West Bank Introduction - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Background

Inhabited since at least the 15th century B.C., the West Bank has been dominated by many different peoples throughout its history; it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th century. The West Bank fell to British forces during World War I, becoming part of the British Mandate of Palestine. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the West Bank was captured by Transjordan (later renamed Jordan), which annexed the West Bank in 1950; it was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967. Under a series of agreements known as the Oslo accords signed between 1993 and 1999, Israel transferred to the newly created Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip. In 2000, a violent intifada or uprising began, and in 2001 negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stalled. Subsequent attempts to re-start direct negotiations have not resulted in progress toward determining final status of the area.

Roughly 60% of the West Bank, remains under Israeli civil and military control. In early 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) won a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) election. Attempts to form a unity government between Fatah, the dominant Palestinian political faction in the West Bank, and HAMAS failed, leading to violent clashed between their respective supporters and HAMAS's violent siezure of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip in June 2007. Since 2007, the PA has administered parts of the West Bank under its control, mainly the major Palestinian population centers and areas immediately surrounding them. Fatah and HAMAS have made several attempts at reconciliation, but the factions have been unable to implement agreements including the latest agreement signed in October 2017. In December 2018, the Palestinian Constitutional Court dissolved the PLC. In 2019, PA President ABBAS renewed his calls for PLC elections.

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Definitions and Notes

NOTE: The information regarding West Bank on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of West Bank 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about West Bank 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.