Where is Palestine Located and Why are Gaza and West Bank Separate?

Where is Palestine Located?

Palestine is a contested geographic region located in the Middle East between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. While Palestine once referred to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, today the Palestinian territories consist of two separate enclaves, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The West Bank is located just east of Israel, bordered by Israel to the west, north and south, and Jordan to the east. The West Bank spans an area of 2,262 square miles and has a population of around 2.7 million Palestinians. Major West Bank cities include Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem and Hebron.

The Gaza Strip is a small coastal enclave located along the Mediterranean Sea between Israel and Egypt. It covers an area of just 139 square miles and has a population of nearly 2 million Palestinians. Gaza City is the largest city in the Gaza Strip.

Brief History of Palestine

Palestine was formally under British administration from 1920 to 1948 after the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I. Following increasing violence between Arab and Jewish populations in the region, the United Nations adopted a partition plan in 1947 which divided Palestine into two states - one Jewish and one Arab.

However, the plan was rejected by Arab leaders and fighting broke out. In 1948, when the British mandate expired, Jewish leaders declared the establishment of the state of Israel. The next day, troops from surrounding Arab countries invaded Israel, starting the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. When ceasefires were finally reached in 1949, Israel controlled about three quarters of the former British Mandate of Palestine. Egypt took control of Gaza and Jordan took control of the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem.

The Six-Day War and Israeli Occupation

In 1967, after rising tensions and skirmishes along the borders, Israel launched a series of preemptive airstrikes against Egyptian airfields, starting the Six-Day War. Israel ended up seizing control of the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.

While Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula as part of the Camp David Accords in 1978, it continued to occupy Gaza and the West Bank. Over the following decades, the Israeli government established settlements in these occupied territories, displacing many Palestinian residents.

Palestinian Push for Statehood

In 1974, the Arab League recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. The PLO launched an armed resistance movement against the Israeli occupation and pushed for Palestinian statehood in the West Bank and Gaza. After years of rising tensions and acts of violence, the First Intifada broke out in 1987. Several years later, the PLO agreed to recognize Israel's right to exist and renounced terrorism, opening the way for peace negotiations.

As part of the 1993 Oslo Accords, limited Palestinian self-governance was established in the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank through the creation of the Palestinian Authority. Further negotiations over the ensuing decades, however, failed to produce a final peace settlement or an independent Palestinian state. Israel continued to build settlements in occupied territory, while Palestinian militant groups carried out terror attacks against Israel.

The Separation of Gaza and the West Bank

Although the 1993 Oslo Accords treated Gaza and the West Bank as a single territorial unit, with open borders and freedom of movement between the two, over time they became increasingly disconnected. Here are some of the events that led to the current division between Gaza and the West Bank:

Rise of Hamas in Gaza

In 2006, the Islamist militant group Hamas won legislative elections in Gaza and the West Bank. The following year, clashes between Hamas and Fatah, the main secular Palestinian party controlling the Palestinian Authority, led to Hamas forcibly taking control of Gaza. This gave Hamas de facto rule over the Gaza Strip, while the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority had control of West Bank territories.

West Bank Security Barrier

During the Second Intifada from 2000-2005, Palestinian suicide bombers launched frequent attacks on Israeli civilians. Israel responded by steadily increasing restrictions on Palestinian movement and constructing a barrier made up of concrete walls, fences and barbed wire within the West Bank. Israel said it was necessary for security, but it often diverted to surround Israeli settlements and cut off Palestinian villages from each other and the West Bank.

Blockade of Gaza

After Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, Israel swiftly imposed a blockade restricting the flow of goods and people in and out, effectively isolating it from the outside world. With Egyptian cooperation, a tightly controlled border fence around Gaza was built. Israel has maintained the blockade for the last 15 years, arguing it is necessary to prevent Hamas from importing weapons.

Lack of Territorial Continuity

The separation barrier in the West Bank and blockade of Gaza, along with the spread of Israeli settlements, mean that the envisioned independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza would lack any territorial continuity. West Bank Palestinian population centers are increasingly becoming disconnected enclaves surrounded by Israeli settlements and roads.

