1984 Edition

Agriculture

West Bank — olives, citrus, and other fruits, vegetables, beef, and dairy products; Gaza Strip — olives, citrus, and other fruits, vegetables, beef, and dairy products

Branches

King holds balance of power; Prime Minister exercises executive authority in name of King; Cabinet appointed by King and responsible to parliament; bicameral parliament with House of Representatives last chosen by national elections in April 1967, dissolved by King in February 1976, and reconvened in January 1984; Senate last appointed by King in January 1984; secular court system based on differing legal systems of the former Transjordan and Palestine; law Western in concept and structure; Sharia (religious) courts for Muslims, and religious community council courts for non-Muslim communities; desert police carry out quasijudicial functions in desert areas

Budget

within the occupied territories, each municipality has its own budget; the following data represent the sum of the revenues and expenditures of the municipalities in each area for fiscal year beginning 1 April

Capital

'Amman

Civil air

West Bank — statistics unavailable; Gaza Strip — statistics unavailable

Coastline

West Bank — none; Gaza Strip — 39.7 km People

Electric power

the Israel Electric Corporation, Ltd, exported 201.3 million kWh during 1982; the 1983 export is estimated at 255 million kWh (exported is understood to mean power provided to occupied territories)

Ethnic divisions

West Bank— 84% Palestinian Arab and other, 12% Jewish, 4% Bedouin; Gaza Strip— 99.8% Palestinian Arab and other, 0.2% Jewish

Exports

West Bank— $208.8 million (1982); Gaza Strip— $182.5 million (1982)

Gaza Strip

Arabic; Israeli settlers speak Hebrew; English widely understood

(excluding Israeli Jewish settlers) 29.6% small industry, commerce and business; 27.2% construction; 17.7% agriculture; and 25.5% service and other Government The West Bank and the Gaza Strip are currently governed by Israeli military authorities and their civil administrations. It is US policy that the final status of these areas will be determined by negotiations among the concerned parties. These negotiations will determine how this area is to be governed. Economy

no known installed capacity; power probably obtained from Israel

revenues, $12.0 million; expenditures, $16.7 million

units of currency used are Israeli shekel (24.27=US$1, 1982 average), Egyptian pound (1.4286=US$1, February 1983), and the US dollar Communications

small, poorly developed indigenous road network; Israelis have improved major axial highways

GNP

West Bank— $999 million (1982); Gaza Strip— $486 million (1982)

Government leader

HUSSEIN I, King

Imports

West Bank— $434.5 million (1982); Gaza Strip— $312.3 million (1982)

Land boundaries

West Bank— 480.2 km; Gaza Strip— 72.1 km Water

Legal system

based on Islamic law and French codes; constitution adopted 1952; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Literacy

West Bank — statistics unavailable; Gaza Strip — statistics unavailable

Major industries

the Israelis have established modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers (3 in West Bank and 1 in Gaza Strip); West Bank — generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; Gaza Strip — generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs

Major trade partners

West Bank — Jordan and Israel; Gaza Strip — Egypt and Israel

National holiday

Independence Day, 25 May

Nationality

West Bank — to be determined; Gaza Strip — to be determined

NOTE

the war between Israel and the Arab states in June 1967 ended with Israel in control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. As stated in the 1978 Camp David Accords and reaffirmed by the President's 1 September 1982 peace initiative, the final status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, its relationship with its neighbors and a peace treaty between Israel and Jordan are to be negotiated among the concerned parties. Camp David further specifies that these negotiations will resolve the respective boundaries. Pending the completion of this process, it is US policy that the final status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip has yet to be determined. In the view of the United States, the term "West Bank" describes all of the area west of the Jordan River under Jordanian administration before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. However, with respect to negotiations evisaged in the framework agreement, it is US policy that a distinction must be made between Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank because of the city's special status and circumstances. Therefore, a negotiated solution for the final status of Jerusalem could be different in character in some respects from that of the rest of the West Bank. Land West Bank— 5,858.1 km2 (includes West Bank, East Jerusalem, Latrun and "Jerusalem No Man's Land," and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea; excludes Mt. Scopus); Gaza Strip— 363.3 km2

Pipelines

West Bank — none; Gaza Strip — none

Political subdivisions

five governorates under centrally appointed officials

Population

total, 1,438,000 (July 1984); average annual growth rate 3.5%; West Bank (including East Jerusalem)— 930,000 (July 1984), average annual growth rate 3.3%; Gaza Strip— 508,000 (July 1984), average annual growth rate 3.7%

Ports

West Bank — none; Gaza Strip — facilities for small boats at Gaza

Railroads

West Bank — none; Gaza Strip — one abandoned line throughout the entire territory

Religion

West Bank— 80% Muslim (predominantly Sunni), 12% Judaism, 7% Christian and other; Gaza Strip — 99% Muslim (predominantly Sunni), 0.8% Christian, 0.2% Jewish

Telecommunications

West Bank — no local radio or TV stations; Gaza Strip — no local radio or TV stations

West Bank — no local radio or TV stations; Gaza Strip — no local radio or TV stations

Type

constitutional monarchy

West Bank

Arabic; Israeli settlers speak Hebrew; English widely understood

(excluding Israeli Jewish settlers) 28.4% small industry, commerce, and business; 25.2% agriculture; 24.0% construction; and 22.4% service and other

bulk of installed capacity contained in two diesel powerplants — Jerusalem-Shoufat plant (22,000 kW) and Nablus plant (19,600 kW); total estimated capacity for all West Bank powerplants is 45,000 kW; 90 million kWh produced

revenues, $15.2 million; expenditures, $24.3 million

units of currency used are Israeli shekel (24.27=US$1, 1982 average), Jordanian dinar (,3=US$1, 1983), and the US dollar

small, poorly developed indigenous road network; Israelis have improved major axial highways