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Crosswords: West Bank |
| English words defined with "West Bank": Albany, Aurora borealis ♦ Bethlehem ♦ capital of New York ♦ El Giza ♦ Giza ♦ intifada ♦ West Point. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "West Bank": Adam, the city of ♦ Basle Committee, Basle Supervisor's Committee ♦ Committee on Banking Regulations and Supervisory Practices, Cooke Committee ♦ Pethor, Pithom. (references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
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The neutrality of this article is disputed.
The West Bank or Judea and Samaria is the name of a region to the west of the Jordan River that was occupied by Israel in 1967, not including the Gaza Strip. The name Cisjordan is also used for this region, especially in European languages.
The boundaries between the state of Israel and the West Bank are not clearly defined yet and are the result of the 1949 Armistice Agreement which followed the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was occupied and annexed by Jordan from 1949 to 1967. Israel gained control of the territory in the 1967 Six-Day War. The West Bank is considered as occupied by Israel, though Israel and varied other groups prefer the term "control" to "occupation" (see occupied Palestinian territories). The West Bank is inhabited by Arabs, Jews, and other ethnic groups (see Palestinians).
The most densely populated part of the region is a mountainous spine, running north-south, where the cities of Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Hebron are located. Jenin, in the extreme north of the West Bank is on the southern edge of the Jezreel Valley, Qalqilya and Tulkarm are in the low foothills adjacent to the Israeli coastal plain, and Jericho is situated near the Jordan River, just north of the Dead Sea.
Maale Adumim (about 6 km east of Jerusalem) and Ariel (between Nablus and Ramallah) are the largest Jewish towns in the region.
The region did not have a separate existence until 1948-9, when it was defined by the ceasefire lines between the Israeli and Arab (mostly Jordanian) armies. The name "West Bank" was apparently first used by Jordanians at the time of their annexation of the region, and has become the most common name used in English. The name "Cisjordan" or "Cis-jordan" (literally "on this side of the Jordan") is the usual name in French and some other languages. In English, the name "Cisjordan" is also used to designate the entire region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, but such usage was extremely rare before the past few decades. The names Judea and Samaria, used by some Israelis, are Biblical.
Israelis refer to the region either as a unit -- "The West Bank" ("ha-Gada ha-Ma'aravit") -- or as two units -- Judea ("Yehuda") and Samaria ("Shomron"), after the two biblical kingdoms, (the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern Kingdom of Israel -- the 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 Jerusalem) sometimes called the "land of Benjamin".
The Arab world and especially the Palestinians strongly object to the terms Judea and Samaria, the use of which they deem to reflect Israeli expansionist aims. Instead, they refer to the area as "the occupied West Bank of the Jordan River", emphasizing that the area is under Israeli military control and jurisdiction (see "occupied Palestinian territories").
The West Bank has been the object of negotiation, terrorism and war.
The status of the West Bank, together with the Gaza Strip on the Mediterranean shore, has long been disputed, though almost everyone agrees that the area is heading for statehood (see proposals for a Palestinian state).
Current situation:
The United Nations call the West Bank and Gaza Strip Israeli-occupied (see Occupied territories for discussion of what "occupied" means). The US generally agrees with this formulation, although the term disputed territories comes closer to a neutral point of view.
Generally, the Arab World considers the West Bank the rightful property of its Palestinian residents and regards the Israeli presence as an occupation force. Supporters of this view commonly refer to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as the "occupied territories". The vast majority of Palestinians also feel that the West Bank ought to be a part of their sovereign nation, and that the presence of Israeli military forces is a violation of that sovereignty (see Palestinian Authority).
Many official Arab maps show the West Bank, Gaza, and the rest of the territory bounded by Egypt, the Jordan River, Syria, Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea as "Palestine". Israeli maps often show the whole region as "Israel".
