The September 1993 Israel-PLO
Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements provided
for a transitional period of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip. Under a series of agreements signed between May 1994 and
September 1999, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA)
security and civilian responsibility for Palestinian-populated areas of
the West Bank and Gaza. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of
the West Bank and Gaza stalled following the outbreak of an intifada in
September 2000, as Israeli forces reoccupied most Palestinian-controlled
areas. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a
roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal
steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic
Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement was
postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides had
not followed through on their commitments. Following Palestinian leader
Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president
in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm
el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In
September 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew all its settlers and soldiers
and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and withdrew
settlers and redeployed soldiers from four small northern West Bank
settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most
access to the Gaza Strip. A November 2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized
the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and
Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control. In January 2006, the Islamic
Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative
Council (PLC). The international community refused to accept the HAMAS-led
government because it did not recognize Israel, would not renounce
violence, and refused to honor previous peace agreements between Israel
and the PA. HAMAS took control of the PA government in March 2006, but
President ABBAS had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a
political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift
economic sanctions on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene
throughout most of 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS
PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members.
Violent clashes took place between Fatah and HAMAS supporters in the Gaza
Strip in 2006 and early 2007, resulting in numerous Palestinian deaths and
injuries. ABBAS and HAMAS Political Bureau Chief MISHAL in February 2007
signed the Mecca Agreement in Saudi Arabia that resulted in the formation
of a Palestinian National Unity Government (NUG) headed by HAMAS member
Ismail HANIYA. However, fighting continued in the Gaza Strip, and in June,
HAMAS militants succeeded in a violent takeover of all military and
governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. ABBAS dismissed the NUG and
through a series of presidential decrees formed a PA government in the
West Bank led by independent Salam FAYYAD. HAMAS rejected the NUG's
dismissal and has called for resuming talks with Fatah, but ABBAS has
ruled out negotiations until HAMAS agrees to a return of PA control over
the Gaza Strip and recognizes the FAYYAD-led government. FAYYAD and his PA
government initiated a series of security and economic reforms to improve
conditions in the West Bank. ABBAS participated in talks with Israel's
Prime Minister OLMERT and secured the release of some Palestinian
prisoners and previously withheld customs revenue. During a November 2007
international meeting in Annapolis Maryland, ABBAS and OLMERT agreed to
resume peace negotiations with the goal of reaching a final peace
settlement by the end of 2008.
Geography
West Bank
Location:
Middle East, west of Jordan
Geographic coordinates:
32 00 N, 35 15 E
Map references:
Middle East
Area:
total: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note:
includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead
Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land
are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by
Israel in 1967
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Delaware
Land boundaries:
total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
temperate; temperature and
precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild
winters
Terrain:
mostly rugged dissected upland,
some vegetation in west, but barren in east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Dead Sea
-408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m
landlocked; highlands are main
recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank
settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20
occupied outposts (August 2005 est.)
People
West Bank
Population:
2,611,904 note: in
addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and
fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2008 est.)
total: 18.7 years
male: 18.6 years female: 18.8 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.919% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
30.35 births/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Death rate:
3.79 deaths/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
2.63 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06
male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64
years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74
male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2008
est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 18.21
deaths/1,000 live births male: 20.09 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 16.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.65
years male: 71.85 years female: 75.56 years (2008
est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.06 children born/woman (2008
est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
Nationality:
noun: NA
adjective: NA
Ethnic groups:
Palestinian Arab and other 83%,
Jewish 17%
Religions:
Muslim 75% (predominantly
Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%
Languages:
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by
Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write total population: 92.4%
male: 96.7% female: 88% (2004 est.)
Government
West Bank
Country name:
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: West Bank
Economy
West Bank
Economy - overview:
The West Bank - the larger of
the two areas comprising the Palestinian Authority (PA) - has experienced
a general decline in economic conditions since the second intifada began
in September 2000. The downturn has been largely a result of Israeli
closure policies - the imposition of closures and access restrictions in
response to security concerns in Israel - which disrupted labor and
trading relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli
military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the
disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures.
International aid of at least $1.14 billion to the West Bank and Gaza
Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed
some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high
unemployment and limited trade opportunities - due to continued closures
both within the West Bank and externally - stymied growth. Israel's and
the international community's financial embargo of the PA when HAMAS ran
the PA during March 2006 - June 2007 has interrupted the provision of PA
social services and the payment of PA salaries. Since June the Fayyad
government in the West Bank has restarted salary payments and the
provision of services but would be unable to operate absent high levels of
international assistance.
generally small family
businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and
mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale,
modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers
Industrial production growth rate:
2.4% (includes Gaza Strip)
(2005)
Electricity - production:
NA kWh; note - most electricity
imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes
electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the
West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to
most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian
municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity
from small power plants
new Israeli shekels per US
dollar - 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541
(2003)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications
West Bank
Telephones - main lines in use:
349,000 (includes Gaza Strip)
(2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.095 million (includes Gaza
Strip) (2005)
Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company
PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services; the Palestinian JAWAL
company provides cellular services international: country code
- 970 (2004)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 25, shortwave 0 (2008)
Radios:
NA; note - most Palestinian
households have radios (1999)
Television broadcast stations:
30 (2008)
Televisions:
NA; note - many Palestinian
households have televisions (1999)
Internet country code:
.ps; note - same as Gaza Strip
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
8 (1999)
Internet users:
243,000 (includes Gaza Strip)
(2005)
Transportation
West Bank
Airports:
3 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3 2,438 to
3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1
(2007)
Roadways:
total: 4,996 km
paved: 4,996 km note: includes Gaza Strip (2004)
Military
West Bank
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA
Transnational Issues
West Bank
Disputes - international:
West Bank and Gaza Strip are
Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian
Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further
negotiation; Israel continues construction of a 'seam line' separation
barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel
withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005;
since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision
Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires,
supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from
escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of
origin): 722,000 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2007)
