Editing West Bank (section)

===Political administration===
{{main|West Bank Areas in the Oslo II Accord}}
{{Administration in the Palestine region}}

====Palestinian enclaves====
{{main|Palestinian enclaves|Palestinian National Authority}}
[[File:Settlements2006.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|right|A map of West Bank settlements and closures in January 2006: Yellow = Palestinian urban centers. Light pink = closed military areas or settlement boundary areas or areas isolated by the [[Israeli West Bank barrier]]; dark pink = settlements, outposts or military bases. The black line = route of the Barrier]]
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 [[West Bank Areas in the Oslo II Accord|Areas]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Area!!Security!!Civil Admin!!% of WB<br />land!!% of WB<br />Palestinians
|-
|A||Palestinian||Palestinian||18%||55%
|-
|B||Israeli||Palestinian||21%||41%
|-
|[[Area C (West Bank)|C]]||Israeli||Israeli||61%||4%<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/World/palest.htm |title=JURIST – Palestinian Authority: Palestinian law, legal research, human rights |publisher=Jurist.law.pitt.edu |access-date=9 October 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805032025/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/world/palest.htm |archive-date=5 August 2011}}</ref>
|}

Area A, 2.7%,{{fix|text=of what?}} full civil control of the Palestinian Authority, comprises Palestinian towns, and some rural areas away from Israeli settlements in the north (between [[Jenin]], [[Nablus]], [[Tubas (city)|Tubas]], and [[Tulkarm]]), the south (around [[Hebron]]), and one in the center south of [[Salfit]].<ref name="Oslo 2">{{cite web |last1=Gvirtzman |first1=Haim |title=Maps of Israeli Interests in Judea and Samaria Determining the Extent of the Additional Withdrawals |date=8 February 1998 |url=http://www.biu.ac.il/Besa/books/maps.htm |access-date=1 September 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506141747/http://www.biu.ac.il/Besa/books/maps.htm |archive-date=6 May 2013}}</ref> Area B, 25.2%,{{fix|text=of what?}} adds other populated rural areas, many closer to the center of the West Bank. Area C contains all the [[Israeli settlements]] (excluding settlements in East Jerusalem), roads used to access the settlements, buffer zones (near settlements, roads, strategic areas, and Israel), and almost all of the [[Jordan Valley]] and the [[Judean Desert]].

Areas A and B are themselves divided among 227 separate areas (199 of which are smaller than {{cvt|2|km2|sqmi|0|sp=us}}) that are separated from one another by Israeli-controlled Area C.
<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prb.org/Articles/2002/TheWestBankandGazaAPopulationProfile.aspx |title=The West Bank and Gaza: A Population Profile – Population Reference Bureau |publisher=Prb.org |access-date=9 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025203542/http://www.prb.org/Articles/2002/TheWestBankandGazaAPopulationProfile.aspx |archive-date=25 October 2008}}</ref> Areas A, B, and C cross the 11 [[Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority|governorates]] used as administrative divisions by the Palestinian National Authority, Israel, and the IDF and named after major cities. The mainly open areas of Area C, which contains all of the basic resources of arable and building land, water springs, quarries and sites of touristic value needed to develop a viable Palestinian state,<ref>[[Jonathan Cook]], [http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/world-bank-report-is-a-message-against-israeli-occupation 'World Bank report is a message against Israeli occupation,'] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017024400/http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/world-bank-report-is-a-message-against-israeli-occupation |date=17 October 2013 }} The National, 15 October 2013,</ref> were to be handed over to the Palestinians by 1999 under the Oslo Accords as part of a final status agreement. This agreement was never achieved.<ref>Ron Pundak [http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/decoding-bibi-s-west-bank-agenda.premium-1.455265 'Decoding Bibi's West Bank agenda,'] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803033617/http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/decoding-bibi-s-west-bank-agenda.premium-1.455265 |date=3 August 2012 }} at [[Haaretz]], 3 August 2012.</ref>

