West Bank Jordan River Territories. West Bank of the Jordan River (economics)

Trip statistics by month and region

Statistics of the number of trips by month

I made a sample of 2500 hikes from 20 travel clubs. It turned out that...

Summer accounts for 66% of trips for the entire year. No wonder summer is the best time to backpack. First, warm and dry; secondly, there is an opportunity to take a vacation for a trip.

autumn there are few trips, because school, studies, work begin, and the weather deteriorates.

in winter ski tours or accommodation at recreation centers prevail, combined with radial outings without heavy backpacks and equipment. Winter accounts for 6% of all trips.

spring sitting at home is unbearable, so we get equipment and plan trips. The weather in the Crimea, Cyprus and the Caucasus is already above zero, which allows you to make simple transitions without fear of freezing at night in a sleeping bag. March is 5% of the total statistics.

In April– a sudden pause (3%), as tourists save time and money for the May holidays. The end of April is a sharp start to the season of hiking in the Crimea, the Caucasus, the Sayans, Altai, with the capture of the May Day holidays. Those who want warmth go along the Turkish Lycian path or make a transition along the Cypriot Troodos mountains. Also at the end of April, there are many offers where you can go with children. Everyone is waiting for the end of April - both adults and children. Life is picking up pace.

May is distinguished by a fourfold increase in the number of trekking trips - 13% of the total statistics. Campsites are opening, and tourist bases are ready to accommodate tourists. May campaigns are supplemented by campaigns that begin in the last days of April in order to capture the holidays.

The top five most visited regions are as follows:

– First place. Caucasus - 29%. Elbrus and Kazbek attract hikers with their beauty.

– Second place. Crimea - 15%. The proximity of the sea and the mild climate make this peninsula unique and as if created for week-long outings.

– Third place. Northwest - 11%. Residents of the Leningrad region and Karelia are lucky with nature: there are more rivers and lakes than in the Central District. In the suburbs, there is nowhere to go especially.

– Fourth and fifth places. Altai, Baikal and Siberia - 7% each. It's expensive to get there from Moscow and St. Petersburg, but it's worth it. Beautiful nature, and not as many tourists as in other places.

Which gave them the name "West Bank" to distinguish it from the east coast, which was its main territory before the war. To the Arab inhabitants of the West Bank, Jordan granted their citizenship, which some of them still have, and the Jewish inhabitants of the territories occupied by Transjordan fled or were expelled by Transjordan to Israel. The unilateral annexation was condemned by many countries, including most members of the Arab League. The USSR recognized the legality of the annexation. In terms of international law, the West Bank was under Jordanian occupation. No resolutions on such actions by Jordan as the occupation and annexation of the West Bank of the Jordan, the expulsion of Jews, the destruction of dozens of synagogues, and others, from to years. The UN was not accepted.

The area of ​​the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is 5,640 square kilometers, which is 27.1% (within the 1949 borders) or 25.5% (including annexed territories) of the territory of Israel.

Major historical events

• Until the 13th century BC. e. on the territory of the western bank of the Jordan River there were several city-states of various Canaanite peoples.
• During the XIII-XII centuries BC. e. these territories were taken over by Jewish tribes and have since become part of the Land of Israel. The name "Judea" was given to the territory that had departed from the tribe of Jews (in Jewish terminology - to the tribe of Yehuda).
• In the XI century BC. e. this territory became part of the united kingdom of Israel, the capital of which was the city of Hebron at first, and then Jerusalem became.
• After the collapse of the united kingdom of Israel in the X century BC. e. two kingdoms, Judah and Israel, were established on its former territory. The Israeli kings founded the new capital of their kingdom - the city of Samaria (Hebrew שומרון ‎). The territory adjacent to the new capital became known as Samaria.
• Jewish statehood was finally destroyed by the Roman Empire during the period of Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD. e. after the Bar Kokhba rebellion. The land of Israel was renamed by the Romans into the province of Palestine, after the name of one of the peoples of the sea (Philistines, (Heb. פלישתים ‎) who lived in it in the past.
• Over the next 18 centuries, this territory was alternately part of the Roman Empire (until 395), the Byzantine Empire (395-614 and 625-638), the Arab Caliphate (614-625 and 638-1099) , possessions of the crusaders (1099-1187 and 1189-1291), Egypt (1187-1189), the Mongol Empire and the Khorezmians (1244-1263), Egypt (Mamluks) (1263-1516), Ottoman Empire (1516-1917) and British Mandate (1917-1948).

