West Bank

I

Introduction

West Bank, territory in the Middle East on the western bank of the River Jordan, bracketed to the north, west, and south by Israel, and to the east by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It borders a portion of the Dead Sea to the south-east and rises along the western face of the Syrian-African Rift Valley. Its area is roughly 5,860 sq km (2,263 sq mi). Most of the West Bank had been under Israeli occupation since 1967, but Israeli troops withdrew from most of the region during 1995 and 1996 as part of the Middle East peace process, and some of the area is now under limited Palestinian autonomous government, administered by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

II

Land and Resources

Rainfall and soil quality are limiting factors on human activity in the West Bank. Agriculture and human settlement are concentrated on the hilly spine that runs north-south dividing the West Bank, and along the slopes to the west leading to the Mediterranean coastal plain. Field crops and vegetables are grown in the northern valleys, olives along the hill area, and grapes in the south. Rainfall decreases from north to south and west to east, thus there is sparse settlement and economic activity in the eastern third of the West Bank. This area is arid and desiccated, and except for oases or spring-fed farms such as in Jericho, it is used primarily for grazing goats and sheep. The Jordan Valley, part of the Syrian-African Rift Valley, is warm in winters and extremely hot and dry in the summer and is well below sea level. The hill areas of the West Bank have a Mediterranean climate, with cool wet winters and hot dry summers. The rainfall on the upper elevations of the West Bank, which reach heights of 1,000 m (3,281 ft), is of critical importance for Palestinians and Israelis, as it replenishes groundwater supplies in both Israel and the West Bank. The River Jordan links the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, but provides little water for irrigation. Mineral resources in the Dead Sea (for example, salt and potash) have not yet been tapped by Palestinians.

III

Population

Around 2,611,904 (2008 estimate) people live in the West Bank. The primary population of the West Bank is comprised of Palestinian Arabs, numbering approximately 1,427,741 in 1996. Population density for the West Bank is fairly high, with over 463 people per sq km (1,199 per sq mi). Sunni Muslims are predominant, but Christian Arabs, roughly 8 per cent of the West Bank population, are concentrated in Bethlehem, Beit Sahour, and Rām Allāh. These towns are clustered around Jerusalem, which has a sizeable Christian population. There are also over 120,000 Israeli Jewish settlers living in the West Bank, and their numbers are set to expand, though their presence there is an ongoing source of conflict. Languages in use are Arabic and Hebrew corresponding to ethnic affiliation; English is also widely understood.

Palestinians claim the eastern half of Jerusalem as their capital, despite its current position as an integral part of Israel’s de facto capital. The 155,000 Palestinians living there would qualify Jerusalem as the West Bank’s largest town. Following it in size are Hebron, Nābulus, Janīn, Rām Allāh, Bethlehem, Tul Karem, Beit Sahour, Beit Jalla, and Jericho. Palestinian towns and villages are experiencing rapid growth due to the high rate of population increase, nearly 5 per cent for the West Bank, meaning that the population will likely double before the year 2020. Life expectancy is 73.7 years, infant mortality is 18 per 1,000 births, and more than 40 per cent of the West Bank population is under the age of 15.

IV

Education and Health

The large school-age population has put pressure on Palestinian schools to expand, especially in the wake of the frequent school closures common during the years of the Palestinian intifada, or uprising, which began in 1987. Two main tracks are available for Palestinian children, one with a governmentally directed curriculum, the other guided by Islamic principles. Approximately 86 per cent of Palestinians over 14 years of age are literate; 21 per cent of the population has received 1 to 6 years of schooling. Private schools are operated under Christian auspices in a number of towns, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) operates schools in the refugee camps of the West Bank. In the last 30 years a number of Palestinian institutions of higher learning have opened in the West Bank, foremost among them Bir Zeit, Bethlehem, and Al-Najah universities, the Islamic College in Hebron, and the Technical College in Abu Dis.

Palestinian health care is also undergoing rapid expansion. The primary hospital for the West Bank population is al-Mokkassed hospital in Jerusalem. An additional hospital for refugees is located in Jerusalem, and other towns with hospitals are Rām Allāh, Nābulus, Hebron, Beit Jalla, Tul Karem, and Janīn. Most of these facilities are small and not well equipped. Infant and child mortality rates are higher than for Arabs in Israel; and overcrowding, sanitation, and water supply problems contribute to high disease rates.