West Bank

The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية, aḍ-Ḍiffä l-Ġarbīyä, Hebrew: הגדה המערבית, Hagadah Hamaaravit), also known as Judea and Samaria, is a landlocked territory on the west bank of the Jordan River in the Middle East.

After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in 1922, this territory was part of the British Mandate of Palestine. The 1948 Arab-Israeli War saw the establishment of Israel in the former mandate, while the Gaza Strip was captured by Egypt. The West Bank was captured and annexed by Jordan, and the 1949 Armistice Agreements defined its interim boundary. From 1948 until 1967, the area was under Jordanian rule, though Jordan did not officially relinquish its claim to the area until 1988. It was captured by Israel during the Six-Day War. With the exception of East Jerusalem, it was not annexed by Israel. The West Bank is currently considered under international law to be de jure a territory not part of any state. The United Nations Security Council, the United Nations General Assembly, the International Court of Justice, and the International Committee of the Red Cross refer to it as occupied by Israel.

Map of the West Bank.

Map of West Bank settlements and closures as of January 2006, prepared by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Yellow areas are the main Palestinian urban centres. Light pink represents closed military areas or settlement boundary areas or areas isolated by the Israeli West Bank Barrier; dark pink represents settlements, outposts or military bases. The black line marks the route of the Barrier.

Origin of the name

West Bank

The region did not have a separate existence until 1948–9, when it was defined by the Armistice Agreement between Israel and Jordan. The name "West Bank" was apparently first used by Jordanians at the time of their annexation of the region, and has become the most common name used in English and related languages. The term literally means 'the West bank of the river Jordan'; the Kingdom of Jordan being on the 'East bank' of this same river Jordan.

Judea and Samaria

Prior to this usage of the name "West Bank", the region was commonly referred to as Judea and Samaria, its long-standing name. For example, U.N. Resolution 181, The 1947 Partition Plan explicitly refers to part of the area as Judea and Samaria. For region boundaries set forth in the resolution see the text here.

Israelis refer to the region either as a unit: "The West Bank" (Hebrew: "ha-Gada ha-Ma'aravit" "הגדה המערבית"), or as two units: Judea (Hebrew: "Yehuda" "יהודה") and Samaria (Hebrew: "Shomron" "שומרון"), after the two biblical kingdoms (the southern Kingdom of Judah and the northern Kingdom of Israel — the capital of which was, for a time, in the town of Samaria). The border between Judea and Samaria is a belt of territory immediately north of (and historically traditionally including) Jerusalem sometimes called the "land of Benjamin". The name Judea and Samaria has been in continual use by Jews as well as various others since biblical times. This name carries an emotional meaning to many Jews as the cradle of Jewish Nation is derived from the time of King David in the region, the main religious sites and tombs are present there, and continuous Jewish communities were concentrated in the area throughout the years.

Cisjordan/Transjordan

The neo-Latin name Cisjordan or Cis-Jordan (literally "on this side of the [River] Jordan") is the usual name in most Romance languages. The analogous Transjordan has historically been used to designate the region now comprising the state of Jordan which lies on the "other side" of the River Jordan. In English, the name Cisjordan is also occasionally used to designate the entire region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, particularly in the historical context of the British Mandate. The use of Cisjordan to refer to the smaller region discussed in this article is extremely rare; the name West Bank is standard usage for this geo-political entity. For the low-lying area immediately west of the Jordan, the name Jordan Valley is used instead.

History

The territories now known as the West Bank were part of the Mandate of Palestine granted to Great Britain by the League of Nations after WWI. The current border of the West Bank was not a dividing line of any sort during the Mandate period. When the United Nations General Assembly voted in 1947 to partition Palestine into a Jewish State, an Arab State, and an internationally-administered enclave of Jerusalem, almost all of the West Bank was assigned to the Arab State. In the ensuing 1948 Arab-Israel war, the territory was captured by the neighboring kingdom of Jordan. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950 but this annexation was recognized only by the United Kingdom. (Pakistan is often, but apparently falsely,[4] assumed to have recognized it also.)

