Limited rainfall and poor soil quality restrict human activity in the West Bank. Agriculture and human settlement are concentrated along a hilly spine that runs from north to south and on the western slopes leading to the Mediterranean coastal plain. Vegetables and other field crops are grown in the northern valleys, and olives are cultivated in the hill areas.
The hill areas of the West Bank have a Mediterranean climate, with cool, wet winters and mild summers. Rainfall occurs mostly at high elevations in the northwest, and is of critical importance for Palestinians and Israelis as it replenishes groundwater supplies in Israel and the West Bank. Rain levels decrease from north to south and from west to east, and the eastern third of the territory is arid and desiccated, with warm winters and hot summers.
Settlement and economic activity are sparse in this area, and with the exception of the oases and spring-fed farms in the Jordan Valley, the eastern West Bank is used primarily for livestock grazing. The Jordan River links the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias) and the Dead Sea, but provides little water for irrigation. The region’s mineral resources consist mainly of salt and potash found in the Dead Sea.
[...] Israeli occupation of the West Bank began in 1967, Palestinians have lived in uneasy coexistence with a growing number of Israeli [...]