According to [[B'tselem]], 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.btselem.org/English/Publications/Summaries/200205_Land_Grab.asp |title=B'Tselem – Publications – Land Grab: Israel's Settlement Policy in the West Bank, May 2002 |publisher=Btselem.org |access-date=9 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006161118/http://www.btselem.org/english/publications/summaries/200205_land_grab.asp |archive-date=6 October 2008}}</ref> Less than 1% of area C is designated for use by Palestinians, who are also unable to legally build in their own existing villages in area C due to Israeli authorities' restrictions,<ref name=AUS2922p4>{{harvnb|World Bank|2013|p=4}}. "Less than 1 percent of Area C, which is already built up, is designated by the Israeli authorities for Palestinian use; the remainder is heavily restricted or off-limits to Palestinians, 13 with 68 percent reserved for Israeli settlements, 14 c. 21 percent for closed military zones, 15 and c. 9 percent for nature reserves (approximately 10 percent of the West Bank, 86 percent of which lies in Area C). These areas are not mutually exclusive, and overlap in some cases. In practice it is virtually impossible for Palestinians to obtain construction permits for residential or economic purposes, even within existing Palestinian villages in Area C: the application process has been described by an earlier World Bank report (2008) as fraught with "ambiguity, complexity and high cost"."</ref><ref name=IllegalSettlements-C>{{cite news |quote=Arab illegal construction is 16 times that of Jews, per person (..) The NGO Regavim presented the committee with aerial photographs that show that the PA is systematically encouraging illegal construction in the area next to Jerusalem. The construction is funded by EU states, in contravention of the law and previous agreements (..) PA works day and night to take over state land. |last1=Ronen |first1=Gil |title=2014: Arabs Built 550 Illegal Structures in Area C Alone |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188349 |access-date=7 December 2014 |publisher=Arutz Sheva |date=7 December 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210011404/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188349 |archive-date=10 December 2014}}</ref>

An assessment by the UN [[Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]] in 2007 found that approximately 40% of the West Bank was taken up by Israeli infrastructure. The infrastructure, consisting of settlements, the [[West Bank barrier|barrier]], military bases and closed military areas, Israeli declared nature reserves and the roads that accompany them is off-limits or tightly controlled to Palestinians.<ref name="OCHAoPtHumanitarianImpact">{{cite web |url=http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/TheHumanitarianImpactOfIsraeliInfrastructureTheWestBank_full.pdf |title=The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in the West Bank |publisher=UN [[Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]] – Occupied Palestinian Territory |access-date=9 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326021132/http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/TheHumanitarianImpactOfIsraeliInfrastructureTheWestBank_full.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2009}}</ref>

In June 2011, the Independent Commission for Human Rights published a report that found that Palestinians in the West Bank and the [[Gaza Strip]] were subjected in 2010 to an "almost systematic campaign" of human rights abuse by the [[Palestinian Authority]] and [[Hamas]], as well as by [[Israel]]i authorities, with the security forces of the PA and Hamas being responsible for torture, arrests and arbitrary detentions.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mcquaid |first1=Elwood |url=http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=224143 |title=PA bans journalists from reporting human rights abuses |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=8 July 2010 |access-date=31 July 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805020106/http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=224143 |archive-date=5 August 2011}}</ref>

====Area annexed by Israel====
{{main|East Jerusalem}}
[[File:Greater Jerusalem May 2006 CIA remote-sensing map 3500px.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|right|[[Greater Jerusalem]], May 2006. [[CIA]] [[remote sensing]] map showing areas considered settlements, plus refugee camps, fences, walls, etc.]]