The 1949 Armistice Agreements established the "Green Line" separating the territories held by Israel and its neighbors. During the 1950s, there was a significant influx of Palestinian refugees and violence together with Israeli reprisal raids across the Green Line. In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured this territory, and in November, 1967, UN Security Council Resolution 242 was unanimously adopted, calling for "the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East" to be achieved by "the application of both the following principles:" "Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict" (see semantic dispute) and: "Termination of all claims or states of belligerency" and respect for the right of every state in the area to live in peace within secure and recognised boundaries. Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon entered into consultations with the UN Special representative over the implementation of 242. .

In 1988, Jordan ceded its claims to the West Bank to the Palestine Liberation Organization, as "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people."[5][6]

Administration

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 West Bank, which was then split into:

• Palestinian-controlled, Palestinian-administered land (Area A)
• Israeli-controlled, but Palestinian-administered land (Area B)
• Israeli-controlled, Israeli-administered land (Area C)

Areas B and C constitute the majority of the territory, comprising the rural areas and the Jordan River valley region, while urban areas – where the majority of the Palestinian population resides – are mostly designated Area A.

The signing of the Oslo II agreement in 1995 by Yasir Arafat and Yitzak Rabin marked a change in the administrative policies in the West Bank. According to the Oslo Accords West Bank land was divided into 3 administrative categories, areas A, B and C (these areas are not contiguous throughout the territory), and 11 Governorates (districts). Currently, the jurisdictions of areas A, B and C represent 17%, 24% and 59% of West Bank territory respectively. The Palestinian Authority has full civil control in area A, area B is characterized by joint-administration between the PA and Israel, while area C is under full Israeli control. 98% of the Palestinian population reside in Areas A and B.^{[citation needed]} Israel maintains overall control over Israeli settlements, roads, water, airspace, "external" security and borders for the entire territory

Demographics

Palestinian Children in Hebron

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics estimates that approximately 2.5 million Palestinians lived in the West Bank (including Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem) at the end of 2006. A study by the American-Israel Demographic Research Group suggests that there are 1.4 million Palestinians in the West Bank. The CIA World Factbook also records the Palestinian population of the West Bank at 2.5 million.

There are over 260,000 Israeli settlers living in the West Bank, as well as around 185,000 Israeli Jews 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 or low thousands. The Jews in the West Bank live mostly isolated in Israeli settlements with little social interaction with other Palestinians. Interactions between the two societies have generally declined following the Palestinian Intifadas, though an economic relationship often exists between adjacent Israeli settlements and Palestinian villages.^{[citation needed]}

Approximately 30% of Palestinians living in the West Bank are refugees from villages and towns located in what became Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War (see Palestinian exodus).

Recent Developments

New Study "Arab Population In the West Bank and Gaza: The Million Person Gap" suggests the Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics seriously overestimated the growth of the Palestinian population and has double-counted certain populations when it made its original predictions in 1997. All further estimates were based on the 1997 predictions: 1. it double-counted the Jerusalem Arabs - thus adding 210,000 2. it assumed immigration into the territories, while there has in fact been steady migration - thus adding 310,000 3. it counted residents living abroad - thus adding 325,000 4. overestimated the birth rate

The new estimates place the Arab population of the West Bank at 1.41 Million.

Since the publication of the study, the Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics has revised its population estimates down by 750,000 as a result of immigration exaggerations.

Significant population centers

The most densely populated part of the region is a mountainous spine, running north-south, where the cities of Nablus, Ariel, Ramallah, Al-Bireh, Ma'ale Adummim, Bethlehem, Beitar Illit, Gush Etzion, and Hebron are located. Jenin, in the extreme north of the West Bank 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 is situated near the Jordan River, just north of the Dead Sea.

Palestinian

Al-Bireh

Ramallah's twin city, al-Bireh served as an economic crossroad between the north and south. Thus, al-Bireh served as a central pathway for caravans travelling between Jerusalem and Nablus. The city had an estimated population of 40,000 in 2006. The history of al-Bireh extends back 6,000 years. Its strategic location served as a campground and rest area for many armies. The muslim Ayyubid warrior Saladin camped in the city before he conquered Jerusalem. Until 1917, the city served as a political and administrative centre for the Ottoman Empire. In 1994, the civil administration of the city was turned over to the Palestinian National Authority under the Oslo Agreement.

