West Bank and Gaza Strip Land - 1986

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

NOTE: the war between Israel and the Arab states in June 1967 ended with Israel in control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Sinai, and the Golan Heights As stated in the 1978 Camp David Accords and reaffirmed by the President’s 1 September 1982 peace initiative, the final status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, their relationship with their neighbors, and a peace treaty between Israel and Jordan are to be negotiated among the concerned parties. Camp David further specifies that these negotiations will resolve the respective boundaries. Pending the completion of this process, it is US policy that the final status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip has yet to be determined. In the view of the United States, the term “West Bank” describes all of the area west of the Jordan Biver under Jordanian administration before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

However, with respect to negotiations evis-aged in the framework agreement, it is US policy that a distinction must be made between Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank because of the city’s special status and circumstances. Therefore, a negotiated solution for the final status of Jerusalem could be different in character from that of the rest of the West Bank.

West Bank—5,858.1 km² (includes West Bank, East Jerusalem, Latrun Salient and “Jerusalem No Man’s Land,” and the northwest quarter of Lue Dead Sea; excludes Mt.

Scopus); less than one-half the size of North Carolina; Gaza Strip—363.3 km²; slightly larger than Washington, D. C.

Land boundaries: West Bank—480.2 km;

Gaza Strip—72.1 km

NOTE: The information regarding West Bank and Gaza Strip on this page is re-published from the 1986 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of West Bank and Gaza Strip 1986 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about West Bank and Gaza Strip 1986 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.