IMEU | Institute for Middle East Understanding IMEU Institute for Middle East Understanding

West Bank

West Bank

The West Bank is a part of the occupied Palestinian territories that covers 2,270 square miles. It is home to approximately 2.6 million Palestinians. In small areas of the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority (PA), which was created under the terms of the supposedly interim Oslo Accords during the 1990s, exercises some governing responsibilities but exists under the auspices of the Israeli military. In addition, Israel's separation wall cuts thousands of West Bank Palestinians off from their farmlands, and severely restricts their movement, affecting their access to employment, education, and medical care.

Is Israel an Apartheid State? Fact Sheets
IMEU

Is Israel an Apartheid State?

The United Nations International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (1973) defines apartheid as "inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them."

on October 4, 2013
Explainer: The First Intifada Fact Sheets
IMEU

Explainer: The First Intifada

The First Intifada was a large-scale popular uprising launched by Palestinians in 1987 against Israel's then 20-year-old military occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza.

on December 16, 2012
Lehava: State-Sponsored Incitement
IMEU

Lehava: State-Sponsored Incitement

In recent weeks, numerous requests, including from the Israeli police, have been made to Israel's Attorney General to launch a criminal investigation into a group called Lehava, which is dedicated to preventing Jews, particularly Jewish women, from mixing with Palestinians and other non-Jews. The requests come in the wake of a series of violent assaults carried out against Palestinians by Israeli Jews fueled by rumors or the mistaken belief that Jewish women had been harassed by Palestinian men. So far, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has failed to take any action against Lehava, which receives indirect financial and political support from the government.

on September 10, 2012