West Bank (from the current Wikipedia article)

 West Bank, area of the former British-mandated (1920–47) territory of Palestine west of the Jordan River, claimed from 1949 to 1988 as part of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan but occupied from 1967 by Israel. The territory, excluding East Jerusalem, is also known within Israel by its biblical names, Judaea and Samaria.

Within its present boundaries, the West Bank represents the portion of the former mandate retained in 1948 by the Arab forces that entered Palestine after the departure of the British. The borders and status of the area were established by the Jordanian-Israeli armistice of April 3, 1949. In the decades that followed the armistice, Jordan, Israel, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) each laid claim to the approximately 2,185-square-mile (5,660-square-km) area. Population (2024 est.) 4,026,000; population excluding Israeli settlements, 3,325,905. Population density (2025) 1,926.3 people per square mile; (2025) 743.6 people per square km.

What and where is the West Bank?

 

The West Bank is a landlocked territory in the Levant region of West Asia that forms the largest part of the Palestinian territories. It is located west of the Jordan River and north of the Dead Sea, bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel to the north, west, and south. [1, 2]

Geographic and Demographic Profile

• Size: Approximately 2,185 square miles (5,660 square kilometers), roughly the size of the U.S. state of Delaware. [1, 2]
• Population: Home to over 3.3 million Palestinians. It also contains over 700,000 Israeli Jewish settlers living in government-authorized communities. [1, 2, 3]
• Major Cities: Principal Palestinian urban centers include Ramallah (the administrative hub), Hebron, Nablus, Jenin, and Bethlehem. [1, 2]
• Alternative Names: Historically and biblically, the region is known as Judea and Samaria. Many Israelis and the Israeli government use these names to emphasize historical Jewish ties to the land, while "West Bank" is the standard term used internationally. [1, 2]

History and Administrative Status

The territory was part of British-mandated Palestine until 1948. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, it was captured and annexed by Jordan, which coined the term "West Bank" to distinguish it from the "East Bank" (the main territory of Jordan). Israel subsequently captured the territory during the 1967 Six-Day War and has maintained a military occupation over it since. [1, 2, 3]

Under the Oslo Accords signed in the 1990s, the West Bank was split into three administrative zones to establish interim Palestinian self-governance: [1]

• Area A (18% of land): Full civil and security control by the Palestinian Authority (PA). It contains most major Palestinian cities.
• Area B (22% of land): Civilian administration by the PA, but overriding security control managed by Israel.
• Area C (60% of land): Full civil and military control by Israel. This area contains all Israeli settlements, vast agricultural zones, and connects the fragmented pockets of Areas A and B. [1, 2, 3]

Current Political Context

The status of the West Bank is one of the core disputes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Palestinians envision the territory as the heart of a future independent sovereign state. However, ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements, the presence of military checkpoints, and the construction of the West Bank Separation Barrier complicate territorial continuity and remain flashpoints for international legal debate.

Territorial sovereignty over ocean waters

 Oceans are international but nations have territorial sovereignty how far off shore?

Under the international treaty known as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a nation's absolute territorial sovereignty extends up to 12 nautical miles (about 13.8 miles or 22.2 kilometers) from its coastal baseline. 

However, ocean jurisdiction does not just stop at 12 miles. International law breaks the ocean down into progressive zones, gradually scaling back a country's control the further out you go. 

The 4 Major Maritime Zones

[ Land ] |--- 12 nm ---|--- 24 nm ---|------------------- 200 nm -------------------|

         | Territorial | Contiguous  |            Exclusive Economic                |
         |    Sea      |    Zone     |                Zone (EEZ)                    | High Seas ->

• Territorial Sea (0 to 12 nautical miles): This is considered sovereign territory. The coastal nation has full sovereign control over the water column, the seabed below, and the airspace above—virtually identical to its laws on dry land. The only major caveat is the rule of innocent passage, which allows foreign ships to transit through these waters peacefully without conducting military drills, fishing, or spying. 
• Contiguous Zone (12 to 24 nautical miles): While not fully sovereign territory, a country can enforce limited laws here regarding customs, immigration, taxation, and pollution. It acts as a buffer zone to catch or deter lawbreakers before they reach the mainland. 
• Exclusive Economic Zone / EEZ (12 to 200 nautical miles): A country does not have total sovereignty here, but it has exclusive "sovereign rights" to exploit natural resources. This includes all fishing, oil and gas drilling, wind energy generation, and scientific research. However, foreign nations still retain the right to freely navigate ships and fly aircraft through the EEZ. 
• The High Seas (Beyond 200 nautical miles): These are true international waters. No single nation has any sovereign claim or exclusive rights over them. They are governed by international treaties and are open to all nations for peaceful use. 

Exceptions and Overlaps

When two countries are situated close together (like countries bordering the Mediterranean or Caribbean seas) and their 12-mile or 200-mile zones overlap, they must negotiate a median line right down the middle. Furthermore, a country can sometimes claim resource rights to the seabed past 200 miles if they can scientifically prove their continental shelf extends further out, though this does not grant them ownership of the water above it.