West Bank

American  

[west bangk] / ˈwɛst ˈbæŋk /

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.

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West Bank British  

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)

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West Bank Cultural  

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.

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Example Sentences

This is a pocket of the West Bank where the PA retains full control.

From BBC

Voting is taking place across Gaza, the occupied West Bank and among Hamas's members elsewhere.

From BBC

Under the Oslo Accords, the West Bank was divided into areas A, B and C -- under Palestinian, mixed and Israeli governance respectively.

From Barron's

“Come get me, please,” 6-year-old Hind Rajab pleaded over the phone, in Arabic, to volunteers at the Palestine Red Crescent Emergency Call Center in Ramallah, 56 miles away in the West Bank.

From Los Angeles Times

As a psychologist in the occupied West Bank, I have spent my career sitting across from children carrying burdens no child should ever know — lives shaped not by playgrounds or classrooms, but by constant fear.

From Los Angeles Times