Bethlehem

Central Bethlehem

Bethlehem, which is south of Jerusalem, has great significance for Christianity as it is believed to be the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth, in a location currently occupied by the Church of the Nativity. The traditional site of Rachel's Tomb, which is important in Judaism, lies at the city's outskirts. Bethlehem is also home to one of largest Christian communities in the Middle East. The Bethlehem agglomeration includes the small towns of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, the latter also having biblical significance. The equally remote Greek Orthodox monastery of Mar Saba lies hidden along a silent, empty wadi in the Judean desert 15 miles east of Bethlehem. The Church of the Nativity, built by Constantine the Great in 330, stands in the centre of Bethlehem over a grotto or cave called the Holy Crypt, which according to Christian tradition is the place where Jesus was born. This is perhaps the oldest existing Christian church in the world. Close to it is another grotto, where Jerome the Latin father spent thirty years of his life in translating the Scriptures into Latin. Bethlehem has a Muslim majority of 67% and a decreasing minority of Christians who account for 33% of the city's population of 30,000.

Hebron

File:Cave of the Patriarchs.jpg

Cave of the Patriarchs

Hebron is a city of paramount importance to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Prior to the 1929 Palestine riots, all three populations lived together in the city. It is the location of Ruth and Jesse's tombs, as well as many ancient synagogues and mosques. The Cave of the Patriarchs is considered to be the spiritual center of Hebron. The cave is said to be the burial place of Abraham (Ibrahim), Sarah, Rebekah, Isaac (Ishaq), Jacob (Yaqub) and Leah. Hebron is located 30 km south of Jerusalem. It is famous for its grapes, limestone, pottery workshops and glassblowing factories. It is also the location of the major dairy-product manufacturer, al-Juneidi. The old city of Hebron is characterized by narrow, winding streets, flat-roofed stone houses, and old bazaars. It is home to Hebron University and the Palestine Polytechnic University. Hebron has population of 120,000 Palestinians making one of the largest Arab cities in the West Bank. A small group of 600-800 Jewish settlers live in the old city of Hebron amongst 30,000 Palestinians. The city is a constant site of tension and violence between Israelis and Arabs.

Jenin

Jenin was known in ancient times as the Biblical village of En-gannim (Biblical Hebrew עֵין־גַּנִּים ʻĒn-Gannīm, "gardens spring"), a city of the Levites of the Tribe of Issachar. The modern Arabic name Jenin ultimately derives from this ancient name. The nearby Israeli settlement of Ganim, also named after the ancient village was one of four evacuated in August 2005 as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan. In April 2002, Jenin's refugee camp was the theatre of one of the most intense battles to occur during the al-Aqsa Intifada. Israel was widely pilloried in by international journalists and diplomats for what was called the "Jenin massacre" — a false allegation made by Palestinian officials that the IDF killed hundreds of civilians in the camp. Extensive investigation by the United Nations found that no such massacre took place.

Jericho

Near central Jericho, November 1996

Jericho, an oasis town in the Jordan Valley, is one of the oldest cities on Earth. It is mentioned in the Biblical Book of Joshua as the first location that the Israelites conquered when entering the new land. Jericho has a population of approximately 19,000. It is believed by some to be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the world. Many archaeological sites are located in this city. In 1998, a medium-sized casino and hotel named Oasis was opened on the southern outskirts of the city. Jericho is also the site of Palestinian prisons. Outside Jericho, Nebi Musa is an austere, colonnaded mosque built by the Mamluk sultan Baibars at the place where Moses is reportedly buried according to the Muslim tradition. The 12th-century Monastery of the Qurantul on the Mount of Temptation is built on a majestic site where Jesus is believed to have fasted for 40 days while tempted by the devil. Mitzpeh Yericho is a Jewish settlement next to Jericho and sharing its name.

