Where the West Bank Fits in the Israel-Gaza Conflict

Western officials are concerned the conflict could spread to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which is partly governed by the Palestinian Authority. The West Bank and the Gaza Strip make up the Palestinian territories, which were carved out of the historical territory Palestine, the area west of the Jordan River that was a British mandate from the 1920s until the creation of modern Israel in 1948. Hamas, which controls Gaza, has called for a “general mobilization” throughout the region in support of Palestinians, urging young people in the West Bank to confront Israeli soldiers.