Through the [[Jerusalem Law]], Israel extended its administrative control over [[East Jerusalem]]. This has often been interpreted as tantamount to an official annexation, though [[Ian Lustick]], in reviewing the legal status of Israeli measures, has argued that no such annexation ever took place. The Palestinian residents have legal [[permanent residency]] status.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Quiet Deportation: Revocation of Residency of East Jerusalem Palestinians |author=Yael Stein |publisher=Joint report by [[Hamoked]] and [[B'Tselem]] |date=April 1997 |url=http://www.btselem.org/Download/199704_Quiet_Deportation_Eng.doc |type={{DOClink}} |access-date=27 September 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060928061451/http://www.btselem.org/Download/199704_Quiet_Deportation_Eng.doc |archive-date=28 September 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Quiet Deportation: Revocation of Residency of East Jerusalem Palestinians (Summary) |author=Yael Stein |publisher=Joint report by [[Hamoked]] and [[B'Tselem]] |date=April 1997 |url=http://www.btselem.org/English/Publications/Summaries/199704_Quiet_Deportation.asp |access-date=27 September 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060628220355/http://www.btselem.org/English/Publications/Summaries/199704_Quiet_Deportation.asp |archive-date=28 June 2006}}</ref> Rejecting the Jerusalem Law, the UN Security Council passed [[UN Security Council Resolution 478]], declaring that the law was "null and void". Although permanent residents are permitted, if they wish, to receive Israeli citizenship if they meet certain conditions including swearing allegiance to the State and renouncing any other citizenship, most Palestinians did not apply for Israeli citizenship for political reasons.<ref>{{cite web |title=Legal status of East Jerusalem and its residents |publisher=[[B'Tselem]] |url=http://www.btselem.org/english/Jerusalem/Legal_Status.asp |access-date=27 September 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061010085544/http://www.btselem.org/English/Jerusalem/Legal_Status.asp |archive-date=10 October 2006}}</ref> There are various possible reasons as to why the West Bank had not been annexed to Israel after its [[Six-Day War|capture in 1967]].<ref name="MBard">[[Mitchell Bard]]. {{cite web |title=Our Positions: Solving the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict |publisher=[[Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism]] |url=http://www.freemuslims.org/issues/israel-palestine.php |access-date=27 September 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061012015516/http://www.freemuslims.org/issues/israel-palestine.php |archive-date=12 October 2006}}</ref> The government of Israel has not formally confirmed an official reason; however, historians and analysts have established a variety of such, most of them demographic. Among those most commonly cited have been:
*Reluctance to award its citizenship to an overwhelming number of a potentially hostile population whose allies were sworn to the destruction of Israel.<ref name="Bard">[[Mitchell Bard]]{{full citation needed|date=January 2021}}</ref><ref name="Bamberger">{{cite book |author=David Bamberger |title=A Young Person's History of Israel |publisher=Behrman House |orig-year=1985 |year=1994 |location=USA |page=128 |isbn=978-0-87441-393-9}}</ref>
*To ultimately exchange [[land for peace]] with neighbouring states<ref name="Bard"/><ref name="Bamberger"/>
*Fear that the population of ethnic Arabs, including Israeli citizens of Palestinian ethnicity, would outnumber the Jewish Israelis west of the Jordan River.<ref name="MBard"/><ref name="Bard"/>
*The disputed legality of [[annexation]] under the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/07/22/2740184/carter-center-calls-for-end-to-east-jerusalem-deportations |title=Carter Center calls for end to Jerusalem deportations &#124; JTA – Jewish & Israel News |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=22 July 2010 |access-date=3 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726081628/http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/07/22/2740184/carter-center-calls-for-end-to-east-jerusalem-deportations |archive-date=26 July 2010}}</ref>
The importance of demographic concerns to some significant figures in Israel's leadership was illustrated when [[Avraham Burg]], a former Knesset Speaker and former chair of the Jewish Agency for Israel, wrote in ''The Guardian'' in September 2003,
:"Between the Jordan and the Mediterranean there is no longer a clear Jewish majority. And so, fellow citizens, it is not possible to keep the whole thing without paying a price. We cannot keep a Palestinian majority under an Israeli boot and at the same time think ourselves the only democracy in the Middle East. There cannot be democracy without equal rights for all who live here, Arab as well as Jew. We cannot keep the territories and preserve a Jewish majority in the world's only Jewish state – not by means that are humane and moral and Jewish."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/sep/15/comment |title=The end of Zionism |author=Avraham Burg |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=15 September 2003 |access-date=8 September 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827133259/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/sep/15/comment |archive-date=27 August 2013}}</ref>

====Area C and Israeli settlements====
{{Main|Area C (West Bank)|International law and Israeli settlements}}
[[File:West Bank Access Restrictions (United Nations OCHA oPt) May 2023 01.pdf|thumb|upright=1.15|right|Map of [[Israeli settlement]]s and [[Area C (West Bank)|Area C]] (magenta and blue), 2023]]

As of 2022, there are over 450,000 [[Israeli settlement|Israeli settlers]] living in 132 [[Israeli settlement]]s in the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem, with an additional 220,000 Jewish settlers residing in 12 settlements in [[East Jerusalem]].<ref name=":52">{{Cite web |title=Population |url=https://peacenow.org.il/en/settlements-watch/settlements-data/population |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611210642/https://peacenow.org.il/en/settlements-watch/settlements-data/population |archive-date=11 June 2022 |access-date=2022-06-01 |website=Peace Now}}</ref><ref name=":42">{{Cite web |last=Role |first=Iran's Regional |title=Israel's Rush to 'Apply Sovereignty' in the West Bank: Timing and Potential Consequences |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/israels-rush-apply-sovereignty-west-bank-timing-and-potential-consequences |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519193524/https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/israels-rush-apply-sovereignty-west-bank-timing-and-potential-consequences |archive-date=19 May 2022 |access-date=2022-06-01 |website=The Washington Institute}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=November 2023}} In addition, there are over 140 [[Israeli outpost]]s in the West Bank that are not recognized and are therefore illegal even under Israeli law, but which have nevertheless been provided with infrastructure, water, sewage, and other services by the authorities. They are colloquially known as "[[Israeli outpost|illegal outposts]]".<ref name="btselem">{{cite web |url=https://www.btselem.org/settlements |title=Settlements, B'Tselem |publisher=B'Tselem |access-date=2020-07-10 |archive-date=24 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724232206/https://www.btselem.org/settlements |url-status=live }}</ref>

