU report: Israel policy in West Bank endangers two-state solution|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/eu-report-israel-policy-in-west-bank-endangers-two-state-solution-1.406945|publisher=Haaretz|date=12 January 2012}}</ref><ref name=jps>{{cite journal|title=A2. European Union, Internal Report on "Area C and Palestinian State Building," Brussels, January 2012 (excerpts)|journal=Journal of Palestine Studies|date=2012|volume=41|issue=3|pages=220–223|doi=10.1525/jps.2012.XLI.3.220|publisher=University of California Press}}</ref> In a similar period, the Jewish population in Area C has grown from 1,200 to 310,000.<ref name="EUobserver 13 January 2012"/> ===Major population centers=== [[File:Ariel085.jpg|1.25 MBpx|thumb|right|Settlement of [[Ariel (city)|Ariel]]]] [[File:Ramallah Residential.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Residential neighborhood of [[Ramallah]]]] {| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left:1em;" |+Significant population centers |- ! Center !! Population |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Al-Bireh]] | style="text-align:right;"|38,202<ref name="PCBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Beitar Illit]] | style="text-align:right;"|37,600<ref name="Israeli CBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Ariel (city)|Ariel]] | style="text-align:right;"|17,700<ref name="Israeli CBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Bethlehem]] | style="text-align:right;"|25,266<ref name="PCBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Hebron]] (al-Khalil) | style="text-align:right;"|163,146<ref name="PCBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Jericho]] | style="text-align:right;"|18,346<ref name="PCBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Jenin]] | style="text-align:right;"|90,004<ref name="PCBS">[http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_PCBS/Downloads/book1487.pdf 2007 Locality Population Statistics]. [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS).</ref> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Ma'ale Adummim]] | style="text-align:right;"|33,259<ref name="Israeli CBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Modi'in Illit]] | style="text-align:right;"|48,600<ref name="Israeli CBS">[http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton62/st02_15.pdf 2010 Locality Population Statistics]. [[Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS).</ref> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Nablus]] | style="text-align:right;"|136,132<ref name="PCBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Qalqilyah]] | style="text-align:right;"|41,739<ref name="PCBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Ramallah]] | style="text-align:right;"|27,460<ref name="PCBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Tulkarm]] | style="text-align:right;"|51,300<ref name="PCBS"/> |- ! style="text-align: left"|[[Yattah]] | style="text-align:right;"|48,672<ref name="PCBS"/> |} The most densely populated part of the region is a mountainous spine, running north-south, where the cities of [[Jerusalem]], [[Nablus]], [[Ramallah]], [[al-Bireh]], [[Jenin]], [[Bethlehem]], [[Hebron]] and [[Yattah]] are located as well as the [[Israeli settlements]] of [[Ariel (city)|Ariel]], [[Ma'ale Adumim]] and [[Beitar Illit]]. Ramallah, although relatively mid in population compared to other major cities as [[Hebron]], [[Nablus]] and [[Jenin]], serves as an economic and political center for the Palestinians. Near Ramallah the new city of [[Rawabi]] is under construction.<ref>[http://www.jpost.com/VideoArticles/Video/Article.aspx?id=244475 Palestinian city of Rawabi to serve 'nation in the making'.] [[Jerusalem Post]], 11 May 2011</ref><ref>[http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/un-chief-says-time-1327886.html UN chief says time running out for peace deal.] [[Atlanta Journal]], 2 February 2012</ref> [[Jenin]] in the extreme north and is the capital of north of the West Bank and is on the southern edge of the [[Jezreel Valley]]. [[Modi'in Illit]], [[Qalqilyah]] and [[Tulkarm]] are in the low foothills adjacent to the [[Israeli Coastal Plain]], and [[Jericho]] and [[Tubas]] are situated in the [[Jordan Valley (Middle East)|Jordan Valley]], north of the [[Dead Sea]]. ===Religion=== The population of the West Bank is 80–85% Muslim (mostly Sunni) and 12–14% Jewish. The remainder are Christian (mostly Greek Orthodox) and others.<ref name=autogenerated4>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html |title=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |accessdate=14 January 2015}}</ref> ==Transportation and communications== ===Roads=== [[File:Road 5066 A.JPG|thumb|250px|Road in the West Bank]] In 2010, the West Bank and Gaza Strip together had {{convert|4686|km|mi|-0|abbr=on}} of roadways.