- The neutrality of this article is disputed.
The West Bank is a territory in the Middle East
constituting the area west of the Jordan River annexed by Jordan at the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The territory formed part of Jordan from 1948 through 1967, after which it was captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. It is currently controlled
partly by Israel and partly by the Palestinian Authority;
together with the Gaza Strip it forms the Palestinian territories at the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The status of
East Jerusalem is controversial: it meets the above description of
territory constituting the West Bank, but has been annexed by Israel, so Israel no longer considers it part of the West Bank;
however, the annexation is not generally recognized. In either case, it is often treated as separate from the West Bank due to
its importance; for example, the Oslo Peace Accords treat the
status of East Jerusalem as a separate matter from the status of the other Palestinian territories.
Some people, especially those who support Israeli settlement in and annexation of the territory, prefer the term
Judea and Samaria, and the name
Cisjordan is also used for the region in some languages (e.g. French).
The West Bank is often considered as occupied by Israel, though some Israelis and various other groups prefer to refer to it
as "disputed" rather than "occupied" territory. The West Bank is inhabited by Arabs,
Jews, and other ethnic groups (see Palestinians). The majority of Arabs living in the West Bank are refugees or their direct descendants, who fled
Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War (see Palestinian exodus).
Cities in the West Bank
The most densely populated part of the region is a mountainous spine, running north-south, where the cities of Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Hebron are located. Jenin, in the extreme north of the West Bank is on the southern edge of the Jezreel Valley, Qalqilya 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. Maale Adumim (about 6 km east of Jerusalem) and Ariel (between Nablus and
Ramallah) are the largest Jewish towns in the region.
Origin of Name
The region did not have a separate existence until 1948-9, when it was defined by the ceasefire lines between the Israeli and
Arab (mostly Jordanian) armies. 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. The name "Cisjordan" or "Cis-jordan" (literally "on this side of
the Jordan") is the usual name in French, Spanish, and some other languages. In English, the name "Cisjordan" is also used to
designate the entire region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, but such usage was extremely rare before the past
few decades. The names Judea and Samaria, used by some Israelis, are biblical.
Political terminology
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 Jerusalem sometimes called the "land of Benjamin".
The Arab world and especially the Palestinians strongly object to the
terms Judea and Samaria, the use of which they deem to reflect Israeli expansionist aims. Instead, they refer
to the area as "the occupied West Bank of the Jordan River", emphasizing
that the area is under Israeli military control and jurisdiction (see "occupied Palestinian territories").
Status
The West Bank has been the object of negotiation, terrorism and war.
The future status of the West Bank, together with the Gaza Strip on the
Mediterranean shore, has long been disputed, though almost everyone agrees that the area is heading for statehood (see proposals for a Palestinian state).
The United Nations call the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Israeli-occupied (see Occupied territories for
discussion of what "occupied" means). The US generally agrees with this formulation. Israel
prefers 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 term.
Generally, the Arab World considers the West Bank the rightful property of its Palestinian residents and regards the Israeli presence as an occupation force.
Supporters of this view commonly refer to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as the "occupied territories". The vast majority of
Palestinians also feel that the West Bank ought to be a part of their sovereign nation,
and that the presence of Israeli military forces is a violation of that sovereignty (see Palestinian Authority).
Israel views the current situation as follows:
1. Israel's eastern border was never defined by anyone.
2. The disputed territories were not part of any state (Jordanian annexation
was never recognized) since the Ottoman Empire days.
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 during the permanent
agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
There are inofficial Arab maps that show the West Bank, Gaza, Israel, (the territory
bounded by Egypt, the Jordan River,
Syria, Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea) as "Palestine". Some even have the Arab East Bank
Palestine/Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan (80% Palestinian, comprising 3/4 of Mandatory Palestine) incorporated into those maps as
well. Israeli maps often show all Israeli controlled territory as "Israel".
Israeli opinion is split into those who advocate, variously:
- Complete withdrawal from the West Bank in hopes of ending Arab attacks on Israel (sometimes called the "land for peace"
position).
- 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.
- Annexation of the West Bank and assimilation of the Palestinian population
to full-fledged Israeli citizens.
- Annexation of the West Bank and transfer of part or all of the Palestinian population.
History
Main article: History of the West Bank and Gaza Strip or History of Israel
A part of the pre-1948 Mandatory Palestine, the territories now known as West Bank were mostly part of the territory reserved
by the 1947 Partition Plan (UN General Assembly Resolution 181) for an Arab state. According to the plan, the city of Jerusalem
and the surrounding towns (including Bethlehem and Ramallah) would be an internationally adminsitered territory, whose future
would be determined at a later date. While a Palestinian Arab state failed to materialize, the territory was captured by the
neighboring kingdom of Jordan. This occupation was not recognized by the UN or by the
international community.
The temporary line marking a cessation of hostilities that was drawn between Israel proper and the Transjordanian army on the
West Bank, was determined by the cease-fire talks in 1949 and is often called the "Green
Line". During the 1950s, there was significant Palestinian refugee infiltration and terrorism through the Green Line. In the Six-Day War of
1967, Israel captured this territory, but the U.N. did not recognize it either.
Palestinians claim that Resolution
242 applies to these territories. In 1988, Jordan withdrew all claims to it.
The 1993 Oslo accords declared the
final status of the West Bank to be a subject to a forthcoming settlement between Israel and the Palestinian leadership.
Following the 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-administred land (Area B)
- Israeli-controlled, Israeli-adminstered land (Area C)
Areas B and C constitute the majority of the territory, made up out of the rural areas, while urban areas --- where the
majority of the Palestinian population resides --- are mostly Area A.
Israel has been criticized for reconstruction of numerous settlements in the West Bank. It is alleged that it breaks
international law by doing so. See Israeli settlements for a
discussion of this question. Others disagree and state the settlements are legal as the Balfour Declaration allowed Jewish
settlement on these lands and no authoritative legal document has come out against it since. Furthermore the territories in
question were not under any recognized sovereignity since Ottoman times. This would mean that the Geneva conventions regarding
"Occupied" territories do not apply as they are only applicable to the territory of a "High Contracting Party" or a sovereign
state.
Transport and Communication
The West Bank has 4,500 km of roads, of which 2,700 km are paved. The Israelis have developed many highways to service their
settlements. These highways are inaccessible to Palestinians.
The West Bank also has three paved airports. There are no railways.
The Israeli company Bezeq and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in
the West Bank. The Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675
kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation. Most Palestinian households have a radio, and many have a
TV, but there are no figures available.
- Geography of the West Bank
- Demographics of the West Bank
- Economy of the West Bank
See also Palestine
External links
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