where is the west bank

The West Bank is a landlocked territory in the Middle East, located on the western bank of the Jordan River. It is the larger of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the Gaza Strip. Geographically, the West Bank lies east of Israel and west of Jordan, bordering the Dead Sea to the southeast. The region includes key cities such as Nablus, Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jericho and has a rugged mountainous terrain with a Mediterranean climate in the west and desert climate in the east. The West Bank is part of the State of Palestine and has been under Israeli occupation since 1967, except for parts governed by the Palestinian National Authority under the Oslo Accords. The territory spans about 5,660 square kilometers (2,185 square miles) and had an estimated population of over 4.2 million in 2025, including both Palestinians and Israeli settlers. Historically, the West Bank was annexed by Jordan after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War until occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. Today, it remains a highly contested and politically sensitive area with complex administrative divisions and ongoing international disputes regarding its status and control.