West Bank Areas in the Oslo II Accord

The Oslo II Accord divided the West Bank into three administrative divisions: the Areas A, B and C. The distinct areas were given a different status, according to the amount of self-government the Palestinians would have over it through the Palestinian Authority, until a final status accord would be established.


Map of the Areas. Red line: a projection of the route of the West Bank Barrier (20 February 2005).
OCHAoPt map of Area C. More than 99% of Area C is heavily restricted or off-limits to Palestinians, with 68% reserved for Israeli settlements, approximately 21% for closed military zones, and about 9% percent for nature reserves. Construction permits for residential or economic purposes are, according to World Bank, "virtually impossible" for Palestinians to obtain.[1]

Divisions

Area A

Area A (full civil and security control by the Palestinian Authority): circa 3% of the West Bank, exclusive East Jerusalem (first phase, 1995).[2]

This area includes eight Palestinian cities and their surrounding areas (Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jericho and 80 percent of Hebron), with no Israeli settlements.[3] Entry into this area is forbidden to all Israeli citizens. The Israel Defense Forces occasionally enters the area to conduct raids to arrest suspected militants.

Area B

Area B (Palestinian civil control and joint Israeli-Palestinian security control): circa 23-25% (first phase, 1995).[2]

This area includes some 440 Palestinian villages and their surrounding lands, and no Israeli settlements.[3]

Area C

Area C (full Israeli civil and security control): circa 72-74% (first phase, 1995).[2][4] Under the Wye River Memorandum, Israel would further withdrawal from some additional 13% From Area C to Area B, which officially reduced Area C to circa 61% of the West Bank.[5][6] Israel, however, withdrew from only 2%[3] and during Operation Defensive Shield, it reoccupied all territory. According to Danny Rubinstein:

'Much land in Area C is undeveloped. Israel, however, does not permit Palestinian construction for residential, commercial or industrial purposes.'[7]

70 percent of the area is defined as within settler municipal boundaries, where permits for development are denied to Palestinians. The World Bank estimates that the effect has been to cause a potential loss of $14 billion of revenue for the Palestinian economy.[8]

Note: In negotiations, Israel has maintained the view that annexed East Jerusalem, no-man’s land and the Palestinian part of the Dead Sea are not part of Area C. This would decrease the proportional share of (the smaller) Area C, compared to the other Areas. On the other hand, an arbitrary square kilometer of the West Bank would comprise a higher percentage of the (decreased) total area of the West Bank.

Oslo II defines Area C as:

″areas of the West Bank outside Areas A and B, which, except for the issues that will be negotiated in the permanent status negotiations, will be gradually transferred to Palestinian jurisdiction in accordance with this Agreement″.

The issues that will be negotiated, according to Article XVII, are ″Jerusalem, settlements, specified military locations, Palestinian refugees, borders, foreign relations and Israelis; and ... powers and responsibilities not transferred to the Council″.[9] Parts of Area C are military area closed for Palestinians.

Transfer of Area C

Part of Area C was intended to be handed back to Palestinians by the end of 1999.[10] Israel promised to redeploy its troops from Areas A and B before the elections. After the inauguration of an elected Palestinian parliament, the Israeli Civil Administration would be dissolved and the Israeli military government be withdrawn. The Council would get some powers and responsibilities.[11]

Within 18 months from the date of inauguration, Israel would further redeploy military forces from Area C in three phases, however, without transfer of any sovereignty to the Palestinians:

″The Council will assume powers and responsibilities for civil affairs, as well as for public order and internal security, according to this Agreement″.[11]

″1. Israel shall transfer powers and responsibilities as specified in this Agreement from the Israeli military government and its Civil Administration to the Council in accordance with this Agreement. Israel shall continue to exercise powers and responsibilities not so transferred.″
″5. After the inauguration of the Council, the Civil Administration in the West Bank will be dissolved, and the Israeli military government shall be withdrawn. The withdrawal of the military government shall not prevent it from exercising the powers and responsibilities not transferred to the Council.″[9]

The military forces would be redeployed in "specified military locations" in the West Bank, to be negotiated in the permanent status negotiations within 18 months.[11] The Legislative Council was elected in January 1996.