As a result of [[Israeli law in the West Bank settlements|the application of Israeli law in the settlements ("Enclave law")]], large portions of Israeli [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] are applied to Israeli settlements and to Israelis living in the [[Israeli-occupied territories]].<ref name="Ben-NaftaliSfard2018">{{cite book |author1=Orna Ben-Naftali |author2=Michael Sfard |author3=Hedi Viterbo |title=The ABC of the OPT: A Legal Lexicon of the Israeli Control over the Occupied Palestinian Territory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Is5TDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA52 |date=10 May 2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-15652-4 |pages=52– |access-date=15 October 2018 |archive-date=3 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303182234/https://books.google.com/books?id=Is5TDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA52 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The international consensus is that all Israeli settlements on the West Bank are illegal under international law.<ref>{{cite book |editor=Emma Playfair |title=International Law and the Administration of Occupied Territories: Two Decades of Israeli Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1992 |location=USA |page=396 |isbn=978-0-19-825297-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Cecilia Albin |title=Justice and Fairness in International Negotiation |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001 |location=Cambridge |page=150 |isbn=978-0-521-79725-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Mark Gibney |author2=Stanlislaw Frankowski |title=Judicial Protection of Human Rights: Myth or Reality? |publisher=Praeger/Greenwood |year=1999 |location=Westport, Connecticut |page=72 |isbn=978-0-275-96011-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite newspaper The Times|title=Plia Albeck: Lawyer whose advice underpinned Israel’s controversial settlements policy in the West Bank |date=5 October 2005 |page=71 |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/plia-albeck-7q6lxlm0lmh | quote=All Israeli settlements on the West Bank beyond the Green Line border are considered illegal under international law. But Albeck, as head of the Civil Department of the State Attorney’s Office, determined that 1.5 million ''dunums'', or 26 per cent of the land in the region, was state land that could be used for building settlements. She thus became the legal architect of Israel’s massive settlement programme under the prime ministers Menahem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir in the 1980s. At her peak Albeck, rather than the Attorney-General, signed the documents that determined whether land was privately owned or could be taken over by the Government.}}</ref> In 2002, the [[European Union]] as a whole found all Israeli settlement activities to be illegal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ue.eu.int/uedocs/cms_data/docs/2004/12/22/%7B3FA161D9-6DA6-408F-85CE-20D0EC68DDFF%7D.pdf |title=EU Committee Report |access-date=19 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614203022/http://ue.eu.int/uedocs/cms_data/docs/2004/12/22/%7B3FA161D9-6DA6-408F-85CE-20D0EC68DDFF%7D.pdf |archive-date=14 June 2007|quote=The EU continues to oppose Israeli settlement activities in the Occupied Territories as being illegal under international law}}</ref> Significant portions of the Israeli public similarly oppose the continuing presence of Jewish Israelis in the West Bank and have supported the 2005 settlement relocation.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dromi |first1=Shai M. |title=Uneasy Settlements: Reparation Politics and the Meanings of Money in the Israeli Withdrawal from Gaza |journal=Sociological Inquiry |year=2014 |volume=84 |issue=1 |doi=10.1111/soin.12028 |pages=294–315 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/976461 |access-date=29 June 2019 |archive-date=26 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026163232/https://zenodo.org/record/976461 |url-status=live }}</ref> The majority of legal scholars hold the settlements to violate international law;<ref name="maj2"/> however, some others, including [[Julius Stone]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aijac.org.au/news/article/international-law-and-the-arab-israel-conflict |title=International Law and the Arab Israel Conflict |editor=Ian Lacey |author=Julius Stone |date=13 October 2003 |quote=Extracts from ''Israel and Palestine – Assault on the Law of Nations'' |publisher=[[AIJAC]] |access-date=4 February 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124001631/http://www.aijac.org.au/news/article/international-law-and-the-arab-israel-conflict |archive-date=24 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/the-illegal-settlements-myth/ |title=The Illegal-Settlements Myth |author=David M. Phillips |journal=[[Commentary (magazine)|Commentary]] |date=December 2009 |issue=December 2009 |access-date=4 February 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20120206204134/http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/the-illegal-settlements-myth/ |archive-date=6 February 2012}}</ref> [[Eugene Rostow]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tzemachdovid.org/Facts/islegal1.shtml |title=Resolved: are the settlements legal? Israeli West Bank policies |publisher=Tzemachdovid.org |access-date=9 October 2008 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915102140/http://www.tzemachdovid.org/Facts/islegal1.shtml |archive-date=15 September 2008}}</ref> and [[Eugene Kontorovich]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kontorovich |first1=Eugene |date=20 November 2019 |title="Israeli settlements in the West Bank do not violate international law," according to Eugene Kontorovich |url=https://www.law.gmu.edu/news/2019/israeli_settlements_do_not_violate_international_law_according_to_eugene_kontorovich |publisher=George Mason University Scalia Law School |access-date=6 March 2025}}</ref> have argued that they are legal under international law.<ref>{{cite news |title=FAQ on Israeli settlements |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC News]] |date=26 February 2004 |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/middleeast/settlements.html |access-date=27 September 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070605085401/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/middleeast/settlements.html |archive-date=5 June 2007}}</ref>

