# West Bank ## Executive Profile (BLUF) The **West Bank** is the landlocked Palestinian territory west of the Jordan River, bordered by [[Israel]] to the north, west, and south and by [[Jordan]] to the east. Captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 [[Six-Day War]], it remains under occupation status per UN Security Council Resolution 242 and has been governed under a fractured civil-administrative architecture since the 1993–1995 [[Oslo Accords]]: Area A (Palestinian Authority civil and security control), Area B (joint), and Area C (Israeli civil and military control — ~60% of territory). Home to approximately 3 million Palestinians and ~500,000 Israeli settlers across 280+ settlements and outposts. In 2026 the territory is at its highest point of kinetic-political friction since the Second Intifada (2000–2005), with record settler violence, Palestinian Authority governance collapse, IDF ground operations in Jenin/Nablus/Tulkarm refugee camps, and open proposals within the Israeli cabinet for formal annexation of Area C. ## Strategic Context * **Legal Status**: Occupied territory under IHL (Fourth Geneva Convention); the [[International Court of Justice]]'s 2024 advisory opinion deemed Israeli settlement policy illegal. Contested Israeli legal position asserts "disputed" rather than occupied status. * **Governance**: Nominal [[Palestinian Authority]] civil control in Areas A/B; fragmented military-civilian Israeli administration in Area C; [[Hamas]] influence in specific urban refugee camps (Jenin, Nablus). * **Kinetic Environment**: Sustained IDF raids into refugee camps (Operation Summer Camps 2024–2025); mass settler violence during 2023–2026 Gaza war; emergence of armed youth networks (Lions' Den, Jenin Brigade) integrating Hamas, PIJ, and al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades elements. * **Economic**: Dependency on Israeli labour permits, VAT clearance revenues, and international donor assistance; severe economic contraction since October 2023 (Bank of Israel permit freeze, Netanyahu withholding of clearance revenues). ## Key Connections - [[Israel]] — occupying power - [[Palestinian Authority]] — civil governance body in Areas A/B - [[Hamas]] — armed non-state actor with cell networks in refugee camps - [[04 Current Crises/Active Conflicts/Gaza War]] — directly linked political-security theatre (2023–present) - [[Israel Defense Forces]] — Area C security control - [[Shin Bet]] — principal Israeli security service operating in the territory - [[01 Actors & Entities/13_Agencies_&_Departments/Preventive Security Unit]] — PA intelligence body - [[Oslo Accords]] — foundational political framework - [[International Court of Justice]] — 2024 advisory opinion on legality of occupation - [[Fourth Geneva Convention]] — governing IHL framework - [[Gaza Strip]] — paired Palestinian territory