Palestinians and much of the international community argue that the disconnected blocs of Palestinian territory in the West Bank would not be viable for a future independent state. However, Israel argues the barriers and restrictions are necessary for security.

Impact on the Palestinian People

The physical, political and economic separation between the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip has had significant humanitarian impacts on the Palestinian people:

• Restrictions on travel between the West Bank and Gaza divided Palestinian families and prevented students from attending universities located in the other territory.
• The barriers around the West Bank severely restricted Palestinians' freedom of movement, disrupting daily life and economic activity.
• The blockade of Gaza led to a humanitarian crisis, with shortages of food, medicine, water and electricity. Poverty and unemployment soared.
• The two territories developed disjointed economies and governments, making coordination difficult. This has weakened the Palestinian national movement.
• Daily life for Palestinians is impacted by Israeli checkpoints, roadblocks, permit requirements and military incursions that the Palestinian Authority has limited powers to prevent.

In sum, the separation has made life for Palestinians increasingly difficult. However, Israel argues these policies are necessary to prevent terrorist attacks against its citizens.

Recent Developments

In recent years, there has been little progress toward reconnecting Gaza and the West Bank or establishing an independent Palestinian state:

• The peace process aimed at a two-state solution has been stalled for over a decade, with both sides blaming each other.
• Israel continues to expand West Bank settlements that most of the world considers illegal.
• No Palestinians in Gaza have been able to travel to the West Bank since the Hamas takeover in 2007, except for rare medical cases.
• Egypt has kept its crossing with Gaza largely sealed as well, opening it only sporadically.
• Military confrontations periodically flare up between Israel and Palestinian militant groups like Hamas.

While many observers still hope a political solution can reconnect Gaza and the West Bank under a unified Palestinian government, the prospects remain dim after years of failed negotiations, episodic violence and increasing Israeli settlement expansion.

The Future of Gaza and the West Bank

What will happen next with Gaza and the West Bank remains uncertain. Here are some possibilities that have been raised:

• Two-State Solution - Israel withdraws from most of the West Bank, allowing the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Gaza and the West Bank would be reconnected. But this long sought-after outcome seems increasingly unlikely.
• Bi-National State - Israel annexes the West Bank, leaving the combined territory from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea under either Israeli control or shared Israeli-Palestinian governance. Israelis and Palestinians would have equal rights.
• Three State Solution - The West Bank becomes its own Palestinian state, independent of both Israel and Gaza.
• Status Quo - The current situation of disconnected Palestinian enclaves under Israeli occupation continues indefinitely.

With positions on all sides entrenched after decades of conflict, the future path remains highly uncertain. But the separation of Gaza and the West Bank has created new political realities that will make it even more difficult to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

FAQs

Why are Gaza and the West Bank separated?

Gaza and the West Bank were envisioned as part of a unified Palestinian state under the 1993 Oslo Accords. However, over time Israel imposed restrictions that increasingly isolated the territories from each other. This includes Israel's blockade of Gaza, construction of separation barriers and settlements in the West Bank, and the political split between the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the Hamas government in Gaza.

Who controls security in Gaza and the West Bank?

Israel maintains overarching control of security in both territories, including patrolling borders and conducting military operations. However, the Palestinian Authority manages internal security within Palestinian population centers in the West Bank. Hamas has internal security control in Gaza.

Can Palestinians travel between Gaza and the West Bank?

Very few Palestinians have been able to travel between Gaza and the West Bank since 2007 due to Israeli and Egyptian border restrictions. Certain exceptions may be made for medical emergencies.

Why does Israel restrict Palestinian development in Area C of the West Bank?

Under the Oslo Accords, Area C of the West Bank is under full Israeli administrative and security control. Israel heavily restricts Palestinian development there, citing security concerns. Critics argue it is a way to expand settlements and control Palestinian population centers.

What is the current status of the Palestinian peace process?

The peace process aimed at achieving a two-state solution through the creation of an independent Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank has been stalled since 2014. Negotiations have failed to reconcile core issues like borders, settlements, Jerusalem, and Palestinian refugees.