Immediately after the 1967 war, [[Theodor Meron]], legal counselor of Israel's Foreign Ministry, advised Israeli ministers in a "top secret" memo that any policy of building settlements across occupied territories violated international law and would "contravene the explicit provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israelis-were-warned-on-illegality-of-settlements-in-1967-memo-469443.html |title=Israelis were warned on illegality of settlements in 1967 memo |author=Donald Macintyre |date=11 March 2006 |newspaper=The Independent |location=London |page=27 |access-date=4 February 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120909101149/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israelis-were-warned-on-illegality-of-settlements-in-1967-memo-469443.html |archive-date=9 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0311-06.htm |title=Israelis Were Warned on Illegality of Settlements in 1967 Memo |publisher=Commondreams.org |access-date=9 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515194230/http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0311-06.htm |archive-date=15 May 2008}}</ref><ref>[[Gershom Gorenberg|Gorenberg, Gershom]]. "The Accidental Empire". New York: Times Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2006. p. 99.</ref> Fifty years later, citing decades of legal scholarship on the subject, Meron reiterated his legal opinion regarding the illegality of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories.<ref>{{cite news |first=Theodor |last=Meron |title=The West Bank and International Humanitarian Law on the Eve of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Six-Day War |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-international-law/article/west-bank-and-international-humanitarian-law-on-the-eve-of-the-fiftieth-anniversary-of-the-sixday-war/E1D4F9F5B3C43C943D9C3F31EABF79B3 |work=American Journal of International Law |date=10 May 2017 |accessdate=30 July 2022 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730134921/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-international-law/article/west-bank-and-international-humanitarian-law-on-the-eve-of-the-fiftieth-anniversary-of-the-sixday-war/E1D4F9F5B3C43C943D9C3F31EABF79B3 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The UN Security Council has issued several non-binding resolutions addressing the issue of the settlements. Typical of these is UN Security Council resolution 446 which states that the "practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity", and it calls on Israel "as the occupying Power, to abide scrupulously by the [[Fourth Geneva Convention|1949 Fourth Geneva Convention]]"''.''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/d744b47860e5c97e85256c40005d01d6/ba123cded3ea84a5852560e50077c2dc |title=UNSC Resolution 446 (1979) of 22 March 1979 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=22 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510095515/http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/d744b47860e5c97e85256c40005d01d6/ba123cded3ea84a5852560e50077c2dc |archive-date=10 May 2011}}</ref>

The Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention held in Geneva on 5 December 2001 called upon "the Occupying Power to fully and effectively respect the Fourth Geneva Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and to refrain from perpetrating any violation of the Convention." The High Contracting Parties reaffirmed "the illegality of the settlements in the said territories and of the extension thereof."<ref>[http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList325/D86C9E662022D64E41256C6800366D55 Implementation of the Fourth Geneva Convention in the occupied Palestinian territories: history of a multilateral process (1997–2001)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060929074057/http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList325/D86C9E662022D64E41256C6800366D55 |date=29 September 2006 }}, ''International Review of the Red Cross'', 2002 – No. 847.</ref>

On 30 December 2007, [[Israeli Prime Minister]] [[Ehud Olmert]] issued an order requiring approval by both the Israeli Prime Minister and Israeli Defense Minister of all settlement activities (including planning) in the West Bank.<ref>{{cite news |title=Olmert curbs WBank building, expansion and planning |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL31349948 |work=Reuters|date=31 December 2007 |access-date=31 December 2007 |first1=Adam |last1=Entous |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080103050544/http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL31349948 |archive-date=3 January 2008}}</ref> The change had little effect with settlements continuing to expand, and new ones being established. On 31 August 2014, Israel announced it was appropriating 400 hectares of land in the West Bank to eventually house 1,000 Israel families. The appropriation was described as the largest in more than 30 years.<ref name="NewSettlement">{{cite news |title=Israel launches massive new West Bank settlement plans |url=http://www.israelherald.com/index.php/sid/225274007 |date=31 August 2014 |access-date=1 September 2014 |work=Israel Herald |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903124155/http://www.israelherald.com/index.php/sid/225274007 |archive-date=3 September 2014}}</ref> According to reports on Israel Radio, the development is a response to the [[2014 kidnapping and murder of Israeli teenagers]].<ref name="NewSettlement" />

====Palestinian outposts====
[[File:Palestinian demonstration against demolish of the village susya.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|A Palestinian demonstration against the demolition of the village [[Susya]]]]
The [[Haaretz]] newspaper published an article in December 2005 about demolition of "Palestinian outposts" in [[Bil'in]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Meron Rapoport |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/idf-completes-evacuation-of-bil-in-outpost-1.177194 |title=IDF Completes Evacuation of Bil'in 'Outpost' |date=21 December 2005 |work=Haaretz |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101209080625/http://www.haaretz.com/news/idf-completes-evacuation-of-bil-in-outpost-1.177194 |archive-date=9 December 2010}}</ref> The demolitions sparked a political debate as according to ''PeaceNow'' it was a double standard ("After what happened today in Bil'in, there is no reason that the state should defend its decision to continue the construction" credited to [[Michael Sfard]]).

