West Bank

The West Bank (Arabic: منطقة الضفة الغربية minṭaqat aḍ-ḍiffah al-gharbīyah) is a Palestinian district. Surrounding Jerusalem on three sides—north, south and east—it is named for its position west of the River Jordan and Dead Sea. Several public services and utilities—including the Westbank Commuter, the fire and rescue service, a common water district, power grid, public housing, parks, recreation and library system—are provided district-wide by the West Bank Combined Authority, which is administered from Ramallah. Other important cities include Jericho, Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilia, Bethlehem and Hebron, all more or less the same size due to the regional primacy of Jerusalem, of which most constitute part of its inner suburbs or outer commuter belt. The district had a total population of 6,687,269 according to the 2020 Arab Union census, making it the second most populous district in Palestine, after the Central District.