Modern history

Borders

The Jordan River forms the eastern border, the green line (the 1949 ceasefire line between Israel and the Arab armies) forms the border in the west. Israel erected a separation barrier along the West Bank border. In many places, the barrier runs deep into the West Bank and deviates from the 1949 ceasefire line. Israel explains the construction of the barrier by the need to protect its population from incessant incursions into Israeli territory since 2000 by suicide bombers. The construction of the barrier causes active protest from the Palestinians, since the barrier creates difficulties for movement, separates settlements from each other, and land plots from villages, de facto cuts off large areas of the West Bank in favor of Israel. Some Palestinian cities literally found themselves surrounded by a barrier on all sides. The existence of the barrier is one of the reasons Israel is accused of apartheid.

On political maps published in the USSR, the West Bank (within the boundaries of the UN resolution of 1947) began to be painted over in the colors of Jordan from the beginning of the 60s, while the Gaza Strip (including the coast to Ashdod, as well as part of the Negev along the border with Egypt) and the territory between Lebanon and the West Bank (Galilee) continued to be called, in accordance with the UN resolution, the territories of the Arab state. In connection with the proclamation of the State of Palestine in 1988, the territory of the West Bank was declared part of it, and on Soviet maps (as well as current Russian ones) the so-called. “Palestinian territories” (despite the recognition of the Palestinian state by the USSR on November 18, 1988, such a state did not appear on the maps; there are also no references to Palestine in the tables attached to the atlases with information about the states of the world). In view of the ongoing conflict situation in the region, the real borders and status of the West Bank of the Jordan River are interpreted by the opposing and sympathetic parties in different ways. However, the position of the UN remains unchanged in that these territories are not the territory of Israel, but are intended for the Arab state of Palestine.

Name

Cisiordan

Judea and Samaria

Prior to the emergence of the term "West Bank", during the British Mandate of Palestine, the region was referred to by the historical name "Judea and Samaria". UN Resolution No. 181 of 1947 on the division of the British Mandatory Territory also mentions part of the region of Judea and Samaria, placing the West Bank in the territory of the Arab State.

The Israelis most often use the historical name "Judea and Samaria", taken from the Tanakh - (Hebrew יהודה ושומרון ‎), also using the abbreviation "Yosh" (יו "ש), but sometimes (especially when it comes to international agreements) they use tracing paper" West Bank” (Hebrew הגדה המערבית ‎ “a-gada ha-maaravit”).

West Bank

Legal status of the territory

Israel disputes the definition of the territory of the West Bank r. Jordan (including East Jerusalem) as "occupied", insisting on the international term "disputed territory". The main arguments in favor of this position are the defensive nature of the Arab-Israeli war of 1948 and the Six-Day War (1967), the lack of recognized international sovereignty over these territories until 1967, and the historical right of the Jewish people to the land of Israel. A similar position is held by a number of Israeli and foreign politicians and leading lawyers.

After the occupation, Israel did not offer citizenship to the Arab residents of the West Bank and did not annex the territory (with the exception of East Jerusalem, which was officially annexed with the offer of citizenship to the local residents), but began to establish Jewish settlements there. The creation of these settlements has been repeatedly condemned by the UN and many states of the world, including the United States. The Israeli public organization "B'Tselem" claims that the free entry of Arabs into Jewish settlements is prohibited, without specifying that this is mainly due to the security of their inhabitants and the terrorist attacks carried out by Arabs in the settlements. A number of sources compare the situation in the West Bank to apartheid. A number of other sources reject this view, stating that the restrictions placed on Arab residents of the West Bank are solely for Israel's security. The issue of the status and continued construction of settlements in the West Bank is one of the key issues in the Arab-Israeli conflict. In November 2009, the Israeli government, under pressure from the US administration, as a gesture of goodwill, froze the construction of new houses in settlements (except East Jerusalem) for 10 months. This gesture did not lead to the resumption of peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, and in September 2010, despite the protests of the United States and a number of other states, construction in the settlements was resumed.

Much of the West Bank Jordan today is administered by the Palestinian National Authority.