Israeli opinion is split into those who advocate, variously:
A part of the pre-1948 Mandatory Palestine, the territories now known as West Bank were mostly part of the territory reserved by the 1947 Partition Plan (UN General Assembly Resolution 181) for an Arab state. According to the plan, the city of Jerusalem and the surrounding towns (including Bethlehem and Ramallah) would be an internationally adminsitered territory, whose future would be determined at a later date. While a Palestinian Arab state failed to materialize, the territory was captured by the neighboring kingdom of Jordan. This occupation was not recognized by the UN or by the international community.
The boundary line between Israel proper and the West Bank was determined by the cease-fire talks in 1949 and is often called the "Green Line". During the 1950s, there was a signiciant phenomenon of Palestinian refugee infiltration and terrorismthrough the Green Line. In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured this territory, but the U.N. did not recognize it either and asked for Israel's withdrawal in Resolution 242. In 1988, Jordan withdrew all claims to it.
The 1993 Oslo accords declared the final status of the West Bank to be a subject to a forthcoming settlement between Israel and the Palestinian leadership. Following the accords, Israel withdrew its military rule from some parts of West Bank, which was then split into:
Israel has been criticized for reconstruction of numerous settlements in the West Bank. It is alleged that it breaks international law by doing so. See Israeli settlements for a discussion of this question. Others disagree and state the settlements are legal as the Balfour Declaration allowed Jewish settlement on these lands and no authorative legal document has come out against it since.
The West Bank has 4,500 km of roads, of which 2,700 km are paved. The Israelis have developed many highways to service their settlements. It also has three paved airports. There are no railways.
The Israeli company Bezeq and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank. The Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation. Most Palestinian households have a radio, and many have a TV, but there are no figures available.
Cities in the West Bank
Origin of Name
Political terminology
Status
1. Israel's eastern border was never defined by anyone.
2. The disputed territories were not part of any state (except Jordan) since the
Ottoman Empire days.
3. According to the Camp David Accords (1978) with Egypt, the 1994
agreement with Jordan and the Oslo accords with the PLO the final
status of the territories would be fixed only during the permanent
agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.History
Main article: History of the West Bank and Gaza Strip or History of Israel
Areas B and C constitute the majority of the territory, made up out of the rural areas, while urban areas---where the majority of the Palestinian population resides---are mostly Area A.Transport and Communication
See also Palestine and Ottoman Empire.External links
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "West Bank."
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | West Bank Brooklyn (2002) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Reflections from west bank of Trail Creek.Credit: Merv Coleman. |  | Southwest elevation. Measured drawing delineated by Ken Breuer, 1974. (Reproduction Number: HABS SC-377, sheet 7/14 of 15; negative number LC-USZA1-1334). Begun in 1738 for John Drayton, a prominent official and businessman in colonial South Carolina, Drayton Hall is one of the finest and best-preserved Georgian Palladian houses in the nation. Known for its symmetrical design, two-story portico (porch), and exquisite interior decorative wood and plasterwork, the house was the only plantation house on the west bank of the Ashley River not to be burned during the Civil War. Still without running water, central heat, or electricity, Drayton Hall is now a National Trust historic site.Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Panorama of Irtysh River, with west bank and morning rainbow, Omsk, Russia.Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540. |  | Blast furnaces from west bank of Maumee River, Toledo, Ohio.Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Business | The size of the pharmaceutical market in the West Bank and Gaza (PA) is estimated at $75 million annually. (references) | |
It is best to establish an agreement that specifies the area in the West Bank and/or Gaza the representative covers. (references) | ||
Although many food products in the West Bank and Gaza are imported from Israel, these products are relatively expensive. (references) | ||
Civil Liberties | Israel and the occupied territories | Israeli officials sometimes prohibit Palestinian residents of Jerusalem from entering the West Bank. (references) |
Israel and the occupied territories | On request, the Jordanian Government also issues travel documents to Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (references) | |
Jordan | In 1995 King Hussein announced that West Bank residents without other travel documentation again would be eligible to receive 5-year passports. (references) | |
Economic History | West Bank | Compulsory licensing of designs is not allowed in the West Bank. (references) |
Jordan | During the war, Israel gained control of the West Bank and all of Jerusalem. (references) | |
