West Bank

[west bangk]

noun

1. an area in the Middle East, between the west bank of the Jordan River and the eastern frontier of Israel: occupied in 1967 and subsequently claimed by Israel, with limited Palestinian self-rule in Palestinian-held sectors; formerly held by Jordan.

West Bank

noun

1. a semi-autonomous Palestinian region in the Middle East on the W bank of the River Jordan, comprising the hills of Judaea and Samaria and part of Jerusalem: formerly part of Palestine (the entity created by the League of Nations in 1922 and operating until 1948): became part of Jordan after the ceasefire of 1949: occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. In 1993 a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization provided for the West Bank to become a self-governing Palestinian area; a new Palestinian National Authority assumed control of parts of the territory in 1994–95, but subsequent talks broke down and Israel reoccupied much of this in 2001–02 and continues to maintain most existing Israeli settlements. Pop: 2 676 740 (2013 est). Area: 5879 sq km (2270 sq miles)

West Bank

1. Land on the west bank of the Jordan River (see also Jordan River), formerly in the hands of Jordan, but captured by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967. Israel has agreed to hand over part of the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority, but the Israeli government has been widely criticized for continuing to move civilian settlers as well as soldiers into the area. In 2001, in response to terrorist suicide bombings (see terrorism), Israel staged heavy military strikes against Palestinian cities in the West Bank.

Example Sentences

The residents of West Bank refugee camps are mostly descended from Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes during the war surrounding Israel's creation in 1948-49.

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The European Union wants to train up to 3,000 Palestinian police officers in the Gaza Strip under a scheme similar to one it already runs in the West Bank, an EU official said Wednesday.

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An Al Jazeera journalist was shot and injured while covering a demonstration by Palestinians in the occupied West Bank that was dispersed by Israeli soldiers, AFP journalists witnessed on Tuesday.

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It doesn’t demand a risky Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and east Jerusalem and the expulsion of every Jew living there.

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The flight was part of "a clear agenda to cleanse Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank", Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said on Monday.

Read more on BBC