Does Israel have justification to enter West Bank's Area A?
Palestinians and Israelis disagree over the legality of the Israeli army pursuing Palestinian fugitives into Area A of the West Bank.
The outbreak of the latest intifada in October, accompanied by the intensification of Palestinian attacks against Israeli targets, which resulted in the death of 33 Israelis and the injury of over 250 others, provided the Israeli army with an excuse to further encroach on the West Bank under the pretext of a hot pursuit of Palestinian fugitives, without any distinction as to the statuses of Areas A, B and C. Such hot pursuits began after Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank in 2002 following suicide bombings undertaken by Palestinian factions between 2001 and 2002 within Israel, which killed and wounded hundreds of Israelis.
The Oslo II Accord of 1995 divided the West Bank (5,844 square kilometers, or 2,256 square miles) between Palestinians and Israelis into three areas. Area A, where the majority of the Palestinian population is concentrated, is under the Palestinian Authority (PA) full civil and security control and its surface area represents 18% of the total land area of the West Bank. Area B, with a surface area of 21% of the West Bank, comprises the villages adjoining the main cities and falls under Palestinian civil control and Israeli security control. Area C — 61% of the West Bank — includes contiguous areas of the West Bank and falls under full Israeli security and civil control.
