West Bank

IN NEWS:

• Re-elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to annex Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

WEST BANK:

• The West Bank is a landlocked territory near the Mediterranean coast of Western Asia.
• It is bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel on the south, west and north. It also contains a significant section of the western Dead Sea shore.

THE DISPUTE:

• The West Bank region was captured by Jordan after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Israel snatched it back during the ‘Six Day War’ of 1967, and has occupied it ever since.

Also known as the Third Arab–Israeli War, it was fought between 5^th and 10^th June 1967 by Israel and the neighbouring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Israel seized the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, from Jordan and the Golan Heights from Syria.

• Since then, it has been building settlements in the region. There have also been allegations of gross human rights violations on the Palestine population by Israeli forces.
• A majority of world nations, The United Nations and International Court of Justice consider West Bank settlements illegal and an occupied territory. However, the US is a strong supporter of Israel.
• Under the Oslo Accords of the 1990s, both Israel and the Palestinians agreed that the status of settlements would be decided by negotiations. But the negotiations process has been all but dead for several years now.
• Historically, India has openly supported the Palestine cause. However, in recent years, India has grown more close to Israel.

PRELIMS QUESTION:

Q. Which of the following regions share boundary with the West Bank region:

1. Israel
2. Syria
3. Jordan
4. Lebanon

Choose the correct statements from the codes given below:

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 1 and 3 only
3. 1, 2 and 4 only
4. All of the above

Answer to Prelims question