<ref name="CIA"/> Transportation infrastructure is particularly problematic as Palestinian use of roads in Area C is highly restricted, and travel times can be inordinate; the Palestinian Authority has also been unable to develop roads, airports or railways in or through Area C,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18344690/west-bank-gaza-area-c-future-palestinian-economy |title= West Bank and Gaza - Area C and the future of the Palestinian economy|author=World Bank |website= |publisher=World Bank, Washington DC |accessdate=18 January 2014|year=2013|quote=UNOCHA analysis suggests that less than one percent of the land in Area C is currently available to Palestinians for construction; permit data also shows that it is almost impossible to obtain permission to build in Area C. Less than 6 percent of all requests made between 2000 and 2007 secured approval. This situation applies not only to housing but to public economic infrastructure (roads, water reservoirs, waste treatment plants) and industrial plant, and to the access roads and utility lines needed to connect Areas A and B across Area C. [...] The outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000 interrupted this trend, bringing increased violence and uncertainty - and most significantly, the intensification by Israel of a complex set of security-related restrictions that impeded the movement of people and goods and fragmented the Palestinian territories into small enclaves lacking economic cohesion. [...] Transportation infrastructure is particularly problematic as Palestinian use of roads in Area C is highly restricted, and travel times can be inordinate; the Palestinian Authority has also been unable to develop roads, airports or railways in or through Area C.}}</ref> while many other roads were restricted only to public transportation and to Palestinians who have special permits from Israeli authorities.<ref name="humanitarianinfo2">{{cite web|url=http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/OCHAoPt_ClosureAnalysis0106_En.pdf |title=Westbank closure count and analysis, January 2006 |format=PDF |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/a39191b210be1d6085256da90053dee5/43fc268b1bf484fd85256c610065c63a!OpenDocument|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013101735/http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/a39191b210be1d6085256da90053dee5/43fc268b1bf484fd85256c610065c63a!OpenDocument|archivedate=13 October 2007 |title=A/57/366/Add.1 of 16 September 2002 |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/5ba47a5c6cef541b802563e000493b8c/5189f43f72a68a2785256c61005a58ea!OpenDocument|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013101725/http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/5ba47a5c6cef541b802563e000493b8c/5189f43f72a68a2785256c61005a58ea!OpenDocument|archivedate=13 October 2007 |title=A/57/366 of 29 August 2002 |publisher=United Nations |author=YESHA |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> At certain times, Israel maintained more than 600 checkpoints or roadblocks in the region.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/23/60minutes/main4749723.shtml |title=60 Minutes &#124; Middle East &#124; Time Running Out For A Two-State Solution? |publisher=cbsnews.com |date=25 January 2009|accessdate=29 January 2009}}</ref> As such, movement restrictions were also placed on main roads traditionally used by Palestinians to travel between cities, and such restrictions are still blamed for poverty and economic depression in the West Bank.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/WBN102.pdf| title=Protection of Civilians – Weekly Briefing Notes|date=20–26 April 2005|publisher=OCHA|accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref> Underpasses and bridges (28 of which have been constructed and 16 of which are planned) link Palestinian areas separated from each other by Israeli settlements and bypass roads"<ref name="humanitarianinfo1">{{cite web|url=http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/ochaHU0805_En.pdf|title=Closure Count and Analysis|publisher=OCHA|date=August 2005|accessdate=3 March 2011}}</ref> [[File:Jericho checkpoint 2005.jpg|thumb|Checkpoint before entering [[Jericho]], 2005]] Israeli restrictions were tightened in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18344690/west-bank-gaza-area-c-future-palestinian-economy |title= West Bank and Gaza - Area C and the future of the Palestinian economy|author=World Bank |website= |publisher=World Bank, Washington DC |accessdate=18 January 2014|year=2013|quote=Exports from Gaza to the West Bank and Israeli markets, traditionally Gaza's main export destinations, are prohibited (according to Gisha, an Israeli non-profit organization founded in 2005 to protect the freedom of movement of Palestinians, especially Gaza residents, 85 percent of Gaza products were exported to Israel and the West Bank prior to 2007, at which point Israeli restrictions were tightened).}}</ref> {{As of|2007|8}}, a divided highway is currently under construction that will pass through the West Bank. The highway has a concrete wall dividing the two sides, one designated for Israeli vehicles, the other for Palestinian. The wall is designed to allow Palestinians to pass north-south through Israeli-held land and facilitate the building of additional Jewish settlements in the Jerusalem neighborhood.<ref>Erlanger, Steven. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/11/world/middleeast/11road.html A Segregated Road in an Already Divided Land], ''[[The New York Times]]'', (11 August 2007) Retrieved 11 August 2007</ref> {{As of|2012|2}}, a plan for 475-kilometer rail network, establishing 11 new rail lines in West Bank, was confirmed by Israeli Transportation Ministry. The West Bank network would include one line running through Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Ma'aleh Adumim, Bethlehem and Hebron. Another would provide service along the Jordanian border from Eilat to the Dead Sea, Jericho and Beit She'an and from there toward Haifa in the west and in also in a northeasterly direction. The proposed scheme also calls for shorter routes, such as between Nablus and Tul Karm in the West Bank, and from Ramallah to the Allenby Bridge crossing into Jordan.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-draws-plan-for-475-kilometer-rail-network-in-west-bank-1.414976|title=Israel draws plan for 475-kilometer rail network in West Bank|publisher=haaretz|date= February 2012|accessdate=23 December 2012}}</ref> ===Airports=== The only airport in the West Bank is the [[Atarot Airport]] near [[Ramallah]], but it has been closed since 2001. ===Telecom=== {{Main|Telecommunications in the Palestinian territories}} The Palestinian [[Paltel]] telecommunication companies provide communication services such as [[landline]], [[cellular network]] and Internet in the West Bank and [[Gaza Strip]]. Dialling code [[+970]] is used in the West Bank and all over the Palestinian territories. Until 2007, the Palestinian mobile market was monopolized by [[Jawwal]]. A new [[mobile operator]] for the territories launched in 2009 under the name of [[Wataniya Telecom]]. The number of Internet users increased from 35,000 in 2000 to 356,000 in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.internetworldstats.com/me/ps.htm |title=Palestine Internet Usage and Telecommunications Report |publisher=Internetworldstats.com|accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref> ===Radio and television=== The [[Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation]] broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675&nbsp;kHz; numerous local privately owned stations are also in operation. Most Palestinian households have a radio and TV, and satellite dishes for receiving international coverage are widespread. Recently, PalTel announced and has begun implementing an initiative to provide ADSL broadband internet service to all households and businesses. Israel's cable television company [[Hot (Israel)|HOT]], satellite television provider ([[Direct broadcast satellite|DBS]]) [[Yes (Israel)|Yes]], AM and FM radio broadcast stations and public television broadcast stations all operate. Broadband internet service by Bezeq's ADSL and by the cable company are available as well. The [[Al-Aqsa Voice]] broadcasts from Dabas Mall in [[Tulkarem]] at 106.7 FM. The [[Al-Aqsa TV]] station shares these offices. ==Higher education== Seven universities are operating in the West Bank: * [[Bethlehem University]], a [[Roman Catholic]] institution of the [[Brothers of the Christian Schools|Lasallian]] tradition partially funded by the [[Holy See|Vatican]],{{Citation needed|date=July 2012}} opened its doors in 1973.<ref>{{cite web|author=Philip Daoud|url=http://www.bethlehem.edu/about/history.shtml |title=Bethlehem University – History |publisher=Bethlehem.edu |date=3 October 1973 |accessdate=3 October 2010}}</ref> * In 1975, Birzeit College (located in the town of [[Bir Zeit]] north of [[Ramallah]]) became [[Birzeit University]] after adding third- and fourth-year college-level programs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.birzeit.edu/about_bzu/p/2542 |title=Birzeit University History |publisher=Birzeit.edu |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> * An-Najah College in [[Nablus]] likewise became [[An-Najah National University]] in 1977.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.najah.edu/page/63 |title=History of An-Najah National University |publisher=Najah.edu |date=25 June 2000 |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> * [[Hebron University]] was established as College of Shari'a in 1971 and became Hebron University in 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hebron.edu/index.php/en/about-hu/-facts-a-figures.html |title=Hebron University facts and figures |publisher=Hebron.edu |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> * [[Al-Quds University]] was founded in 1995, unifying several colleges and faculties in and around East Jerusalem.<ref>{{cite web|author=Al-Quds University :: Webmaster :: WDU |url=http://old.alquds.edu/gen_info/index.php?page=overview |title=Al-Quds University, General Information |publisher=Old.alquds.edu |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> * In 2000, the [[Arab American University]] – the only private university in the West Bank – was founded outside of [[Zababdeh]], with the purpose of providing courses according to the [[Education in the United States|American system of education]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aauj.edu/AAUJ_WEBSITE/index.php |title=The Arab American University |publisher=Aauj.edu |accessdate=22 May 2011}}</ref> * [[Ariel University]] is located in the [[Israeli settlement]] of [[Ariel (city)|Ariel]] and was granted full university status in 17 July 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18879786 |title=Israel's first settlement university stirs controversy |work=[[BBC]] |date=17 July 2012 |accessdate=12 January 2014}}</ref> It was established in 1982. Most universities in the West Bank have politically active student bodies, and elections of student council officers are normally along party affiliations. Although the establishment of the universities was initially allowed by the Israeli authorities, some were sporadically ordered closed by the Israeli Civil Administration during the 1970s and 1980s to prevent political activities and violence against the [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]]. Some universities remained closed by military order for extended periods during years immediately preceding and following the first Palestinian Intifada, but have largely remained open since the signing of the Oslo Accords despite the advent of the Al-Aqsa Intifada (Second Intifada) in 2000. The founding of Palestinian universities has greatly increased education levels among the population in the West Bank. According to a Birzeit University study, the percentage of Palestinians choosing local universities as opposed to foreign institutions has been steadily increasing; as of 1997, 41% of Palestinians with bachelor's degrees had obtained them from Palestinian institutions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://home.birzeit.edu/dsp/research/publications/2002/49e.pdf | title=Education and Human Development| publisher=Birzeit University|year= 2002|format=PDF |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> According to UNESCO, Palestinians are one of the most highly educated groups in the Middle East "despite often difficult circumstances".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=17238&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |title=UNESCO &#124; Education – Palestinian Authority |publisher=Portal.unesco.org |accessdate=9 October 2008}}</ref> The literacy rate among Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip according to the [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS) is 94.6% for 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/PressRelease/Illiteracy_2010E.pdf|title=On the Eve of the International Illiteracy day, 8th of September|publisher=Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics| date=7 September 2010|accessdate=3 March 2011}}</ref> ==See also== *[[West Bank closures]] ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} *Albin, Cecilia (2001). ''Justice and Fairness in International Negotiation''. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-79725-X *Bamberger, David (1985, 1994). ''A Young Person's History of Israel''. Behrman House. ISBN 0-87441-393-1 *Dowty, Alan (2001). ''The Jewish State: A Century Later''. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22911-8 * Eldar, Akiva and Zertal, Idith (2007). ''Lords of the land: the war over Israel's settlements in the occupied territories, 1967–2007'', Nation Books. ISBN 978-1-56858-414-0 *Gibney, Mark and Frankowski, Stanislaw (1999). ''Judicial Protection of Human Rights''. Praeger/Greenwood. ISBN 0-275-96011-0 * Gordon, Neve (2008).''Israel's Occupation''. University of California Press, Berkeley CA, ISBN 0-520-25531-3 *Gorenberg, Gershom. ''The Accidental Empire''. Times Books, Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0-8050-8241-7. 2006. * Howell, Mark (2007). ''What Did We Do to Deserve This? Palestinian Life under Occupation in the West Bank'', Garnet Publishing. ISBN 1-85964-195-4 *[[Michael Oren|Oren, Michael]] (2002). ''Six Days of War'', Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515174-7 *Playfair, Emma (Ed.) (1992). ''International Law and the Administration of Occupied Territories''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-825297-8 *[[Avi Shlaim|Shlaim, Avi]] (2000). ''The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World'', W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-04816-0 {{refend}} ==External links== {{Sister project links}} *[http://atlas.pcbs.gov.ps/atlas/default.asp Statistical Atlas of Palestine] – [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] *[http://report.globalintegrity.org/West%20Bank/2008 Global Integrity Report: West Bank] has governance and anti-corruption profile. *{{CIA World Factbook link|we|West Bank}} *[http://www.state.gov/p/nea/ci/pt/index.htm Palestinian Territories] at the [[United States Department of State]] *[http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/palestine.htm Palestine] from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs'' *[http://www.passia.org/index_pfacts.htm Palestine Facts & Info] from Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs *[http://www.un.org/Depts/dpi/palestine/ United Nations – Question of Palestine] *[http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0n1m0 Disputed Territories: Forgotten Facts about the West Bank and Gaza Strip] – from Israeli government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs *{{dmoz|Regional/Middle_East/Palestinian_Territory|West Bank}} *[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/txu-oclc-244806184-wbank_08.jpg Large map of West Bank (2008) – C.I.A./Univ. of Texas, Austin] *[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/westbank_july_1992.jpg Large map of West Bank (1992)] *[http://www.poica.org/maps/index.php A series of geopolitical