In January 2012, the European Union approved the "Area C and Palestinian state building" report. The report said Palestinian presence in Area C has been continuously undermined by Israel and that state building efforts in Area C of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the EU were of "utmost importance in order to support the creation of a contiguous and viable Palestinian state". The EU will support various projects to "support the Palestinian people and help maintain their presence".<ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4174682,00.html Europe to pursue Area C projects] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418091040/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4174682,00.html |date=18 April 2017 }}, YnetNews 12 January 2012</ref><ref name=jps41-3>{{cite journal |title=A2. European Union, Internal Report on "Area C and Palestinian State Building," Brussels, January 2012 (excerpts) |journal=Journal of Palestine Studies |volume=41 |issue=3 |date=Spring 2012 |pages=220–223 |jstor=10.1525/jps.2012.xli.3.220 |doi=10.1525/jps.2012.xli.3.220}}</ref>

In May 2012, a petition<ref name="may8p">[http://www.regavim.org.il/images/stories/hakl.pdf]{{Dead link|date=May 2018|bot=SheriffIsInTown|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> was filed to the [[Israeli Supreme Court]] about the legality of more 15<ref name="may8p"/> Palestinian outposts and Palestinian building in "Area C". The cases were filed by [[Regavim (NGO)|Regavim]].<ref name="nrgheb">{{cite web |url=http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/366/534.html?hp=1&cat=404&loc=11 |title=עשרות ''מאחזים'' פלסטיניים הוקמו ביו''ש; בג''ץ יכריע |website=NRG מעריב |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813124841/http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/366/534.html?hp=1&cat=404&loc=11 |archive-date=13 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Illegal Palestinian quarry near Beit Fajar to close | date=13 March 2011 |url=http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=208098&R=R2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225082312/http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=208098 |archive-date=25 February 2013}}</ref>

The petition was one of 30 different petitions with the common ground of illegal land takeover and illegal construction and use of natural resources. Some of the petitions (27) had been set for trials<ref name="list_of_pettions">{{cite web |url=http://www.regavim.org.il/index.php/activity/allpetitions |title=List of petitions by the Regavim NGO |website=regavim.org.il |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223211957/http://www.regavim.org.il/index.php/activity/allpetitions |archive-date=23 February 2012}}</ref> and the majority received a verdict.

''Ynet News'' stated on 11 January 2013 that a group of 200 Palestinians with unknown number of foreign activists created an outpost named [[Bab al-Shams]] ("Gate of the Sun"), contains 50 tents<ref>{{cite news |title=Palestinians erect outpost in E1 zone |newspaper=Ynetnews |date=11 January 2013 |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4331277,00.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130209034356/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4331277,00.html |archive-date=9 February 2013 |last1=Levy |first1=Elior}}</ref>

''Ynet News'' stated on 18 January 2013 that Palestinian activists built an outpost on a disputed area in [[Beit Iksa]], where Israel plans to construct part of the separation fence in the Jerusalem vicinity while the Palestinians claim that the area belongs to the residents of Beit Iksa. named [[Bab al-Krama]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Report: IDF fire injures 2 Palestinians |newspaper=Ynetnews |date=18 January 2013 |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4334255,00.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203132415/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4334255,00.html |archive-date=3 February 2013 |last1=Levy |first1=Elior}}</ref>

