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West Bank

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The West Bank consists of Judea and Samaria, territories whose status have been a bone of contention since the 20th century (see Arab-Israeli Conflict.

The region is on the west bank of the Jordan River, between Israel proper and Jordan.

The status of the West Bank, together with the Gaza Strip on the Mediterreanean shore, is disputed with those who advocate a Palestinian homeland.

Generally, the Arab World considers the West Bank the rightful property of its Arab residents and regards the Israeli presence as an occupation force. Supporters of this view commonly refer to the West Bank and Gaza as the "occupied territories." Some official Arab maps show the West Bank, Gaza, and the rest of the territory bounded by Egypt, the Jordan River, Syria, Lebanon and the Mediterrenean Sea as "Palestine", reflecting a non-recognition of Israel as a state.

Israeli opinion is split into those who advocate, variously:

  • abandoning the West Bank entirely in hopes of ending Arab attacks on Israel (sometimes called the "land for peace" position)
  • maintaining a military presence in the West Bank to deter surprise attack, while relinquishing some degree of political control
  • annexing the West Bank (sometimes called an "extremist" position)

Many Israelis and sympathizers of Israel prefer not to use the term "West Bank", but rather call the southern part of this area Judea, and the northern portion Samaria, historical names for these areas.

NOTE: the use of the term "West Bank" in this article neither supports nor opposes the Arab or Israeli positions. It is simply a convenient term in common use in the English-speaking world.

The West Bank was controlled by Trans-Jordan (now Jordan) prior to the 6 day war in 1967 when it was captured by Israel.

The boundaries of the West Bank with Israel, often known as the "Green Line", are based on the armistice lines agreed with Jordan after the war of 1948-1949.

History

Note: this history should start much further back.

A part of the pre-1948 Mandatory Palestine, the West Bank was reserved by the 1947 Partition Plan (UN General Assembly Resolution 181) to an Arab state (with the exception of Jerusalem and a narrow corridor leading to it which would be considered international territory). In effect, a Palestinian Arab state failed to materialize, but the territory was captured by the neighboring kingdom of Jordan. This occuptation was not recognized by the UN or by the international community. In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured this territory, but the U.N. did not recognize it either and asked for Israel's withdrawal in Resolution 242. In 1988, Jordan withdrew all claims to it.

The 1993 Oslo Accords declared its final status 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:

  • Palestine-controlled, Palestinian-administered areas
  • Israeli and Palestinian co-controlled, but Palestinian areas
  • Israeli-controlled, Israeli-adminstered areas (the majority of the territory)

However, Israel has continued to construct many settlements in the West Bank. Israel has been criticized for this practice by supporters of the Palestinian cause. Palestinians prefer to use the word colonies for these Israeli enclaves. Although the settlements/colonies themselves only amount to a few per cent of the territory, their significance stretch far beyond what that figure might suggest. Firstly, surrounding territories are typically under the control of the settlements, bringing the total area under Israeli control to over 40%. Also, settlments are connected by highways accessible to Israelis only. To give room for these roads, Palestinian villages and olive grooves have frequently been razed to the ground. Further, passsing over the highways can only be done at special check points. This practice separates communities and is a source of continuing humiliation and anger among ordinary Paliestinians struggling to make a living.

See also Palestine.