What is the West Bank and who controls it?

Israeli troops attacked two Palestinian cities on Wednesday in what they called an effort to quell growing militancy in the northern West Bank.

The renewed violence has put a spotlight on the Israeli-occupied territory, where more than 600 Palestinians have died in clashes with Israeli forces, according to the United Nations, paralleling the devastating war in the Gaza Strip.

This is what you need to know.

About 3 million Palestinians and 500,000 settlers live in the West Bank, a kidney-shaped area between Israel and Jordan that has been a battlefield between Israelis and Palestinians for decades.

The modern territory emerged after the 1948 war that created Israel; During the conflict, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes, with many taking refuge in the West Bank. Jordan occupied and then annexed the territory after the war.

In 1967, Israel occupied the West Bank and other territories in a war with neighboring Arab states.

For religious Jews, the territory’s rolling hills and ancient sites were the heart of what they considered a divinely promised homeland.

Gradually, Israel began allowing its own citizens, driven by both nationalism and religious fervor, to build and expand settlements in the West Bank, but never formally annexed the territory, fearing diplomatic repercussions abroad and that could wipe out the country’s coveted Jewish majority in the country.

Gradually, a two-tier system developed in the West Bank:

Israeli citizens live there, vote in Israeli elections, and generally enjoy the rights and privileges of their compatriots living within the country’s internationally recognized borders.

Meanwhile, its Palestinian neighbors live under Israeli military rule.

They have never had the right to vote for Israel’s government, whose decisions shape their daily lives.

During the 1990s, Palestinian leaders signed the Oslo Accordswhich allowed them to administer some cities and towns under the aegis of the newly created Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinians hoped that the Palestinian Authority became the basis of a future sovereign Palestine.

Under the agreements, the West Bank was divided into three fragmented zones until the two sides could reach a final agreement.

In the largest (covering 60% of the West Bank), Israel would maintain direct control, while Palestinian officials would have varying degrees of autonomy in the other two.

That future state has never materialized, and both sides they accuse each other for not having reached an agreement in the intervening decades.

Israeli leaders blamed Palestinian officials for rejecting peace offers and launching the Second Intifadaan uprising in which suicide attacks killed many Israeli civilians throughout the country.

Israel retaliated by retaking major Palestinian cities in the West Bank in devastating battles with militants.

Palestinian leaders insist that Israel was never serious about reaching a deal and point out that most Israeli politicians today completely reject giving them an independent state.

In practice, the Israeli army exercises absolute control over the security of Palestinian cities and has the final say over who wants to enter or leave the territory.

Palestinians suspected of involvement in violence against Israelis are often tried in Israeli military courts.

In the absence of fully sovereign alternatives, Palestinians buy much of their electricity and water from Israel.

Palestinian Authority officials still administer some local affairs:

garbage collection, education, hospitals and schools.

They also have their own local security forces, which coordinate with their Israeli counterparts but have limited authority.

Palestinians maintain that Israel has managed to continue governing the West Bank while placing the responsibility on the Authority to provide services to the territory’s Palestinian residents.

In the past, some accepted this as a necessary step on the path to statehood, but many Israeli leaders now reject the idea of ​​ever allowing Palestinians to have a sovereign state.

Israeli troops are in Tulkarem and Jenin to defend against the growing influence of Palestinian militant groups, which have become increasingly dominant in the northern West Bank.

According to the Israeli military, approximately 150 attacks against Israelis from both areas.

The waning hope for a diplomatic end to the Israeli government has enhanced the influence of groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihadwho believe in endless armed struggle against Israel, including attacks on civilians.

New local militias have also emerged, made up of younger Palestinians who, having lost faith in a long-moribund peace process, believe that only violence will advance their cause.

At the same time, Israel’s regional archenemy, Iranhas tried to introduce more advanced weaponry in an attempt to stimulate more unrest.

The Palestinian Authority, whose leaders are widely unpopular with the Palestinian public, has worked closely with Israeli security forces to suppress the militants.

But the power of this increasingly fragile body has been eroding, particularly in the northern West Bank, such as in the Tulkarem and Jenin refugee camps.

Israeli military officials often say they would prefer Palestinian officers to arrest militants, but as long as armed groups continue to plan unhindered attacks, Israeli soldiers will storm cities to attack them, they say.

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