Area C (Hebrew: שטח C; Arabic: منطقة ج) is the fully Israeli-controlled and only contiguous territory in the West Bank,[1] defined as the whole area outside the Palestinian enclaves (Areas A and B).[2] Area C constitutes about 61 percent of the West Bank territory, contains all Israeli settlements other than those in East Jerusalem, and more than 99% of the area is off limits or heavily restricted for Palestinians.[3][1] The area was committed in 1995 under the Oslo II Accord to be “gradually transferred to Palestinian jurisdiction” (with an option for land swaps under a final agreement), but such transfer did not happen.[4]: vii The area is richly endowed with natural resources.[1]
Area C (excluding East Jerusalem), which along with Area B is under Israeli military control since June 1967, is home to roughly 400,000 Israeli settlers,[5] and approximately 300,000 Palestinians; who live in more than 500 residential areas located partially or fully in Area C.[6] The Jewish population in Area C is administered by the Israeli Judea and Samaria Area administration, into which Israeli law is “pipelined”, whereas the Palestinian population is directly administered by the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories under military law. The Palestinian Authority is responsible for medical and educational services to Palestinians in Area C; however, infrastructure construction and supervision is done by Israel.[7]
The international community considers the settlements in occupied territory to be illegal,[8][9][10][11][12][13] and the United Nations has repeatedly upheld the view that Israel’s construction of settlements constitutes a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.[14][15][16][17] Israel disputes the position of the international community and the legal arguments that were used to declare the settlements illegal.[18] The “outposts” are in contravention of Israeli law as well.[19]