West Bank

I

Introduction

West Bank, territory in southwestern Asia, bounded on the north, west, and south by Israel, and on the east by Jordan. It is located on the western bank of the Jordan River in the northeast, and on a portion of the Dead Sea in the southeast. The West Bank covers about 5,860 sq km (2,263 sq mi). Once part of Palestine, the West Bank was annexed by Jordan in 1950, then occupied by Israel in 1967. Israel continues to maintain control over the West Bank, which today is populated by a large Palestinian majority and Israeli minority. After Israel and the Palestinians reached a number of agreements between 1993 and 1998, almost all Palestinian population centers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were transferred to Palestinian administration under the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

Following a Palestinian intifada (uprising) that began in 2000, however, Israeli forces resumed control of a number of West Bank cities. In 2002 Israel also began construction of a barrier, or separation, wall to protect Israeli settlements, which continued to encroach on West Bank territory. Israel also constructed highways that were accessible only to Israeli settlers and imposed numerous military checkpoints throughout the West Bank, as Palestinians charged that Israel was attempting to carve the West Bank into areas resembling the bantustans that existed in South Africa during the apartheid era.

II

Land and Resources

Limited rainfall and poor soil quality restrict human activity in the West Bank. Agriculture and human settlement are concentrated along a hilly spine that runs from north to south and on the western slopes leading to the Mediterranean coastal plain. Vegetables and other field crops are grown in the northern valleys, and olives are cultivated in the hill areas.

The hill areas of the West Bank have a Mediterranean climate, with cool, wet winters and mild summers. Rainfall occurs mostly at high elevations in the northwest, and is of critical importance for Palestinians and Israelis as it replenishes groundwater supplies in Israel and the West Bank. Rain levels decrease from north to south and from west to east, and the eastern third of the territory is arid and desiccated, with warm winters and hot summers. Settlement and economic activity are sparse in this area, and with the exception of the oases and spring-fed farms in the Jordan Valley, the eastern West Bank is used primarily for livestock grazing. The Jordan River links the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias) and the Dead Sea, but provides little water for irrigation. The region’s mineral resources consist mainly of salt and potash found in the Dead Sea.

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III

Population

The population of the West Bank has fluctuated considerably over the past 50 years, largely as a result of migration and high birth rates. From a population of approximately 400,000 in 1947, the number of West Bank residents had nearly doubled by 1967, due to an influx of Palestinian refugees forced from the newly created state of Israel in 1948. After Israel occupied the West Bank in the Six-Day War of 1967, the number of inhabitants dropped again, reflecting the flight of Palestinian refugees to Jordan. In 2009 the estimated population of the West Bank was 1,495,681. Population density was 255 persons per sq km (661 per sq mi). Palestinians claim the eastern portion of Jerusalem as their capital and largest city, although Israel does not consider it to be part of the West Bank. Other important cities and towns include Hebron, Nābulus, Janīn, Rām Allāh, Bethlehem, Ţūlkarm, Bayt Sāḩor, Jericho, and Bayt Jālā.

The West Bank is inhabited mainly by Palestinian Arabs, who numbered approximately 1,443,790 in 1994. Most Palestinians are Sunni Muslims (see Sunni Islam). Christian Arabs, who comprise less than 10 percent of the Palestinian population and belong chiefly to the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, are concentrated in towns around Jerusalem. Arabic is the dominant language of Palestinians, and English and Hebrew are also frequently spoken and understood. Approximately 10 percent of West Bank Palestinians are housed in a number of crowded refugee camps administered by the United Nations (UN).

Since Israeli occupation of the West Bank began in 1967, Palestinians have lived in uneasy coexistence with a growing number of Israeli settlers. Israelis in the West Bank practice Judaism, and speak Hebrew as a primary language. The Israeli settler population grew from about 190,000 in 2000 to about 250,000 in 2005. In January 2008 the Israeli Interior Ministry estimated the Jewish settler population at about 282,000. There are 122 official Israeli settlements in the West Bank. In addition Jewish settlers have established about 100 unauthorized settlements.

