in powers and
responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the
Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of
the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities 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. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility
during the transitional period for external and internal security
and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct
negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank
that began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, were
derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The
resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,
Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian
Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent
agreement. Following the death of longtime Palestinian leader Yasir
ARAFAT in November 2004, the election of his successor Mahmud ABBAS
in January 2005 could bring a turning point in the conflict.

Geography West Bank

Location:
Middle East, west of Jordan

Geographic coordinates:
32 00 N, 35 15 E

Map references:
Middle East

Area:
total: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km
water: 220 sq km
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

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Delaware

Land boundaries:
total: 404 km
border countries: 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
highest