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Seahorse

A seahorse (also written sea-horse and sea horse) is any of 46 species of small marine bony fish in the genus Hippocampus. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek (ἱππόκαμπος), itself from  (ἵππος) meaning "horse" and  (κάμπος) meaning "sea monster" or "sea animal". Having a head and neck suggestive of a horse, seahorses also feature segmented bony armour, an upright posture and a curled prehensile tail. Along with the pipefishes and seadragons (Phycodurus and Phyllopteryx) they form the family Syngnathidae.

Habitat
Seahorses are mainly found in shallow tropical and temperate salt water throughout the world, from about 45°S to 45°N. They live in sheltered areas such as seagrass beds, estuaries, coral reefs, and mangroves. Four species are found in Pacific waters from North America to South America. In the Atlantic, Hippocampus erectus ranges from Nova Scotia to Uruguay. H. zosterae, known as the dwarf seahorse, is found in the Bahamas.

Colonies have been found in European waters such as the Thames Estuary.

Two species live in the Mediterranean Sea: H. guttulatus (the long-snouted seahorse), H. hippocampus (the short-snouted seahorse). These species form territories; males stay within 1 m2 of habitat, while females range over about one hundred times that.

Description
Seahorses range in size from 1.5 to 35 cm. They are named for their equine appearance, with bent necks and long snouted heads and a distinctive trunk and tail. Although they are bony fish, they do not have scales, but rather thin skin stretched over a series of bony plates, which are arranged in rings throughout their bodies. Each species has a distinct number of rings. The armor of bony plates also protects them against predators, and because of this outer skeleton, they no longer have ribs. Seahorses swim upright, propelling themselves using the dorsal fin, another characteristic not shared by their close pipefish relatives, which swim horizontally. Razorfish are the only other fish that swim vertically. The pectoral fins, located on either side of the head behind their eyes, are used for steering. They lack the caudal fin typical of fishes. Their prehensile tail is composed of square-like rings that can be unlocked only in the most extreme conditions. They are adept at camouflage, and can grow and reabsorb spiny appendages depending on their habitat.

Unusual among fish, a seahorse has a flexible, well-defined neck. It also sports a crown-like spine or horn on its head, termed a "coronet", which is distinct for each species.

Seahorses swim very poorly, rapidly fluttering a dorsal fin and using pectoral fins to steer. The slowest-moving fish in the world is H. zosterae (the dwarf seahorse), with a top speed of about 5 ft per hour. Since they are poor swimmers, they are most likely to be found resting with their prehensile tail wound around a stationary object. They have long snouts, which they use to suck up food, and their eyes can move independently of each other like those of a chameleon.

Evolution and fossil record
Anatomical evidence, supported by molecular, physical, and genetic evidence, demonstrates that seahorses are highly modified pipefish. The fossil record of seahorses, however, is very sparse. The best known and best studied fossils are specimens of Hippocampus guttulatus (though literature more commonly refers to them under the synonym of H. ramulosus), from the Marecchia River formation of Rimini Province, Italy, dating back to the Lower Pliocene, about 3 million years ago. The earliest known seahorse fossils are of two pipefish-like species, H. sarmaticus and H. slovenicus, from the coprolitic horizon of Tunjice Hills, a middle Miocene lagerstätte in Slovenia dating back about 13 million years.

Molecular dating implies that pipefish and seahorses diverged during the Late Oligocene. This has led to speculation that seahorses evolved in response to large areas of shallow water, newly created as the result of tectonic events. The shallow water would have allowed the expansion of seagrass habitats that served as camouflage for the seahorses' upright posture. These tectonic changes occurred in the western Pacific Ocean, pointing to an origin there, with molecular data suggesting two later, separate invasions of the Atlantic Ocean. In 2016, a study published in Nature found the seahorse genome to be the most rapidly evolving fish genome studied so far.

The evolution of seahorses from pipefish may have been an adaptation related to the biomechanics of prey capture. The unique posture of the seahorse allows them to capture small shrimps at larger distances than the pipefish is capable of.

