West Bank – New World Encyclopedia
Posted By admin on May 26, 2015
The West Bank (Arabic: , Hebrew: , Hagadah Hamaaravit), also known as Judea and Samaria, is a landlocked territory on the west bank of the Jordan River in the Middle East.
The area is regarded by many Jews as the birthplace of the Jewish peoples and is the location of the main Jewish religious sites and tombs. The territory was the homeland to Palestinians until the 1948 Israel-Arab war of independence. It is governed by the Palestinian National Authority (initially set-up as an interim government), but is considered by many, including the United Nations, to be an Israeli-occupied territory. The State of Israel began building a barrier of fences, trenches and walls around the territory in 2003. Movement of both Israelis and Palestinians in and out of this territory is seriously restricted. One result of such restriction is severe poverty, as the means of both job-security and tourist income has been lost.
The key challenge facing the Palestinian National Authority is to build a genuine indigenous national unity that would transcend sectarian loyalties. Based on that unity, economic development could proceed.
The name "West Bank" was apparently first used by Jordanians at the time of their annexation of the region, has become the most common name used in English, and describes territory on the west bank of the river Jordan Riverthe Kingdom of Jordan being on the east bank of the same river.
Israelis refer to the region either as "The West Bank or as Judea (Hebrew: "Yehuda" "") and Samaria (Hebrew: "Shomron" ""), after the two biblical kingdoms (the southern Kingdom of Judah and the northern Kingdom of Israelthe capital of which was, for a time, in the town of Samaria). The border between Judea and Samaria is a belt of territory immediately north of (and historically traditionally including) Jerusalem sometimes called the "land of Benjamin." The name Judea and Samaria has been in continual use by Jews as well as various others since biblical times.
Bordering Jordan to the east and Israel in all other directions, the West Bank is a landlocked territory that has a total area of 2262 square miles (5860 square kilometers), slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Delaware. The terrain is mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east. It is mostly composed of north-southoriented limestone hills, called the Samarian Hills north of Jerusalem and the hills of Judea to the south, with a height of 2300 to 3000 feet (700 to 900 meters). The hills descend to the east to the low-lying Jordan rift valley and the Dead Sea.
Elevation ranges from the lowest point, which is the Dead Sea, at 1338 feet (408 meters) below sea level, and the highest point, Tell Asur, at 3353 feet (1022 meters) above sea level. The highlands are the main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers.
The climate is temperate; temperature varies with altitude, with warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters. Annual rainfall of more than 27 inches (685mm) occurs in the highest areas in the northwest and declines in the southwest and southeast, along the Dead Sea, to less than four inches (100mm).
Non-irrigated hill regions, especially in Samaria, are used to graze sheep and to cultivate cereals, olives, and fruits such as melons. Irrigated land in the hills and the Jordan River valley is intensively cultivated for assorted fruits and vegetables.
Droughts are a natural hazard. A current environmental issue concerns adequate of fresh water supply, and sewage treatment.
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West Bank - New World Encyclopedia
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