maps of the West Bank] *[http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/88_july31.html 1988 "Address to the Nation" by King Hussein of Jordan Ceding Jordanian Claims to the West Bank to the PLO] *[http://www.camdenabudis.org/ Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association&nbsp;– establishing links between the North London Borough of Camden and the town of Abu Dis in the West Bank] *[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/p_refugee_camps.jpg Map of Palestinian Refugee Camps 1993 (UNRWA/C.I.A./Univ. of Texas, Austin)] *[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/cia08/israel_sm_2008.gif Map of Israel 2008 (C.I.A./Univ. of Texas, Austin)] *[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/isettlementswb93.jpg Map of Israeli Settlements in the West Bank Dec. 1993 (C.I.A./Univ. of Texas, Austin)] *[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/gazastrip.jpg Map of Israeli Settlements in the Gaza Strip Dec. 1993 (C.I.A./Univ. of Texas, Austin)] * [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2009/aug/24/israel-settlements-west-bank Israeli Settlements interactive map and Israeli land use] from ''[[The Guardian]]'' *[http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/ocha_opt_west_bank_access_restrictions_dec_2012_geopdf_mobile.pdf West Bank access restrictions map (highly detailed), by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs] * [http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21577111-jewish-settlements-expand-palestinians-are-being-driven-away-squeeze-them ''Squeeze them out; As Jewish settlements expand, the Palestinians are being driven away''] 4 May 2013 [[The Economist]] <!-- === Cultural heritage === * ''Protection, conservation and valorization of Palestinian Cultural Patrimony'', Fabio Maniscalco (ed.), monographic collection [http://web.tiscali.it/mediterraneum_isform ''"Mediterraneum. Protection and valorization of cultural and environmental patrimony"''], vol. 5 (Al Quds University of Jerusalem&nbsp;– University L'Orientale of Naples), Massa Publisher --> {{commons category|West Bank|<br/>West Bank}} {{Coord|32|00|N|35|23|E|region:PS|display=title}} [[Category:West Bank| ]] [[Category:Geography of the West Bank|*]] [[Category:Geography of the Palestinian territories]] [[Category:Geography of the Middle East]] [[Category:Fertile Crescent]] [[Category:Israeli-occupied territories]] '
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'@@ -27,7 +27,11 @@ ===West Bank=== -[[File:Bethlehem.JPG|thumb|250px|City of [[Bethlehem]], West Bank]] -The name ''West Bank'' is a translation of the Arabic term ''ad-Diffah I-Garbiyyah'', given to the territory west of the [[Jordan River]] that fell, in 1948, under occupation and administration by [[Jordan]], which claimed subsequently to have annexed it in 1950. This annexation was recognized only by Britain, Iraq and Pakistan.<ref>[[Eyal Benvenisti]],[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=JKgeX_sdQG0C&pg=PA204 ''The International Law of Occupation''], Oxford University Press 2012 p. 204:"The so-called West Bank (of the Jordan river), including the eastern part of Jerusalem, has been since 1948 under Jordanian administration, and Jordan claimed to have annexed it in 1950. This purported annexation of parts of the former Mandatory Palestine was, however, widely regarded, including by the Arab League, as illegal and void, and was recognized only by Britain, Iraq and Pakistan."</ref> The term was chosen to differentiate the west bank of the River Jordan from the "[[East Bank]]" of this river. +there fixed it your welcome lolgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggsgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggs + +gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggs +gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggs +gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggs +gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggs ===Cisjordan=== @@ -520,3 +524,4 @@ [[Category:Fertile Crescent]] [[Category:Israeli-occupied territories]] + '
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[ 0 => '[[File:Bethlehem.JPG|thumb|250px|City of [[Bethlehem]], West Bank]]', 1 => 'The name ''West Bank'' is a translation of the Arabic term ''ad-Diffah I-Garbiyyah'', given to the territory west of the [[Jordan River]] that fell, in 1948, under occupation and administration by [[Jordan]], which claimed subsequently to have annexed it in 1950. This annexation was recognized only by Britain, Iraq and Pakistan.<ref>[[Eyal Benvenisti]],[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=JKgeX_sdQG0C&pg=PA204 ''The International Law of Occupation''], Oxford University Press 2012 p. 204:"The so-called West Bank (of the Jordan river), including the eastern part of Jerusalem, has been since 1948 under Jordanian administration, and Jordan claimed to have annexed it in 1950. This purported annexation of parts of the former Mandatory Palestine was, however, widely regarded, including by the Arab League, as illegal and void, and was recognized only by Britain, Iraq and Pakistan."</ref> The term was chosen to differentiate the west bank of the River Jordan from the "[[East Bank]]" of this river.' ]
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