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Local Government in the West Bank
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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. Since
1967 most of the West Bank has been under Israeli
military occupation.
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 parts of the former mandate, while the
West Bank was captured and annexed by Jordan. 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 [1][2] during the Six-Day War. With the exception of
East Jerusalem it was not annexed by Israel, although
most of the West Bank remains under Israeli military occupation. Most of the residents are Palestinians, although large numbers of Israeli
settlements have also been built in the region.
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 the central section of the Arab
State as "the hill country of Samaria and Judea". 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 the Romance
languages and Hungarian. 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 and earlier times. The use of Cisjordan to refer to the smaller region discussed
in this article is rare in English; 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
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.
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, but rather the armistice line between the forces of the neighbouring kingdom of Jordan and those of Israel at the close
of the 1948 Arab-Israel War. When the United Nations General Assembly partition Palestine into a Jewish State, an Arab State, and an internationally-administered enclave of Jerusalem, almost all of what became the West Bank was assigned
to the Arab State. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950 but this annexation was recognized only by the United Kingdom (Pakistan is often, but apparently falsely,[5] assumed to have recognized it
also).
During the 1950s, there was a significant influx of Palestinian
refugees and violence together with Israeli reprisal raids across the Green Line.
In May of 1967 Egypt ordered out U.N. peacekeeping troops and re-militarized the Sinai
peninsula, and blockaded the straits of Tiran. Fearing an Egyptian attack, the
government of Levi Eshkol attempted to restrict any confrontation to Egypt alone. In
particular it did whatever it could to avoid fighting Jordan, as it did not want to have to deal with the Palestinian population
of the West Bank. However, "carried along by a powerful current of Arab nationalism", on May 30, 1967 King Hussein flew to Egypt and signed a mutual defense treaty in which the two countries agreed to
consider "any armed attack on either state or its forces as an attack on both".[2][3] Fearing an imminent Egyptian attack, on June 5, the Israel Defense Forces launched a pre-emptive
attack on Egypt[4] which began what came to be known as the
Six Day War.
Jordan soon began shelling targets in west Jerusalem, Netanya, and the outskirts of
Tel Aviv.[5] Despite
this, Israel sent a message promising not to initiate any action against Jordan if it stayed out of the war. Hussein replied that
it was too late, "the die was cast".[2] On the evening of June 5 the Israeli cabinet convened to decide what to do;
Yigal Allon and Menahem Begin argued that this was
an opportunity to take the Old City of Jerusalem, but Eshkol decided to defer any
decision until Moshe Dayan and Yitzhak Rabin could be
consulted.[6] Uzi
Narkis made a number of proposals for military action, including the capture of Latrun,
but the cabinet turned him down. The Israeli military only commenced action after Government
House was captured, which was seen as a threat to the security of Jerusalem.[7] On June 6 Dayan encircled the city, but, fearing damage to holy places and having to fight in
built-up areas, he ordered his troops not to go in. However, upon hearing that the U.N. was about to declare a ceasefire, he
changed his mind, and without cabinet clearance, decided to take the city.[8] After fierce fighting with Jordanian troops in and around the Jerusalem area, Israel captured the Old
City on June 7.
No specific decision had been made to capture any other territories controlled by Jordan. After the Old City was captured,
Dayan told his troops to dig in to hold it. When an armored brigade commander entered the West Bank on his own initiative, and
stated that he could see Jericho, Dayan ordered him back. However, when intelligence reports
indicated that Hussein had withdrawn his forces across the Jordan river, Dayan ordered his troops to capture the West
Bank.[9] Over the next two days, the IDF swiftly captured
the rest of the West Bank and blew up the Abdullah and Hussien Bridges over the Jordan, thereby severing the West Bank from the
East.[10] According to Narkis:
First, the Israeli government had no intention of capturing the West Bank. On the contrary, it was opposed to it. Second,
there was not any provocation on the part of the IDF. Third, the rein was only loosened when a real threat to Jerusalem's
security emerged. This is truly how things happened on June 5, although it is difficult to believe. The end result was something
that no one had planned.[11]
The Arab League's Khartoum conference in September declared continuing belligerency and was
seen as a rejection of negotiation.
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.[12]
In 1988, Jordan ceded its claims to the West Bank to the Palestine
Liberation Organization, as "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people."[6][7]
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 the West Bank, which was divided into three areas:
| Area |
Control |
Administration |
% of WB
land |
% of WB
Palestinians |
| A |
Palestinian |
Palestinian |
17% |
55% |
| B |
Israeli |
Palestinian |
24% |
41% |
| C |
Israeli |
Israeli |
59% |
4%[13] |
Area A comprises Palestinian towns, and some rural areas away from Israeli population centers in the north (between
Jenin, Nablus, Tubas, and
Tulkarm), the south (around Hebron), and one in the center south
of Salfit. Area B adds other populated rural areas, many closer to the center of the West Bank.
Area C contains all the Israeli settlements, roads used to access the settlements,
buffer zones (near settlements, roads, strategic areas, and Israel), and almost all of the Jordan Valley and Judean Desert.