Demographics

List of cities

see also

• Occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Jordan

Notes

1. United Nations plan for the partition of Palestine. 1947
2. State Institution of Geodesy and Cartography under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Atlas of the World, 1982. Northwest Asia and Northeast Africa (map). General information about the states: - Jordan. Territory: 98 thousand square meters km.
3. LETTER DATED 5 MARCH 1968 FROM THE PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF ISRAEL TO THE UNITED NATIONS ADDRESSED TO THE SECRETARY-GENERAL // Security Council
4. Status of Jerusalem // CHAPTER I. The British Mandate, the Partition of Palestine by the United Nations and the De facto Partition of Jerusalem (1922-1966)
5. Summary of Security Council Resolutions on Settlements since 1967
6. Disputed territories: Forgotten Facts About the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli Foreign Ministry (February 1, 2003). archived
7. and others in the "Legal status" section
8. Israel to UN: West Bank ‘outside our boundaries’ // Delegation: We can’t enforce human rights in territories we don’t control. Jerusalem Post 07/16/2010
   • The delegation said that "Israel did not control these territories and thus could not enforce the rights under the Convention in these areas"
9. West Bank CIA World FactBook
10. Law no. 6 of 1954 on Nationality (last amended 1987) (En.). National Legislative Bodies, Jordan. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
11. The address to the nation. Address of King Hussein of Jordan to the nation on July 31, 1988
12. TREATY OF PEACE BETWEEN THE STATE OF ISRAEL AND THE HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN, October 26, 1994 Israeli Foreign Ministry
13. Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty. Article 3
14. Alfred E. Kellermann, Kurt Siehr, Talia Einhorn, T.M.C. Asser Institute. Israel among the nations: international and comparative law perspectives on Israel's 50th anniversary. - Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1998. - P. 146. - 392 p. - ISBN 9041111425
15. JURIST - Palestinian Authority: Palestinian law, legal research, human rights. jurist.law.pitt.edu. Archived from the original on August 21, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
16. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181
17. Yechiel M. Leiter Crisis in Israel // APPENDIX. Questions asked about Israel and Yesha
18. The Status of Jerusalem (English) . Israeli Foreign Ministry (March 1999). archived
19. Danny Ayalon Israel Palestinian Conflict: The Truth About the West Bank on YouTube English / rus.
20. Lawyer Elon Yarden: "According to international law, Judea and Samaria belong to Israel". News (April 6, 2000). Archived from the original on August 21, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
21. Benjamin Netanyahu"A place under the sun" . Archived from the original on August 21, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
22. Ruth Lapidot (English) Russian JERUSALEM: The Legal and Political Background (English) . Israeli Foreign Ministry // JUSTICE (No. 3, Autumn 1994). Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
23. The myth of "occupied" territories. ??? (July 3, 2001). Archived from the original on August 21, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
24. Dori Gold. Do not call the disputed territories occupied!
25. The stumbling block. International law is on Israel's side
26. INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE ARAB-ISRAEL CONFLICT Extracts from "Israel and Palestine - Assault on the Law of Nations" by Professor Julius Stone , Second Edition 2003
27. Professor, Judge Sir Lauterpacht, Jerusalem and the Holy Places, Pamphlet No. 19 (London, Anglo-Israel Association, 1968)
28. Sir Lauterpacht in 3. Jerusalem and the Holy Places // Reply, Eli E. Hertz, p. 37
29. Stephen M. Schwebel Justice in international law: selected writings of Stephen M. Schwebel. - Cambridge University Press, 1994. - P. 521-525. - 630p. - ISBN 0521462843
30. Land Grab B'Tselem
31. see, in particular: The terrorist attack in the settlement of Bat Ain (2009), the terrorist attack in the settlement of Itamar (2011) and others
32. Demographic report in West Bank territory
33. Religions in West Bank
34. Other statistics in West Bank

Links

• A. V. Krylov, "The West Bank of the Jordan, or Judea and Samaria" part 1, part 2, part 3 -
  article from the electronic edition "Strategic Culture Fund", 04-05.02.
• Ilan Troen(July 2011). - on the Jewish Virtual Library (JVL) website. Retrieved December 19, 2012.

Arab-Israeli conflict
Chronology of the Arab-Israeli conflict | History of Palestine | History of Israel | UN plan for the partition of Palestine

Peace agreements

In the media, we are told a lot about some kind of Palestinian Authority, which is constantly fighting against Israel. On the maps, too, such territory is shown, usually in a different color than Israel proper. However, most people do not understand what kind of education it is and whether it can be considered a separate state. To reduce the Palestinian Autonomy to simply Palestine, as is customary with us, is not entirely correct, especially when talking with Arabs and people who sympathize with them, since they call the entire territory of Israel Palestine.