West Bank | Two major U.S. information technology companies have set up offices in the West Bank. (references) | |
Human Rights | Israel and the occupied territories | Approximately 125,000 West Bank and Gaza workers, representing roughly 20 percent of the Palestinian work force, depend on day jobs in Israel, Israeli settlements, and Jerusalem. (references) |
Israel and the occupied territories | Frequently, and often following shooting attacks, many of which were nonlethal, in the direction of Israeli settlements and military positions, the IDF retaliated against Palestinian towns and cities in the West Bank and Gaza. (references) | |
Israel and the occupied territories | There were at least 1,970 terror attacks directed against Israelis during the year, including drive by shootings, ambushes, firing of mortars or anti-tank missiles, use of grenades, and stabbings in the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel proper. (references) | |
Political Economy | Israel | On September 28, 1995, the Interim Agreement was signed, calling for a phased Israeli withdrawal from certain areas of the West Bank. (references) |
Israel and the occupied territories | In September 1995, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. (references) | |
Israel | As the peace process between Israel and the West Bank and Gaza inched forward, the peace process between Israel and Jordan made major strides. (references) | |
Trade | West Bank | Israeli banks do not operate in the West Bank and Gaza. (references) |
West Bank | West Bank and Gaza banks routinely deal in the Israeli shekel and Jordanian dinar. (references) | |
West Bank | TDA has financed feasibility studies for a food-processing facility, a West Bank olive oil production facility, and a petroleum refinery in Gaza. (references) | |
Travel | West Bank | Violent clashes and confrontations continue to take place throughout the West Bank and Gaza. (references) |
West Bank | Israeli security authorities do not permit most Israeli and West Bank vehicles to enter Gaza. (references) | |
West Bank | The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to defer travel to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Israel and the occupied territories | The minimum legal working age in the West Bank and Gaza is 15 years, and there are special limits governing the conditions of employment for juveniles between 15 and 18 years, including prohibitions against working at night, under conditions of hard labor, or in jobs that require them to travel outside their area of domicile. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Robert Novak | Mr. Speaker, this week we've seen further violence in the Middle East, Palestinian terrorists, suicide bombers, as well as the Israeli tanks moving in further and occupying the West Bank. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | Both President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin remain committed to the current negotiations to provide full autonomy to the inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
west bank gaza | 220 |
the west bank | 195 |
east west bank | 84 |
west bank map | 26 |
key west bank | 12 |
west bank israel | 10 |
west bank settlement | 7 |
map of israel and west bank | 6 |
west bank and gaza strip | 4 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "West Bank"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | Vestbredden. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | Westelijke Jordaanoever, cisjordanië. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | Länsirannan. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
French | Cisjordanie. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Westjordanland. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | Cisgiordania. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 西岸 (west coast), 西側 (west side). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | にしがわ (west side), せいがん (accurate, aiming at the eye, during one's lifetime, oath, orderly, petition, regular, trim, well-organized, west coast, westward advance, while alive). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | estway ankbay Cisjordania. (various references) Cisjordania. (various references) Västbanken. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-b-e-k-n-s-t-w" | |
-2 letters: absent, basket, tweaks, wakens. | |
-3 letters: abets, antes, askew, bakes, banes, banks, baste, bates, beaks, beans, beast, beats, bents, betas, etnas, kanes, nabes, nates, neats, newts, sewan, skate, skean, snake, sneak, stake, stane, stank, steak, swank, sweat, tabes, taken, takes, tanks, tawse, teaks, twaes, tweak, waken, wakes, wanes, wants, waste, weans, wekas. | |
-4 letters: abet. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-b-e-k-n-s-t-w" | |
+4 letters: cabinetworks. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)57 65 73 74 42 61 6E 6B |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
|
Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01010111 01100101 01110011 01110100 00100000 01000010 01100001 01101110 01101011 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)W e s t   B a n k |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0057 0065 0073 0074 0042 0061 006E 006B |
Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)57718586236678077 |
| Amazon.com BOOKS: Search for: "West Bank" |