Roughly half of Palestinian West Bank residents are currently under the age of 15. The growth of the school-age population has put pressure on Palestinian schools to improve and expand, especially in the wake of the Palestinian intifada, or uprising (1987-1993), during which time school closures and disruptions were frequent. From 1967 to 1994 public education for Palestinians in the West Bank was based on the Jordanian curriculum and graduation examinations, and was overseen by the Israeli government. In May 1994, following the September 1993 accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a new ruling body, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), was allowed to administer the West Bank town of Jericho and most of the Gaza Strip, including their schools. In August 1994, just before the beginning of the school year, the PNA assumed responsibility for public education for Palestinians throughout the West Bank. Planning began soon afterward to develop a unified Palestinian curriculum for schools in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Christian organizations operate private schools in a number of towns, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) administers schools in the refugee camps of the West Bank. Israeli children in the West Bank are educated in local Israeli-run schools.

Since the 1960s a number of Palestinian institutions of higher learning have opened in the West Bank; foremost among them are the universities of Bi‘r Zayt, Bethlehem, and An-Najah; the Islamic College in Hebron; and the Technical College in Abū Dīs. All Palestinian universities were closed for a time during the first intifada that began in 1987, but they reopened in 1991.

Health care is often inadequate and difficult to obtain in the West Bank. Al-Mokkassed, the primary hospital for the region, is located in Jerusalem, which also contains a hospital for refugees. Most of the other medical facilities in the West Bank are small and poorly equipped.

The West Bank is of great symbolic importance to the world’s three major monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), and its cities and towns are filled with historic and religious sites. The town of Hebron is best known for the Cave of the Patriarchs, where several biblical patriarchs, including Abraham, are believed to be buried. Bethlehem contains the Church of the Nativity, known as the site where Jesus Christ was born; and Rachel’s Tomb, revered by both Muslims and Jews. Sites in the town of Jericho include the palace of the Muslim ruler Hisham, and the Mount of Temptation (Qaranţal, Dayr al), where it is believed that Christ was tempted by the Devil.

IV

Economy

The economy of the West Bank changed profoundly after Israel occupied the region in 1967. From a predominantly agrarian economy, the West Bank grew increasingly dependent on service-sector jobs generated by Israel’s more robust economy. Wage labor drew Palestinians into a range of employment in Israel, primarily as menial workers. Over time, Palestinians came to dominate the Israeli construction industry, providing labor for building in Israel as well as in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

After the first intifada began in 1987, access to jobs in Israel became difficult to obtain due to frequent political strikes by Palestinians and curfews imposed by Israel. In need of income, many Palestinian laborers returned to agriculture, rehabilitating and expanding farmland in some areas of the West Bank. This agricultural renaissance was not sustained, however, and disruptions in the job market persisted. Punitive measures by the Israeli government, which included closing the country to Palestinians and employing immigrants from foreign countries to replace Palestinian workers, resulted in collective economic losses and significant individual hardship for West Bank Palestinians. The creation of the separation wall beginning in 2002 also isolated some Palestinian farmers from their land, making it more difficult for them to farm it.

Economic difficulties that followed the intifada were compounded for a while by the decline in income from Palestinian workers in the oil-rich countries of the Persian Gulf. Remittances earned by Palestinians in those countries constituted an important source of foreign currency for the West Bank in the years preceding Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the resulting Persian Gulf War of 1991. In the aftermath of the war, many Palestinian workers lost their jobs or were expelled from the area in retaliation for Palestinian support for Iraq.

Today the West Bank has a modest economy; agriculture is the primary economic activity of the region. Chief products include citrus and other fruits, olives, and cereals; sheep and goats are the principal livestock. Due to a low level of investment capital, the West Bank supports only a few small industries, which include food processing, textiles, and cement manufacturing. Both the Israeli new sheqel and the Jordanian dinar are circulating currency in the West Bank. Under Israeli occupation, banking services were provided by Israeli commercial banks. Since the beginning of Palestinian administration in 1994, a number of Arab banks have also entered the market. The eruption of a second intifada in 2000 disrupted an already weak West Bank economy, resulting in high unemployment and widespread poverty.

The road system in the West Bank is well developed, and buses and private taxis are the primary means of mass transit. However, a number of roads built by the Israeli government are for the use only of Israeli settlers. Israel constructed bypass roads to connect settlements with each other, but these roads have often encroached on Palestinian land and have had the effect of isolating Palestinian communities from each other. A number of roads also are subject to closures, meaning that Palestinians must go through Israeli checkpoints before they can reach needed services, such as hospitals and clinics. The highways for Israeli settlers are modern and well-maintained whereas some Palestinian roads have fallen into disrepair. The region has no railroads. Although most radio and television broadcasts are received from Israel and Jordan, a small broadcasting industry is developing in the West Bank. A number of Arabic newspapers are published daily in Jerusalem.