The Palestinian Autonomy consists of two parts that are not equal to each other in any respect. Cisiordan, or the territory of the "West Bank of the Jordan River", refers to the eastern part of the PA near the Jordanian border. According to international agreements, the West Bank also includes the eastern part of Jerusalem, including the Old City, but in reality, all of Jerusalem is completely subordinate to the Israelis, and the PA begins at the exit from the city. The Gaza Strip is a small area along the Mediterranean Sea near the Egyptian border, in fact a large metropolitan area of ​​Gaza.

Strictly speaking, the PA is not yet an independent state. Although the Arabs talk about how it would be nice to have such a state, there are very few signs of Palestinian statehood now: I noticed my own police and different license plates from Israeli ones. Rather, it would be more correct to compare the Palestinian Autonomy with Chechnya: it is precisely an autonomy within Israel, and a very restless one at that.

The outer borders of the PA (crossings of the Allenby Bridge with Jordan and Rafah with Egypt) are guarded by Israeli border guards and entry there is carried out on Israeli visas. There are Palestinian diplomatic missions in some countries, but they do not issue visas. There are no civilian airports in the PA, all fly through Tel Aviv or neighboring countries. Nothing is known about sea communication with Gaza. The state of Israel's internal border with the PA is not the same for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They enter Gaza from Israel from Ashkelon along highway No. 4. There is a checkpoint where a total raid is carried out, everyone's passports are checked and passport data is entered into the Scary Computer. In the future, every time they enter Israel (at any crossing), the border guards will ask why they went to Gaza. However, this is not so important, since, according to my information, for a couple of years, entry into Gaza for foreigners only with special passes. On the West Bank, things are much simpler. The fact is that if the Gaza Strip is a continuous inseparable territory inhabited (after the withdrawal of Jewish settlements) exclusively by Arabs, then the West Bank is something else. There are 5 cities there: Ram-Allah (aka Ramallah), Nablus, Jericho, Bethlehem, Hebron. These cities, in fact, are the West Bank, the Palestinian administration works there, there is the Palestinian police, and so on. All roads connecting these cities are controlled by the Israeli authorities. So, routes No. 1, No. 60 and No. 90 are entirely Israeli. Small settlements along the highways are inhabited by Arabs, but they can be called Palestinian rather conditionally. There are also so-called illegal Jewish settlements on the West Bank. These are not farms for a couple of houses at all, but mini-towns with panel high-rise buildings. There are checkpoints on the border of Israel itself with the West Bank, but they operate only in one direction - to enter Israel, they do not check cars with Israeli numbers. Cars with Palestinian license plates, including buses, are checked, locals are a little nagged, foreigners are not touched, nothing is written into the computer. Israelis often transit through the West Bank, for example, from Jerusalem to Eilat everyone goes along highways No. 1 and 90 bypassing Jericho, and from Jerusalem to Beer Sheva - along highway No. 60 through Hebron. The roads are good, slightly worse than Israeli ones. Israeli buses do not go to the West Bank, from Israel you can get on a regular basis by Palestinian buses, which travel from their own bus station at the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem. They say there are also buses from Afula to Nablus.

The only useful language in Palestine is Arabic, all signs and signs are on it. English signs (as well as English-speaking people) come across in tourist places. By religion, the vast majority of Palestinian Arabs (unlike Israelis) are Muslims. The exception is a significant number of Christians in Bethlehem. Shekels are used as money. Prices are slightly lower than Israeli and higher than Jordanian. Dumb in Palestine are the entire Gaza Strip, and in the West Bank - Ram-Allah and Hebron. Bethlehem is the most peaceful city, there are many pilgrims and tourists there.

It is very instructive to visit the West Bank. Sad spectacle. A sharp contrast with Israeli cleanliness and Europeanness is provided by gigantic heaps of garbage near settlements and inside them, shabby, unkempt houses, and general lack of land. Anger can be seen on the faces of the people. Of the pluses, one can note the Middle Eastern atmosphere that is rarely found in Israel, although it is still better to go to Jordan for it.

