The West Bank of the Jordan River is located between Israel and Jordan and plays a central role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as in overcoming it through the so-called two-state solution. The Palestinian state should include the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem as its capital. However, the constant expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank calls this development into question.
Two separate states
According to the International Criminal Court, the Geneva Conventions and most countries in the UN, the expansion of Israeli settlements is illegal. Violence has also flared up in these areas, with some 1,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank in the past two years.
The 1947 UN partition plan for Palestine called for the creation of two separate states, one Jewish and one Arab, which was rejected by the Arab League. But after Israel declared independence in May 1948, Arab states attacked it, sparking the first Arab-Israeli war. By the end of the war in 1949, Israel controlled much of the territory originally designated for a Palestinian state.
Many of the more than 750,000 Palestinians who were driven from their homes ended up in the West Bank. Palestinians call this period the "Nakba," which means "catastrophe" in Arabic. The West Bank covers an area of 5,655 square kilometers. To this day, refugee camps in the region are managed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Israeli Settlements
Israel captured the West Bank during the Six-Day War in 1967 and has been under Israeli occupation ever since. Most of the international community does not recognize Israel's occupation of the West Bank.
The first Israeli settlement was built in the late 1960s in the West Bank. Settlements began to expand in the 1980s, and their growth has accelerated further in recent years. According to a UN report published in March, more than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, many of them in state-subsidized housing complexes. Although most settlers are not militants, some have been violent against Palestinians. Successive Israeli governments have legalized settlements that are not considered legal even under Israeli law. Observers say this makes the creation of a unified Palestinian state all but impossible.
Following Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the Israeli military has intensified its raids on refugee camps in the West Bank. They say the operations are targeting Hamas militants, but they have also displaced thousands of civilians from their homes. At the same time, dissatisfaction with the Palestinian Authority and its aging leader Mahmoud Abbas is growing.
Economy and Politics
About 3.2 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, a 2023 census showed - this is the latest up-to-date information from the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics. Palestinians have one of the highest literacy rates in the Arab world, a developing technology sector and a rich cultural life. Agriculture, especially olive growing. The Palestinian Authority was established in 1994 with the Oslo Accords. It is currently led by Mahmoud Abbas and is dominated by the Fatah party. It governs large parts of the West Bank, without the participation of Hamas.
According to the 1995 “Oslo II” Agreement, the territory is divided into three zones. Area A, which makes up 18% of the territory, includes the major cities of Ramallah, Nablus and Bethlehem. Between 2.5 and 3 million Palestinians live there, and the Palestinian Authority has full civil and military control over them. Area B covers 22% of the territory, which is administered by the Palestinian Authority, but Israel maintains full security control, and the Israeli military can enter the region at any time. About 700,000-800,000 Palestinians live there.
Area C covers about 60% of the West Bank and is under full Israeli control. It contains all the Israeli settlements, where up to 800,000 Israelis and about 300,000 Palestinians live.
Checkpoints, frequent roadblocks and the separation wall restrict the movement of Palestinians even between Areas A and B, limiting residents' access to jobs and services.
Israeli right-wing forces are pushing for Israel to annex the West Bank, in part or in whole, an idea that is vehemently rejected by the Palestinians, their Arab neighbors, and most of the international community. The UN, EU, and Arab League still officially support the two-state solution, and a growing number of countries outside the region are recognizing the existence of a Palestinian state.
Author: Jennifer Hollis