The West Bank is a territory under Israeli occupation with areas of Palestinian Autonomous Control Area A and B and Israeli military/civilian settlement Area C in the Middle East between Israel and Jordan, to the north of the Dead Sea. It forms the larger half of the semi-autonomous Palestinian Territories, the smaller being the Gaza Strip. Depending on where one travels the area is controlled by Palestinian authorities, Israel, or even both. It is known as the West Bank because it lies on the western bank of the Jordan River. This part of the world is steeped in biblical history and contains many sites of religious and archaeological significance. It has been under Israeli administration since 1967 with future status uncertain and still to be resolved, between Israel and the PNA. About 2 million Palestinians live in the West Bank and hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers live in around 100 official and unofficial Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
