Background: The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP) signed in Washington in September 1993 provided for a transitional period of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. A transfer of authority to the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and the West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus but were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out a year later. In April 2003 the Quartet (US EU UN and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides have not followed through on their commitments. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004 Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005 Israel withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless Israel controls maritime airspace and most access to the Gaza Strip. A November 2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control. In January 2006 the Islamic Resistance Movement HAMAS won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The international community has refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it does not recognize Israel will not renounce violence and refuses to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA. Since March 2006 President ABBAS has had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift the economic siege on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene in late 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members.

Geographic coordinates: 32 00 N 35 15 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 5,860 km²
Land: 5,640 km²
Water: 220 km²
Note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
Comparative: slightly smaller than Delaware

Land boundaries
Total: 404 km
Border countries: (2) Israel 307 km; , Jordan 97 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude warm to hot summers cool to mild winters

Terrain: mostly rugged dissected upland some vegetation in west but barren in east

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
Extremes highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m

Natural resources: arable land

Land use
Arable land: 16.9%
Permanent crops: 18.97%
Other: 64.13% (2001)

Irrigated land: 150 km²; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)

Natural hazards: droughts

Geography
Note: landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.)

Population
Note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.)
Growth rate: 2.985% (2007 est.)
Below poverty line: 45.7% (2005)

Nationality
Noun: NA
Adjective: NA

Ethnic groups: Palestinian Arab and other 83% Jewish 17%

Languages: Arabic Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians) English (widely understood)

Religions: Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni) Jewish 17% Christian and other 8%

Age structure
0-14 years: 42.4% (male 551,243/female 524,800)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 704,209/female 670,382)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 36,175/female 49,118) (2007 est.)

Median age
Total: 18.5 years
Male: 18.4 years
Female: 18.6 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.985% (2007 est.)

Birth rate: 30.99 births/1000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate: 3.85 deaths/1000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.71 migrant(s)/1000 population (2007 est.)

Environment
Current issues: adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male/female
65 years and over: 0.736 male/female
Total population: 1.038 male/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 18.67 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 20.59 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 16.64 deaths/1000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.46 years
Male: 71.68 years
Female: 75.35 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.17 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 92.4%
Male: 96.7%
Female: 88% (2004 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: West Bank

Economy overview: The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA) - has experienced a general decline in economic conditions since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and trading relationships. In 2001 and even more severely in 2002 Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital the disruption of administrative structures and widespread business closures. International aid of at least $1.14 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005 high unemployment and limited trade opportunities - due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally - stymied growth. Israel's and the international community's financial embargo of the PA since HAMAS took office in March 2006 has interrupted the provision of PA social services and the payment of PA salaries.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $5.327 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 4.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $1500 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 8%
Industry: 18.2%
Services: 73.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.)

Agriculture products: olives citrus vegetables; beef dairy products

Industries: generally small family businesses that produce cement textiles soap olive-wood carvings and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers

Industrial production growth rate: 2.4% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

Labor force: 568,000 (2005)
By occupation agriculture: 16%
By occupation industry: 29%
By occupation services: 55% (2005)

Unemployment rate: 20.3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

Population below poverty line: 45.7% (2005)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $1.23 billion
Expenditures: $1.64 billion (2005)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $4.461 billion (2005)

Exports: $301 million f.o.b.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Commodities: olives fruit vegetables limestone
Partners: Israel Jordan Gaza Strip (2006)

Imports: $2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Commodities: food consumer goods construction materials
Partners: Israel Jordan Gaza Strip (2006)

Debt external: $NA

Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4565 (2006) 4.4877 (2005) 4.482 (2004) 4.5541 (2003) 4.7378 (2002)

Electricity
Production: NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities such as Nablus and Janin generate their own electricity from small power plants
Consumption: NA kWh
Imports: NA kWh

Telephones
Main lines in use: 349,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Mobile cellular: 1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

Telephone system
General assessment: NA
Domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services
International: country code - 970 (2004)

Internet
Country code: .ps; note - same as Gaza Strip
Users: 243,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: NA

Airports: 3 (2007)
With paved runways total: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2007)

Roadways
Total: 4,996 km
Paved: 4,996 km
Note: includes Gaza Strip (2004)

Disputes international: West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a 'seam line' separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 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 and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 705,207 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2006)