The West Bank refers a disputed area of territory between Israel and Jordan, west of the Jordan River. The area was captured by Jordan after 1948 War of Independence, but later occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War.
Judea and Samaria are the Biblical names for the areas comprising the West Bank. Samaria refers to northern area and Judea refers to the southern area, with Jerusalem approximately in the center. The entire area is about 5,860 sq km (2,263 sq miles), which is slightly smaller than the state of Delaware.
The West Bank today has a population nearly of approximately 2.3 million Palestinians and close to 400,000 Israeli settlers. This disparity is one major reason Israel has never formally annexed the area, which would mean significantly increasing the number of Arabs eligible to vote in Israeli elections, which would threaten the Jewish character of Israel.
The Palestinians are demanding that Israel evacuate all settlements in the West Bank.
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