West Bank (GPS: 32 00 N, 35 15 E) is located in the Middle East, west of Jordan, east of Israel. The country’s area measurements are total: 5,860 sq km; land: 5,640 sq km, water: 220 sq km. This sovereign state is slightly smaller than Delaware. The total irrigated land is 240 sq km (2012).
One of the West Bank’s essential features: Landlocked – enclosed or nearly enclosed by land. Highlands are the main recharge area for Israel’s coastal aquifers. About 380 Israeli civilian sites, including about 213 settlements and 132 small outpost communities in the West Bank, and 35 locations in East Jerusalem (2017).
It’s significant, and at the same time, the principal city, None’s GPS coordinates are N/A. None’s local time is N/A. The capital’s time difference: N/A.
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; Israel captured it in the Six-Day War in 1967. Under a series of agreements known as the Oslo Accords signed between 1994 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 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 the area’s final status.
Roughly 60% of the West Bank remains under exclusive Israeli military control. In early 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) won most in the Palestinian Legislative Council election. Since 2007, the PA has administered areas of the West Bank under its control while HAMAS maintains de facto control of Gaza. Fatah, the dominant Palestinian political party in the West Bank, and HAMAS have made several attempts at reconciliation, but the factions have been unable to implement any agreements reached; A reconciliation agreement signed in October 2017 remains unimplemented. In December 2018, the Palestinian Constitutional Court dissolved the Palestinian Legislative Council and called for new Legislative Council elections.
West Bank’s names conventional long form: none, traditional short form: West Bank, etymology: the name refers to the location of the region – occupied and administered by Jordan after 1948 – that fell on the far side (west bank) of the Jordan River about Jordan proper; the designation was retained following the 1967 Six-Day War and the subsequent changes in government.
West Bank’s terrain is typically rugged, dissected upland in the west, and flat plains descending to Jordan River Valley to the east. The country’s mean elevation: N/A, elevation extremes; lowest point: the Dead Sea -408 m, highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m.
The country’s general climate; temperate: temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters.
The total number of border countries is 2, Israel 330 km, Jordan 148 km are the neighboring nations with the indicated border lengths. West Bank’s coastline is 0 km (landlocked country), while its marital claims are: none. Waterways: N/A. Land use: agricultural land: 43.3%; arable land 7.4%; permanent crops 11%; permanent pasture 24.9%; forest: 1.5%; other: 55.2%note: includes Gaza Strip (2011 estimate).
The population in West Bank 2,798,494 (July 2018 estimate), urban population: 75.3% of total population (2015), major urban area’s population: N/A, while West Bank has Palestinian settlements are primarily located in the central to the western half of the territory; Jewish colonies are found in pockets throughout, particularly in the northeast, north-central, and around Jerusalem. Their spoken languages are Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood). Main religions in West Bank are Muslim 80-85% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 12-14%, Christian 1-2.5% (mainly Greek Orthodox), other, unaffiliated, unspecified. The nation uses N/A. It is a(n) N/A, National holiday(s) N/A.
Economic overview for the country: In 2017, the West Bank’s economic outlook – the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian Territories remained fragile, as security concerns and political friction slowed economic growth. Unemployment in the West Bank remained high at 19.0% in the third quarter of 2017, only slightly better than 19.6% at the same point the previous year, while the labor force participation rate remained flat, year-on-year. Longstanding Israeli restrictions on imports, exports, and goods and people’s movement continue to disrupt labor and trade flows and the territory’s industrial capacity and constrain private sector development. The PA’s budget benefited from improving tax collection, coupled with lower spending in 2017. Still, the PA, for the foreseeable future, will continue to rely heavily on donor aid for its budgetary needs and infrastructure development.
Natural resources of West Bank: arable land.
Main export partners for West Bank, Middle East are N/A for stone, olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone, while the country’s main import partners are: N/A for food, consumer goods, construction materials, petroleum, chemicals.
When you visit this country in the Middle East, consider the natural hazards in West Bank: Droughts, while infectious diseases are N/A. Also, note that West Bank faces the following environmental issues: Adequacy of freshwater supply, Sewage treatment.
You may also be interested in the countries next to West Bank around its total: 478 km border, like Israel, Jordan.
