West Bank

• Palestinian settlements are primarily located in the central to western half of the territory;
• Jewish settlements are found in pockets throughout, particularly in the northeast, north-central, and around Jerusalem

• landlocked;
• highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers;
• there are about 380 Israeli civilian sites, including about 213 settlements and 132 small outpost communities in the West Bank and 35 sites in East Jerusalem (2017)

noun:

NA

adjective:

NA

0-14 years:

36.09% (male 518,376 /female 491,676)

15-24 years:

21.17% (male 302,474 /female 289,852)

25-54 years:

34.48% (male 489,559 /female 475,402)

55-64 years:

4.74% (male 68,317 /female 64,233)

65 years and over:

3.52% (male 44,662 /female 53,943) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

75.8 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

70.5 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

5.2 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

19.1 (2015 est.)

note: data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank

• Palestinian settlements are primarily located in the central to western half of the territory;
• Jewish settlements are found in pockets throughout, particularly in the northeast, north-central, and around Jerusalem

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

1.03 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

0.73 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

West Bank

etymology:

• 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 in relation to Jordan proper;
• the designation was retained following the 1967 Six-Day War and the subsequent changes in government

agriculture:

11.5%

industry:

34.4%

services:

54.1% (2013 est.)

note: excludes Gaza Strip

lowest 10%:

28.2% (2009 est.)

highest 10%:

28.2% (2009 est.)

note: includes Gaza Strip

general assessment:

continuing political and economic instability has impeded liberalization of the telecommunications industry (2018)

domestic:

• Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed-line services;
• two Palestinian cellular providers, JAWWAL and WATANIYA MOBILE, launched 3G mobile networks in the West Bank in January 2018 after Israel lifted its ban (2018)

international:

country code - 970; 1 international switch in Ramallah (2018)

• the Palestinian Authority operates 1 TV and 1 radio station;
• about 20 private TV and 40 radio stations;
• both Jordanian TV and satellite TV are accessible (2013)

total:

371,299 (2017 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants:

14 (2017 est.)

note: includes Gaza Strip

total:

4,686 km (2010)

paved:

4,686 km (2010)

note: includes Gaza Strip

• in accordance with the Interim Agreement, the PA is not permitted a conventional military but can maintain security forces;
• PA security forces have operated almost exclusively in the West Bank since Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip in 2007

Kahane Chai (Kach):

aim(s): restore the biblical state of Israel; expel Arabs from Israel's biblical lands

area(s) of operation:

• present in West Bank Jewish settlements, especially the Qiryat Arba' settlement in Hebron, where operatives have conducted bombings and shootings against Muslim and Christian Palestinians;
• operationally inactive in recent years (April 2018)

HAMAS:

aim(s): grow its political and operational presence in the West Bank

area(s) of operation:

mostly political activity; small cells scattered throughout the West Bank for militant and illicit finance purposes (April 2018)

Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ):

aim(s): enhance its staging capabilities in the West Bank to launch attacks against Israel

area(s) of operation:

mostly political activity; strives to maintain an operational presence (April 2018)

Palestine Liberation Front (PLF):

• aim(s): enhance its networks in the West Bank and, ultimately, destroy the state of Israel;
• establish a secular, Marxist Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital

area(s) of operation:

maintains a recruitment and training presence in some of the West Bank's refugee camps (April 2018); Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP): aim(s): bolster its recruitment networks in the West Bank

area(s) of operation:

mostly political activity, maintains a recruitment presence targeting youths (April 2018)

the current status of the West Bank is subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiationIsrael continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West BankIsrael withdrew from Gaza and four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005since 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 (country of origin):

809,738 (Palestinian refugees) (2017)

IDPs:

131,000 (includes persons displaced within the Gaza strip due to the intensification of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since June 2014 and other Palestinian IDPs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank who fled as long ago as 1967, although confirmed cumulative data do not go back beyond 2006) (2017)