Bethlehem

A small town on the territory of the Palestinian Authority in the low hills 12 km south of Jerusalem. Known as the supposed birthplace of Jesus Christ. In Hebrew - Bet-Lechem, "house of bread." In Arabic - Bat-Lakhm, "house of meat." Road No. 60 Jerusalem - Hebron - Beer Sheva adjoins the city on the side, but you can get there not only along it, there are several small paths from Jerusalem. From Jerusalem, minibuses run from the Arab bus station for 4 shekels, they pass through the whole city and turn around at the bazaar (aka bus station), which is located at the junction of the city street with the highway at the southern end of the city. From there there are buses to Hebron. When returning to Jerusalem, Israeli cops can check the documents. The situation in the city is calm, there are many tourists and pilgrims, especially before both Christmases.

The main attraction of Bethlehem is the Church of the Nativity in the central square of the city. It is Orthodox, although in terms of it is similar to the Catholic one. There are numerous additions to the church, which give it a strange irregular shape, similar to CHG. The entrance to the church is made in the form of a small hole through which you can get through only by bending over strongly. The main Catholic shrine is the so-called Milk Grotto near the Church of the Nativity. This is a small cave with icons, above which there is a fairly large modern chapel. The city is full of other churches of various denominations. Also of interest are the central streets, where cheerful Arab life is in full swing and all sorts of things are sold.

Economy overview: The conditions for economic activity in the West Bank are determined by the Paris Economic Protocol between Israel and the Palestinian Authority of April 1994. GDP per capita fell by 36.1% between 1992 and 1996. due to the simultaneous decline in total income and rapid population growth. The decline was largely a consequence of Israel's policy of closing its border with the Palestinian Authority following outbreaks of violence, which has crippled trade and labor movement between Israel and the Palestinian territories. The most serious negative effect of this recession was chronic unemployment: the average unemployment rate in the West Bank and Gaza during the 1980s. stayed below the 5% mark; by the mid 1990s. it exceeded 20%. Since 1997, Israel has less frequently used full border closures, and since 1998 has introduced new policies to reduce the impact of border closures and other security measures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes in the economic environment contributed to a three-year economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and by 6% in 1999. The recovery was interrupted in the last quarter of 2000 by the outbreak of Palestinian terrorism, which forced Israel to close the borders of the Palestinian Authority and dealt a severe blow to Palestinian trade and demand for labor.
GDP: at purchasing power parity - $ 3.1 billion (2000 est.).
Real GDP growth rate:-7.5% (1999 est.).
GDP per capita: at purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.).
The composition of GDP by sectors of the economy: agriculture: 9%; industry: 28%; services: 63% (including Gaza) (1999 est.).
Proportion of the population below the poverty line: no data.
Percentage distribution of household income or consumption: 10% of the poorest families: no data; 10% of the wealthiest families: no data.
Inflation rate at consumer prices: 3% (including Gaza) (2000 est.).
Work force: no data.
Employment structure: agriculture 13%, industry 21%, services 66% (1996).
Unemployment rate: 40% (including the Gaza Strip) (end 2000).
Budget: revenues: $1.6 billion; spending: $1.73 billion including capital investment - NA (including Gaza) (1999 est.).
Spheres of economy: mostly small family businesses producing cement, textiles, soaps, olive wood crafts and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; Israel established several small modern factories in the industrial center.
Growth in industrial production: no data.
Power generation: no data; note - electricity is mainly imported from Israel; The East Jerusalem Electricity Company buys and distributes electricity in East Jerusalem and the West Bank territories; The Israel Electricity Company directly supplies electricity for most Jewish residents and for the needs of the military; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Jenin, generate their own electricity at small stations.
Sources of electricity generation: fossil fuel: no data; hydropower: no data; nuclear fuel: no data; others: no data.
Electricity consumption: no data.
Electricity export: no data.
Electricity import: no data.
Agricultural products: olives, citrus fruits, vegetables; beef, dairy products.
Export:$682 million (including Gaza) (free on board, 1998 est.).
Export articles: olives, fruits, vegetables, limestone.
Export partners:
Import:$2.5 billion (including Gaza) (S.I.F., 1998 est.).
Import articles: food, consumer goods, building materials.
Import partners: Israel, Jordan, Gaza.
External debt:$108 million (including Gaza) (1997 est.). Economic aid recipient: $121 million (including Gaza) (2000).
Donor of economic aid:
Currency: Israeli new shekel, Jordanian dinar.
Currency code: ILS, JOD.
Exchange rate: ILS/USD -4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996), 3.0113 (1995); JOD/USD - fixed at 0.7090 since 1996
Fiscal year: calendar year (since January 1, 1992).