What is the West Bank?

The West Bank is an area of land located, as the name would suggest, on the west bank of the River Jordan. Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 people since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them. Palestinians also want the land, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state. Settlements are illegal under international law, and recent months have seen a rise in violence towards Palestinians in