In both areas, while the PA is in charge of education, health and the economy, the Israelis have full control of external security, meaning they retain the right to enter at any time.Īrea C represents 60 percent of the West Bank. In Area A, the PA controls most affairs.Īrea B represents about 22 percent of the West Bank. On the ground, the occupied West Bank was divided into three areas – A, B and C.Īrea A initially comprised three percent of the West Bank and grew to 18 percent by 1999. This led to the formation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) – an administrative body that would govern Palestinian internal security, administration and civilian affairs in areas of self-rule, for a five-year interim period. The Oslo Accords represented the first direct Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement. In 1920, it began its 28-year rule over British Mandate Palestine.īefore the British Mandate in Palestine, Jews made up around six percent of the total population. On October 31, 1917, British forces conquered Palestine from the Ottoman-Turks, ending 1,400 years of Islamic rule over the region. Most notably was the Balfour Declaration – a public pledge promising the “establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”.
1917 – Pre-British Mandate Palestineĭuring World War I, Britain made several conflicting agreements to gain the support of various groups in the Middle East.
Jordan Valley annexation: Trump vs Netanyahu.Israel’s annexation of the Jordan Valley.1967 – Israel occupies Gaza and the West Bank.1947 – Proposed UN Partition Plan (Resolution 181).Chart: 1920-1946 – Jewish immigration to Palestine.1918-1947 – Jewish immigration from Europe.To understand what annexation will look like on the ground and how we got here, Al Jazeera has compiled a collection of historic and present-day maps for you to explore.Ĭlick on any of the links to jump straight to that section: “International law is very clear: annexation and territorial conquest are forbidden by the Charter of the United Nations,” said Michael Lynk, the UN independent expert on human rights in the Palestinian territories. Annexing the Jordan Valley would mean that Israel would officially consider it part of the state of Israel. On July 1, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to announce Israel’s annexation of the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea.Īnnexation is a term used when a state unilaterally incorporates another territory within its borders.
Now, in the latest round of Israel’s ongoing occupation and policy of land-grabs this map could become even more disjointed. Over the past century it has been carved up, walled-in and filled with hundreds of illegal Israeli settlements and military checkpoints. The current map of Palestine is often described as resembling “Swiss cheese”.