Nablus

Nablus, derived from its ancient Greek name Flavia Neapolis, is a major Palestinian city of over 100,000 and lies between the two mountains of Ebal and Gerizim. Most of the population are Muslim but there is also a Christian minority, and it is considered the centre of the Samaritan sect. It is the location of the Palestine Securities Exchange and is also famous for its knafeh pastries. The city is referred to as Shechem in Hebrew, a Biblical city. Ancient Shechem is located in the eastern part of the modern city, in a site known as Tel Balatah. An ancient city with a rich history, Nablus is a site of religious significance to the three major Abrahamic faiths. Besides Abraham's ties to the area, the city contains religious sites such as Joseph's Tomb, Jacob's Well, the site of Dinah's rape, location of the Middle Bronze Gate, where the Israelites rejected Rehoboam and also the location of the destroyed Samaritan temple. In recent times, the city has witnessed political instability due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially the Second Intifada, as well as gang wars between rival factions in the months following the Hamas electoral victory.

Qalqilyah

Qalqilyah is an Arab city on the edge of the West Bank, next to the Green Line and Israel. It has a population of about 40,000 and is primarily Muslim. The town's area has been populated from prehistoric times, and prehistoric flint tools were found in the modern town's area. In Roman times, a way-station existed in the location called Kalkaliya. Invading armies, many of which came from the Mediterranean coast just 12 km away, often came through Qalqilyah. Its Canaanite origins are murky, but its current name comes from the Roman Qala'alia, meaning high fortress. Qalqilyah was the site of the first shooting clash between an Israeli policeman and a Palestinian policeman at the opening of the Second Intifada.

Ramallah

Ramallah is generally considered the liberal centre of affluence and culture among Palestinian cities. It is also an economic centre and the location of the Palestinian National Authority's West Bank administration including the Mukata'a, which is also teh location of Yasser Arafat's burial. It is home to nearly 60,000 and is mostly Muslim, though it is one of the major concentrations of Palestinian Christians. The city is located close to the biblical Bethel, the location where Jacob had his divine revelation dream in Genesis, and the location where the Israelites built a temple to worship in the Books of Kings. Although mentions of 'Raddana' can be found throughout historical texts, modern Ramallah was founded in the mid 1500s by the Hadadeens, a tribe of brothers who were descended from Yemenite Christian Arabs. The city is also famous for the which now serves as the governmental headquarters of the Palestinian Authority. In recent times, the city has been a scene of political instability due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially the Second Intifada, as well as internecine violence amongst the political factions of Hamas and Fatah in the months following the Hamas electoral victory. The Israeli settlement of Bet El is located, just east, adjacent to Ramallah.

Tulkarm

Tulkarm is a Palestinian city on the edge of the West Bank, bordering Israel and the Green Line. The city's origins can be traced back to at least the third century C.E. under the name "Berat Soreqa", and in later centuries as "Tur Karma" (Aramaic: טור כרמא), which means “mount of vineyards” in Aramaic, as the city is known for the fertility of the land and the vinyards around it. Agriculture is still a major pursuit in the modern town. Avnei Hefetz, Sal'it and Einav are three Israeli settlements nearby. The city together with the two adjacent refugee camps make a population over 75,000 people.

Israeli

Ariel

Ariel (Hebrew: אריאל) is located north of the Palestinian town of Salfit, in the Biblical region of Samaria near the ancient village of Timnat Serah. Founded in 1978, its population as of January 10, 2007 was 17,673, including 7,000 immigrants from the former Soviet Union, making it the fourth largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank. The Israeli Ministry of the Interior gave Ariel the status of a city in 1998. Ariel is home to the College of Judea and Samaria, founded in 1982. Current enrolment is 8,500 students, consisting of both Jews and Arabs. In 2005, the Israeli government decided to allow the college to attain university status.

Beitar Illit (Betar)

Part of the Etzion bloc, Beitar Illit (lit. Upper Beitar), it is located adjacent to the Palestinian village of Battir which is identified with the 2nd century Bar Kochba revolt's Jewish stronghold of Betar. It has seen tremendous growth; only thirteen years ago a community of twenty families, the mostly Haredi Jerusalem suburb has grown to some 29,355 residents, now the third largest Israeli community in the West Bank.