Use of Area C

Area C, 99% of which is excluded from Palestinian use, contains most of the West Bank’s natural resources and open spaces, access to which, according to the World Bank, would enable the Palestinians to halve their budget deficit and lead to an expansion of their economy by a third.[12][1]

Settler population by year in the Israeli-occupied territories from 1972 to 2007

Area C includes all Israeli settlements (cities, towns, and villages).[3] In 1972, there were 1,000 Israeli settlers living in what is now Area C. By 1993, their population had increased to 110,000. As of 2012 they number more than 300,000 – as against 150,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom are Bedouin and farmers, constituting 5% of the Palestinian population on 60% of the land, who are cut off from services available to other Palestinians in Areas A and B.

According to a 2013 EU report, Israeli policies in the area have undermined the Palestinian presence there, with a deterioration in basic services such as water supplies, education and shelter. Nearly 70% of the Palestinian villages are not connected to the water network that serves settlers, which accounts for the fact that Palestinians in the zone use only a quarter to a third of the pro capita consumption of settlers.[13][14]

Alleged violation of the Accords

Israeli signpost warning Israeli citizens that entry into Area 'A' is forbidden, life-endangering, and constitutes a criminal offense

Area B is defined as land under Palestinian civil control and Israeli military control. According to Dror Etkes, Israeli settlers have violated the accords by spreading into Area B and seizing private Palestinian land for cultivation and settlement. Examples he cites are the Amona settlement, overlooking Ofra, where he argues that land belonging to villagers of Deir Dibwan has been taken for redevelopment; the settlement of Itamar he says has seized control of land and resources belonging to the Area B villages of Yanun, Awarta and Einabus; he states that settlers have seized Area B land near Esh Kodesh and Mitzpeh Ahiya east of Shilo; and he states that settlers of Ma'ale Rehav'am have built in a nature reserve established under the Wye River Memorandum.[15]

Religious sites

The Palestinian side (later to become the Palestinian Authority) agreed to ensure free access to a specific list of Jewish religious sites located in Areas A and B as specified in the 1995 Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,[16] but due to the uncertain security situation, the Israel Defense Forces limits visits by Jews to rare occasions. In Area C, Palestinians were given the right to visit al-Maghtas on the Jordan River and to Nabi Musa.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "West Bank and Gaza - Area C and the future of the Palestinian economy". World Bank. 2 October 2013. pp. xi, 4.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Gvirtzman, Haim. "Maps of Israeli Interests in Judea and Samaria Determining the Extent of the Additional Withdrawals". (this study was funded by the Settlement Division of the Zionist Organization)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The demise of the Oslo process. Joel Beinin, MERIP, 26 March 1999.
    In area B, consisting of about 23 percent of the territory (including some 440 villages and their surrounding lands), the Palestinians are responsible for certain municipal functions, while joint Israeli-Palestinian patrols maintain internal security. Area C, consisting of about 74 percent of the territory including all of the 145 settlements and the new Jewish neighborhoods in and around East Jerusalem, remains under full Israeli control.
  4. ↑ MFA, Map No. 1 - First Phase of Redeployment
  5. ↑ New York Times, 23 July 2012, Israel Seeks Army Use of West Bank Area
  6. ↑ West Bank: Area C Map. UNISPAL, 22 February 2011; from OCHAoPt
  7. ↑ Danny Rubenstein, 'The Palestinian economy: Israel's control over Area C comes at a price,' Ynet, 9 February 2015.
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Article I Transfer of Authority; Article XI Land, par. 3. 28 September 1995 Retrieved from the Knesset website on 6 November 2013.
  10. ↑ Ron Pundak 'Decoding Bibi's West Bank agenda,' at Haaretz, 3 August 2012.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Annex I: Protocol Concerning Redeployment and Security Arrangements, Article I—Redeployment of Israeli Military Forces and Transfer of Responsibility. Retrieved from the Knesset website on 6 November 2013
  12. ↑ Associated Press, 'Palestinians lose billions to Israeli land bans, says World Bank report,' The National, October 8, 2013:“Without the ability to conduct purposeful economic activity in Area C, the economic space of the West Bank will remain crowded and stunted, inhabited by people whose daily interactions with the state of Israel are characterised by inconvenience, expense and frustration.”
  13. ↑ 'Palestinians in West Bank's Area C suffer in limbo,' at Los Angeles Times, May 18, 2013.
  14. ↑ Diab, Khaled (6 September 2012). "Bedouin kids' school of hard knocks". Haaretz. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  15. ↑ Haaretz, Akiva Eldar, West Bank outposts spreading into Area B, in violation of Oslo Accords. 18 February 2012.
  16. ↑ Interim Agreement Annex III: Protocol Concerning Civil Affairs.

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