====West Bank barrier====
{{main|Israeli West Bank barrier}}
[[File:West Bank barrier.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|right|[[West Bank barrier]] ("Separation Wall")]]
[[File:Qalandiya Checkpoint.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|right|[[Kalandia|Qalandiya]] Checkpoint between [[Ramallah]] and [[Jerusalem]]]]
The [[Israeli West Bank barrier]] is a physical [[separation barrier|barrier]] ordered for construction by the Israeli Government, consisting of a network of fences with vehicle-barrier trenches. Israel began building the barrier on 23 June 2002,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Timeline |url=https://world101.cfr.org/understanding-international-system/conflict/israeli-palestinian-conflict-timeline |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=World101 from the Council on Foreign Relations |date=11 October 2023|archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202031607/https://world101.cfr.org/understanding-international-system/conflict/israeli-palestinian-conflict-timeline |url-status=live }}</ref> two years into the [[Second Intifada]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Metais |first=Ilona |title=The West Bank Barrier: Origins, Implementation, and Consequences |url=https://fluxirr.mcgill.ca/article/download/55/46 |access-date=1 December 2023 |archive-date=9 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209183610/https://fluxirr.mcgill.ca/article/download/55/46 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is surrounded by an on average {{cvt|60|m|ft|0|sp=us}} wide exclusion area (90%) and up to {{cvt|8|m|ft|0|sp=us}} high concrete walls (10%), although in most areas the wall is not nearly that high.<ref>{{cite web |title=HCJ 7957/04 Mara'abe v. The Prime Minister of Israel |url=http://elyon1.court.gov.il/Files_ENG/04/570/079/A14/04079570.A14.pdf |publisher=Supreme Court of Israeli (High Court of Justice) |access-date=17 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20051028233445/http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files_eng/04/570/079/a14/04079570.a14.pdf |archive-date=28 October 2005}}</ref> It is located mainly within the West Bank, partly along the [[1949 Armistice Agreements|1949 Armistice line]], or "[[Green Line (Israel)|Green Line]]" between the West Bank and Israel. The length of the barrier as approved by the Israeli government is {{cvt|708|km|mi|sp=us}} long.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=File:West Bank Access Restrictions.pdf – Wikipedia |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:West_Bank_Access_Restrictions.pdf |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=commons.wikimedia.org |date=7 September 2020|archive-date=23 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523175400/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:West_Bank_Access_Restrictions.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> As of 2020, approximately {{cvt|454|km|mi|sp=us}} have been constructed (64%).<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.btselem.org/english/Separation_Barrier/Statistics.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031120125813/http://www.btselem.org/english/Separation_Barrier/Statistics.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 November 2003 |title=B'Tselem – The Separation Barrier – Statistics |publisher=Btselem.org |access-date=9 October 2008}}</ref> The space between the barrier and the green line is a closed military zone known as the [[Seam Zone]], cutting off 9% of the West Bank and encompassing dozens of villages and tens of thousands of Palestinians.<ref name=B>{{cite web |title=Separation Barrier: 9 July 2006: Two Years after the ICJ's Decision on the Separation Barrier |publisher=[[B'tselem]] |date=9 July 2006 |access-date=11 May 2007 |url=http://www.btselem.org/english/separation_barrier/20060709_Hague_2nd_anniversary.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927221914/http://www.btselem.org/english/separation_barrier/20060709_Hague_2nd_anniversary.asp |archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=CBC>{{cite news |title=Indepth Middle East:Israel's Barrier |author=Margarat Evans |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=6 January 2006 |access-date=5 November 2007 |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/middleeast/israel_barrier.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518071453/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/middleeast/israel_barrier.html |archive-date=18 May 2007}}</ref><ref name=ICJ>{{cite web |title=Israel's Separation Barrier:Challenges to the Rule of Law and Human Rights: Executive Summary Part I and II |publisher=[[International Commission of Jurists]] |date=6 July 2004 |access-date=11 May 2007 |url=http://www.icj.org/news.php3?id_article=3410&lang=en&print=true |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070706125257/http://www.icj.org/news.php3?id_article=3410&lang=en&print=true |archive-date=6 July 2007}}</ref>

The barrier generally runs along or near the 1949 Jordanian-Israeli armistice/Green Line, but diverges in many places to include on the Israeli side several of the highly populated areas of Jewish settlements in the West Bank such as [[East Jerusalem]], [[Ariel (city)|Ariel]], [[Gush Etzion]], [[Immanuel (town)|Immanuel]], [[Karnei Shomron]], [[Givat Ze'ev]], [[Oranit]], and [[Maale Adumim]].

Supporters of the barrier stated it was necessary for protecting Israeli civilians from Palestinian attacks, which increased significantly during the [[Second Intifada|Al-Aqsa Intifada]];<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.securityfence.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/questions.htm |title=Israel Security Fence – Ministry of Defense |publisher=Securityfence.mod.gov.il |access-date=9 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003072906/http://www.securityfence.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/questions.htm |archive-date=3 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zionism-israel.com/map_of_israel_security_problem_distances.htm |title=Map of Palestine – Land of Israel, 1845 |publisher=Zionism-israel.com |access-date=3 October 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201154156/http://zionism-israel.com/map_of_israel_security_problem_distances.htm |archive-date=1 December 2010}}</ref> it has helped reduce incidents of terrorism by 90% from 2002 to 2005; over a 96% reduction in terror attacks in the six years ending in 2007,<ref>{{cite news |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |title=After Sharon |date=6 January 2006}}</ref> though Israel's State Comptroller has acknowledged that most of the suicide bombers crossed into Israel through existing checkpoints.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/d80185e9f0c69a7b85256cbf005afeac/c4c1970ae0ba634b85256e510073d1e3/$FILE/PA-ICJ%20written%20statement%20(exec%20summary).pdf#page=8 |title=Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory |date=30 January 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510095453/http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/d80185e9f0c69a7b85256cbf005afeac/c4c1970ae0ba634b85256e510073d1e3/$FILE/PA-ICJ%20written%20statement%20(exec%20summary).pdf#page=8 |archive-date=10 May 2011}}</ref> Its supporters state that the [[Philosophic burden of proof|onus]] is now on the Palestinian Authority to fight terrorism.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/news/sen-clinton-i-support-w-bank-fence-pa-must-fight-terrorism-1.173922 Sen. Clinton: I support W. Bank fence, PA must fight terrorism] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605192658/http://www.haaretz.com/news/sen-clinton-i-support-w-bank-fence-pa-must-fight-terrorism-1.173922 |date=5 June 2011 }}. Haaretz, 13 November 2005</ref>