Gush Etzion

Gush Etzion (lit. bloc of the tree) is a group of Israeli settlements in the northern Judea region. The first modern Jewish attempt to settle the area was in 1927 by a group of Yemenite Jews who founded an agricultural village. The location was purchased because it was roughly equidistant from Bethlehem and Hebron, and thus fell between the zones of influence of the local Arab clans. Two years later, the 1929 Palestine riots and recurring hostilities forced the group to flee. 1935 saw the founding of Kfar Etzion, for which the bloc is named, but this attempt was halted by the 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. Four kibbutzim were ultimately founded after another attempt in 1943; they were destroyed a week before Israel's founding amid the Kfar Etzion massacre. Jewish settlement resumed after the 1967 Six Day War. Today the bloc is home to over 40,000 Israelis in two urban centers and 18 towns and villages.

Ma'ale Adummim

File:Settlement2.JPG

Ma'ale Adummim

Ma'ale Adummim is located on the edge of the Judean desert, east of Jerusalem. Founded in 1976, it is now a suburb of Jerusalem, mainly because of its proximity to Jerusalem and because most of its population works in Jerusalem. Ma'ale Adummim is the second largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank, with a population of 33,259 as of 2007. It is seen by Palestinians as a threat to the territorial continuity of any future Palestinian state, given its strategic situation between the northern and southern areas of the West Bank.

Modi'in Illit

A suburb of Modi'in, Modi'in Illit (Hebrew: מודיעין עילית, lit. Upper Modi'in) had a predominantly Haredi population of 34,514 in 2007, making it the largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank.

Transportation and communication

Roads

File:Jericho checkpoint 2005.jpg

Checkpoint before entering Jericho, 2005.

The West Bank has 4,500 km of roads, of which 2,700 km are paved.

In response to shootings by Palestinians, some highways, especially those leading to Israeli settlements, are completely inaccessible to cars with Palestinian license plates, while many other roads are restricted only to public transportation and to Palestinians who have special permits from Israeli authorities [7][8] [9]. Due to numerous shooting assaults targeting Israeli vehicles, the IDF bars Israelis from using most of the original roads in the West Bank. Israel's longstanding policy of separation-to-prevent-friction dictates the development of alternative highway systems for Israelis and Palestinian traffic.

Israel maintains 50+ checkpoints in the West Bank [10]. As such, movement restrictions are also placed on main roads traditionally used by Palestinians to travel between cities, and such restrictions have been blamed for poverty and economic depression in the West Bank [11]. Since the beginning of 2005, there has been some amelioration of these restrictions. According to recent human rights reports, "Israel has made efforts to improve transport contiguity for Palestinians travelling in the West Bank. It has done this by constructing underpasses and bridges (28 of which have been constructed and 16 of which are planned) that link Palestinian areas separated from each other by Israeli settlements and bypass roads" [12] and by removal of checkpoints and physical obstacles, or by not reacting to Palestinian removal or natural erosion of other obstacles. "The impact (of these actions) is most felt by the easing of movement between villages and between villages and the urban centres" [13].

However, the obstacles encircling major Palestinian urban hubs, particularly Nablus and Hebron, have remained. In addition, the IDF prohibits Israeli citizens from entering Palestinian-controlled land (Area A).

Airports

The West Bank has three paved airports which are currently for military use only. The only civilian airport of Atarot Airport in northern Jerusalem, which was open only to Israeli citizens, was closed in 2001 due to the Intifada. Palestinians were previously able to use Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport with permission; however, Israel has discontinued issuing such permits, and Palestinians wishing to travel must cross the land border to either Jordan or Egypt in order to use airports located in these countries [14].

Telecom

The Israeli Bezeq and Palestinian PalTel telecommunication companies provide communication services in the West Bank.

Radio and television

The Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 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', satellite television provider (DBS) 'Yes', AM & 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.

Higher education

Before 1967 there were no universities in the West Bank (except for the Hebrew University in Jerusalem - see below). There were a few lesser institutions of higher education; for example, An-Najah, which started as an elementary school in 1918 and became a community college in 1963. As the Jordanian government did not allow the establishment of such universities in the West Bank, Palestinians could obtain degrees only by travelling abroad to places such as Jordan, Lebanon, or Europe.