Areas A and B are themselves divided among 227 separate areas (199 of which are smaller than square kilometres
( sq mi)) that are separated from one another by Israeli-controlled Area C. [14] Areas A, B, and C cut across the 11 Governorates (districts) used as administrative divisions by the
Palestinian Authority and named after major towns.
While the vast majority of the Palestinian population lives in areas A and B, the vacant land available for construction in
dozens of villages and towns across the West Bank is situated on the margins of the communities and defined as area C. [15]
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. 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 estimated that
approximately 2.5 million Palestinians lived in the West Bank (including
Israeli-administered East Jerusalem) at the end of 2006.[16], though a recent study by the
American-Israel Demographic Research Group disputes these figures (see #Recent
Developments).
There are over 275,000 Israeli settlers living in the West Bank, as well as around
200,000 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. 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]
As of October 2007, around 23,000 Palestinians in the West Bank work in Israel every day with another 9,200 working in Israeli
settlements. In addition, around 10,000 Palestinian traders from the West Bank are allowed to travel every day into
Israel.<.ref>Israel labour laws apply to Palestinian workers</ref>
Approximately 30% of Palestinians living in the West Bank are refugees or
descendants of refugees from villages and towns located in what became Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War (see Palestinian
exodus).[17][18][19]
Recent Developments
A 2005 study[20] concluded that the
Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) had seriously overestimated the growth of the Palestinian population. According to
the study, successive PCBS projections were extrapolated from flawed 1997 census data that counted residents living abroad,
double counted residents of Jerusalem, and overestimated birth rates and net migration rate. The study placed the Arab population of the West Bank at only 1.41 Million, not
including approximately 220,000 residents of East Jerusalem counted in Israel's census. Sergio DellaPergola, a
demographer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, criticised the study's
authors of misunderstanding basic principles of demography and of making multiple methodological errors that invalidated the
results.[21]
Significant population centers
Significant population centers
| Center |
Population |
| al-Bireh |
40,000 |
| Betar Illit |
29,355 |
| Bethlehem |
30,000 |
| Gush Etzion |
40,000 |
| Hebron |
120,000 |
| Jericho |
25,000 |
| East Jerusalem |
400,000 |
| Jenin |
47,000 |
| Ma'ale Adummim |
33,259 |
| Modi'in Illit |
34,514 |
| Nablus |
135,000 |
| Qalqilyah |
40,000 |
| Ramallah |
60,000 |
| Tulkarm |
75,000 |
| Yattah |
42,000 |
The most densely populated part of the region is a mountainous spine, running north-south, where the cities of
Nablus, Ariel, Abu
Dis, Ramallah, al-Bireh, Ma'ale Adummim, Bethlehem, Beitar
Illit, Gush Etzion, Hebron, Tubas and Yattah 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 in the Jordan Valley, north of the Dead Sea.
Transportation and communication
Roads
Checkpoint before entering
Jericho, 2005.
The West Bank has km ( mi) of roads, of which km ( mi) 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
[8][9] [10]. 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 more than 50 checkpoints in the West Bank [11]. 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 [12]. 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" [13] 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" [14].
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).
As of August 2007, a divided highway is currently under construction that will pass through the West Bank. The highway has a
concrete wall dividing the two sides, one designated for Israeli vehicles, the other for Palestinian. The wall is designed to
allow Palestinians to freely pass north-south through Israeli-held land. [22]
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 [15].
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 [16].
- 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 [17].
- An-Najah College in Nablus likewise became An-Najah National University in 1977 [18].
- The Hebron University was established in 1980 [19]
- 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 [20].
- 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 [21].
- In 2005, the Israeli government recommended to upgrade the College of
Judea and Samaria in Ariel to become a full fledged university [22]. 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".[23] Medical convoys between the Yishuv-controlled section of Jerusalem and Mount Scopus were attacked
since December 1947.[24] 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 [23]. According to UNESCO, Palestinians are one of the most highly educated groups in the Middle East "despite
often difficult circumstances" [24]. The literacy rate among Palestinians in the West Bank (and Gaza) (89%) is third
highest in the region after Israel (95%) and Jordan (90%) [25][26] [27].
Status
- See also: Political
status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Legal status
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,[25] the United Nations General Assembly,[26] the International Court of Justice,[27] and the International Committee of the Red Cross[28] refer to it as occupied by
Israel.
According to Alan Dowty, legally the status of the West Bank falls under the international law
of belligerent occupation, as distinguished from nonbelligerent occupation that follows an armistice. This assumes the
possibility of renewed fighting, and affords the occupier "broad leeway". The West Bank has a unique status in two respects;
first, there is no precedent for a belligerent occupation lasting for more than a brief period, and second, that the West Bank
was not part of a sovereign country before occupation — thus, in legal terms, there is no "reversioner" for the West Bank. This
means that sovereignty of the West Bank is currently suspended, and, according to some, Israel, as the only successor state to
the Palestine Mandate, has a status that "goes beyond that of military occupier alone."[29]
Political positions
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 also refers to the territories as occupied.[30][31][32] 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:
- Israel's eastern border has never been defined by anyone;
- The disputed territories have not been part of any state (Jordanian annexation was never officially recognized) since
the time of the Ottoman Empire;
- 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.[33] 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).[34]
- 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 co