Opponents state the barrier is an illegal attempt to annex Palestinian land under the guise of security,<ref>{{cite web |title=Under the Guise of Security |publisher=Btselem.org |url=http://www.btselem.org/english/Publications/summaries/200512_Under_the_Guise_of_Security.asp |access-date=22 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070405095349/http://www.btselem.org/english/Publications/summaries/200512_Under_the_Guise_of_Security.asp |archive-date=5 April 2007}}</ref> violates international law,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/07/09/israel.barrier/index.html |title=U.N. court rules West Bank barrier illegal |publisher=CNN|date=9 July 2004 |access-date=22 May 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108022553/http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/07/09/israel.barrier/index.html |archive-date=8 November 2012}}</ref> has the intent or effect to pre-empt final status negotiations,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/israel/Story/0,2763,976105,00.html |title=Set in stone |work=The Guardian |author=Geraldine Bedell |date=15 June 2003 |access-date=18 December 2016 |archive-date=3 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303182238/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jun/15/israelandthepalestinians.features |url-status=live }}</ref> and severely restricts Palestinian livelihoods, particularly limiting their freedom of movement within and from the West Bank thereby undermining their economy.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Settlements and separation in the West Bank: future implications for health |date=February 2014 |journal=Medicine, Conflict and Survival |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=4–10 |last1=Bogue |first1=Patrick |last2=Sullivan |first2=Richard |last3=Anonymous |last4=Grandinetti |first4=Guglielmo Chelazzi |doi=10.1080/13623699.2013.873643 |pmid=24684018 |s2cid=41065377}}</ref>

=====Palestinian governorates=====
{{main|Governorates of Palestine}}
[[File:WestBankGovernatesNonLabeled.png|thumb|upright=1.15|right|[[Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority|Northern Governorates]]]]
After the signing of the [[Oslo Accords]], the West Bank was divided into 11 [[governorate]]s under the jurisdiction of the [[Palestinian National Authority]]. Since 2007 there are two governments claiming to be the legitimate government of the Palestinian National Authority, one based in the West Bank and one based in the Gaza Strip.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Governorate!!Population<ref name=geohive>{{cite web |trans-title=Statistical Yearbook of Palestine |url=http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Downloads/book2173.pdf |title=كتاب فلسطين الاحصائي السنوي |access-date=31 January 2016 |publisher=Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics |date=December 2015 |language=ar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422210843/http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Downloads/book2173.pdf |archive-date=22 April 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>!!Area (km<sup>2</sup>)<ref name=geohive/>
|-
|[[Jenin Governorate]]||align="right"| 311,231 ||align="right"| 583
|-
|[[Tubas Governorate]]||align="right"| 64,719 ||align="right"| 372
|-
|[[Tulkarm Governorate]]||align="right"| 182,053 ||align="right"| 239
|-
|[[Nablus Governorate]]||align="right"| 380,961 ||align="right"| 592
|-
|[[Qalqilya Governorate]]||align="right"| 110,800 ||align="right"| 164
|-
|[[Salfit Governorate]]||align="right"| 70,727 ||align="right"| 191
|-
|[[Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate]]||align="right"| 348,110 ||align="right"| 844
|-
|[[Jericho Governorate]]||align="right"| 52,154 ||align="right"| 608
|-
|[[Jerusalem Governorate]]<br />(including Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem with Israeli citizenship)||align="right"| 419,108 ||align="right"| 344
|-
|[[Bethlehem Governorate]]||align="right"| 216,114 ||align="right"| 644
|-
|[[Hebron Governorate]]||align="right"| 706,508 ||align="right"| 1,060
|-
!Total!! style="text-align:right;"| 2,862,485 !!align="right"| 5,671
|}

===== Israeli administrative districts =====
{{see also|Judea and Samaria Area}}
The West Bank is further divided into 8 administrative regions: Menashe ([[Jenin]] area), HaBik'a ([[Jordan Valley]]), [[Samaria|Shomron]] ([[Shechem]] area, known in Arabic as [[Nablus]]), Efrayim ([[Tulkarm]] area), Binyamin ([[Ramallah]]/[[al-Bireh]] area), Maccabim ([[Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut|Maccabim]] area), [[Gush Etzion|Etzion]] ([[Bethlehem]] area) and [[Judea|Yehuda]] ([[Hebron]] area).