After the region was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War, several educational institutions began offering undergraduate courses, while others opened up as entirely new universities. In total, seven Universities have been commissioned in the West Bank since 1967:

• Bethlehem University, a Roman Catholic institution partially funded by the Vatican, opened its doors in 1973 [15].
• 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 [16].
• An-Najah College in Nablus likewise became An-Najah National University in 1977 [17].
• The Hebron University was established in 1980 [18]
• Al-Quds University, whose founders had yearned to establish a university in Jerusalem since the early days of Jordanian rule, finally realized their goal in 1995 [19].
• Also in 1995, after the signing of the Oslo Accords, the Arab American University—the only private university in the West Bank—was founded in Jenin, with the purpose of providing courses according to the American system of education [20].
• In 2005, the Israeli government recommended to upgrade the College of Judea and Samaria in Ariel to become a full fledged university [21]. This move to create a university within an Israeli settlement has angered some Palestinians, although no official response was made by the Palestinian authority.
• The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, established in 1918, is one of Israel's oldest, largest, and most important institutes of higher learning and research. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the leader of the Palestinian forces in Jerusalem, Abdul Kader Husseini, threatened that the Hadassah Hospital and the Hebrew University would be captured or destroyed "if the Jews continued to use them as bases for attacks". Medical convoys between the Yishuv-controlled section of Jerusalem and Mount Scopus were attacked since December 1947. After the Hadassah medical convoy massacre in 1948, which also included university staff, the Mount Scopus campus was cut off from the Jewish part of Jerusalem. After the War, the University was forced to relocate to a new campus in Givat Ram in western Jerusalem. After Israel captured East Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of June 1967, the University returned to its original campus in Mount Scopus.

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 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 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 degrees had obtained them from Palestinian institutions [22]. According to UNESCO, Palestinians are one of the most highly educated groups in the Middle East "despite often difficult circumstances" [23]. The literacy rate among Palestinians in the West Bank (and Gaza) (89%) is third highest in the region after Israel (95%) and Jordan (90%) [24][25] [26].

Status

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" 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).

The Palestinian people believe 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 self-determination. The United Nations calls the West Bank and Gaza Strip Israeli-occupied (see Israeli-occupied territories). The United States generally agrees with this definition. Many Israelis and their supporters prefer the term disputed territories, claiming it comes closer to a neutral point of view; this viewpoint is not accepted by most other countries, which consider "occupied" to be the neutral description of status.

Israel argues^{[citation needed]} that its presence is justified because:

1. Israel's eastern border has never been defined by anyone;
2. The disputed territories have not been part of any state (Jordanian annexation was never officially recognized) since the time of the Ottoman Empire;
3. According to the Camp David Accords (1978) with Egypt, the 1994 agreement with Jordan and the Oslo Accords with the PLO, the final status of the territories would be fixed only when there was a permanent agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

Palestinian public opinion is almost unanimous in opposing Israeli military and settler presence on the West Bank as a violation of their right to statehood and sovereignty. 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); (According to a 2003 poll 76% of Israelis support a peace agreement based on that principle).
• 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 as (for instance) citizens of Jordan 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;
• Annexation of the West Bank.
• 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; in 2005 two polls using a different methodology put the number at approximately 30%).

Annexation

Israel annexed the territory of East Jerusalem, and its Palestinian residents (if they should decline Israeli citizenship) have legal permanent residency status. 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. There are various possible reasons as to why the West Bank had not been annexed to Israel after its 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 the most agreed upon:

• Reluctance to award its citizenship to an overwhelming number of a potentially hostile population whose allies were sworn to the destruction of Israel ()
• Fear that the population of non-Zionist Arabs would outnumber the Israelis, appeal to different political interests, and vote Israel out of existence; thus failing to maintain the concept and safety of a Jewish state ()
• To ultimately exchange the land for peace with neighbouring states

Settlements and International Law

Israeli settlements on the West Bank beyond the Green Line border are considered by some legal scholars to be illegal under international law. Other legal scholars (including prominent international law expert Julius Stone), have argued that the settlements are legal under international law, on a number of different grounds. The Independent reported in March 2006 that 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". A contrasting opinion was held by Eugene Rostow, a former Dean of the Yale Law School and undersecretary of state for political affairs in the administration of U.S. President Lyndon Johnson, who wrote in 1991 that Israel has a right to have settlements in the West Bank under 1967's UN Security Council Resolution 242. It is the policy of both Israel and the United States that the settlements do not violate international law, although the United States considers ongoing settlement activity to be "unhelpful" to the peace process. The European Union and the Arab League consider the settlements to be illegal. Israel also recognizes that some small settlements are "illegal" in the sense of being in violation of Israeli law.

