West Bank

West Bank

The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية, aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; Hebrew: הַגָּדָה הַמַּעֲרָבִית, HaGadáh HaMaʽarávit) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean in Western Asia that forms the main bulk of the Palestinian territories. It is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel (see Green Line) to the south, west, and north. Under an Israeli military occupation since 1967, its area is split into 165 Palestinian "islands" that are under total or partial civil administration by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), and 230 Israeli settlements into which Israeli law is "pipelined". The West Bank includes East Jerusalem. Israel administers the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem as the Judea and Samaria Area (אֵזוֹר יְהוּדָה וְשׁוֹמְרוֹן, Ezor Yehūda VeŠōmrōn) district. It initially emerged as a Jordanian-occupied territory after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, before being annexed outright by Jordan in 1950, and was given its name during this time based on its location on the western bank of the Jordan River. The territory remained under Jordanian rule until 1967, when it was captured and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War. The Oslo Accords, signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, created administrative districts with varying levels of Palestinian autonomy in specific areas: Area A, which is administered exclusively by the PNA; Area B, which is administered by both the PNA and Israel; and Area C, which is administered exclusively by Israel. Area C accounts for over 60% of the West Bank's territory.The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has a land area of 5,640 km2 plus a water area of 220 km2, consisting of the northwestern quarter of the Dead Sea. It has an estimated population of 2,747,943 Palestinian

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