In 2005 the United States ambassador to Israel, Dan Kurtzer, expressed U.S. support "for the retention by Israel of major Israeli population centres [in the West Bank] as an outcome of negotiations", reflecting President Bush's statement a year earlier that a permanent peace treaty would have to reflect "demographic realities" on the West Bank.

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 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention.

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."

See also Israeli settlement

West Bank barrier

Panoramic view toward Tel Aviv from the Settlement Peduel in the west bank, the Green line passes less than 20km from central Tel Aviv

The Israeli West Bank barrier is a physical barrier being constructed by Israel consisting of a network of fences with vehicle-barrier trenches surrounded by an on average 60 meters wide exclusion area (90%) and up to 8 meters high concrete walls (10%). It is located mainly within the West Bank, partly along the 1949 Armistice line, or "Green Line" between the West Bank and Israel. As of April 2006 the length of the barrier as approved by the Israeli government is 703 kilometers (436 miles) long. Approximately 58.4% has been constructed, 8.96% is under construction, and construction has not yet begun on 33% of the barrier. The space between the barrier and the green line is a closed military zone known as the Seam Zone, encompassing tens of villages and tens of thousands of Palestinians..

The barrier is a very controversial project. Supporters claim the barrier is a necessary tool protecting Israeli civilians from Palestinian terrorism, including suicide bombing attacks, that increased significantly during the al-Aqsa Intifada; it has helped reduce incidents of terrorism by 90% from 2002 to 2005; its supporters claim that the onus is now on the Palestinian Authority to fight terrorism.

Opponents claim the barrier is an illegal attempt to annex Palestinian land under the guise of security, violates international law, has the intent or effect to pre-empt final status negotiations, and severely restricts Palestinians who live nearby, particularly their ability to travel freely within the West Bank and to access work in Israel, thereby undermining their economy.

Pro-settler opponents claim that the barrier is a sly attempt to artificially create a border that excludes the settlers, creating "facts on the ground" that justify the mass dismantlement of hundreds of settlements and displacement of over 100,000 Jews from the land they claim as their biblical homeland.

Future borders?

There is contemplation amongst the international community that the route of the current West Bank barrier will "de facto" be the permanent borders of a future Palestinian state. For this reason, the route of the fence has been carefully constructed since the earliest stages by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The route was designed in such a way that will allow roughly three-fourths of the Jewish settlers to be on the Israeli side of the fence living in Israeli-authorized settlement blocs. As for the rest of the Israeli settlements, their status is to be determined.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• 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
• Gibney, Mark and Frankowski, Stanislaw (1999). Judicial Protection of Human Rights. Praeger/Greenwood. ISBN 0-275-96011-0
• Playfair, Emma (Ed.). (1992). International Law and the Administration of Occupied Territories. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-825297-8

See also

• Economy of the West Bank
• Geography of the West Bank
• Israeli West Bank barrier
• West Bank Closures
• Palestinian exodus
• Rule of the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Jordan
• Palestine (region)
• Israeli Settlements
• Israel

External links

• West Bank from the CIA World Factbook
• Palestine Facts & Info from Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs
• The Legal Status of Palestine Under International Law (Supports Palestinian claims), a publication by Birzeit University.
• United Nations - Question of Palestine
• Disputed Territories: Forgotten Facts about the West Bank and Gaza Strip - from the Israeli government
• The Westbank Dispute Analysis from ProCon
• Large map of West Bank (1992)
• MOVING UP: An Aliyah Journal, the new book, is an upbeat account about Aliyah and life in Israel.
• A series of geopolitical maps of the West Bank
• "American Thinker" opinion article which disputes some of the data in this article
• 1988 "Address to the Nation" by King Hussein of Jordan Ceding Jordanian Claims to the West Bank to the PLO
• Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association - establishing links between the North London Borough of Camden and the town of Abu Dis in the West Bank

Template:Cities in the West Bank

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