Reproduction
The male seahorse is equipped with a brood pouch on the ventral, or front-facing, side of the tail. When mating, the female seahorse deposits up to 1,500 eggs in the male's pouch. The male carries the eggs for 9 to 45 days until the seahorses emerge fully developed, but very small. The young are then released into the water, and the male often mates again within hours or days during the breeding season.

Courtship
Before breeding, seahorses may court for several days. Scientists believe the courtship behavior synchronizes the animals' movements and reproductive states, so that the male can receive the eggs when the female is ready to deposit them. During this time, they may change color, swim side by side holding tails or grip the same strand of sea grass with their tails, and wheel around in unison in what is known as a "predawn dance". They eventually engage in a "true courtship dance" lasting about 8 hours, during which the male pumps water through the egg pouch on his trunk which expands and opens to display its emptiness. When the female's eggs reach maturity, she and her mate let go of any anchors and drift upward snout-to-snout, out of the sea grass, often spiraling as they rise. They interact for about 6 minutes, reminiscent of courtship. The female inserts her ovipositor into the male's brood pouch and deposits dozens to thousands of eggs. As the female releases her eggs, her body slims while his swells. Both animals then sink back into the sea grass and she swims away.

Phases of courtship
Seahorses exhibit four phases of courtship that are indicated by clear behavioral changes and changes in the intensity of the courtship act. Phase 1, the initial courtship phase, typically takes place in the early morning one or two days before physical copulation. During this phase the potential mates brighten in colour, quiver, and display rapid side-to-side body vibrations. These displays are performed alternately by both the male and the female seahorse. The following phases, 2 through 4, happen sequentially on the day of copulation. Phase 2 is marked by the female pointing, a behaviour in which the female will raise her head to form an oblique angle with her body. In phase 3 males will also begin the same pointing behaviour in response to the female. Finally, the male and female will repeatedly rise upward together in a water column and end in mid-water copulation, in which the female will transfer her eggs directly into the male's brood pouch.

Phase 1: Initial courtship
This initial courtship behaviour takes place about 30 minutes after dawn on each courtship day, until the day of copulation. During this phase the males and females will remain apart during the night, but after dawn they will come together in a side-by-side position, brighten, and engage in courtship behaviour for about 2 to 38 minutes. There is repeated reciprocal quivering. This starts when the male approaches the female, brightens and begins to quiver. The female will follow the male with her own display, in which she will also brighten and quiver about 5 seconds later. As the male quivers, he will rotate his body towards the female who will then rotate her body away. During phase 1 the tails of both seahorses are positioned within 1 cm of each other on the same hold-fast and both of their bodies are angled slightly outward from the point of attachment. However, the female will shift her tail attachment site, causing the pair to circle their common hold-fast.

Phase 2: Pointing and pumping
This phase begins with the female beginning her pointing posture, by leaning her body towards the male, who will simultaneously lean away and quiver. This phase can last up to 54 minutes. Following phase 2 is a latency period (typically between 30 minutes and four hours), during which the seahorses display no courtship behaviour and females are not bright; males will usually display a pumping motion with their body.

Phase 3: Pointing – pointing
The third phase begins with the females brightening and assuming the pointing position. The males respond with their own brightening and pointing display. This phase ends with the male departing. It usually lasts nine minutes and can occur one to six times during courtship.

Phase 4: Rising and copulation
The final courtship phase includes 5–8 bouts of courtship. Each bout of courtship begins with both the male and female anchored to the same plant about 3 cm apart; usually they are facing each other and are still bright in colour from the previous phase. During the first bout, following the facing behaviour, the seahorses will rise upward together anywhere from 2 to 13 cm in a water column. During the final rise the female will insert her ovipositor and transfer her eggs through an opening into the male's brood pouch.

Fertilization
During fertilization in Hippocampus kuda the brood pouch was found to be open for only six seconds while egg deposition occurred. During this time seawater entered the pouch where the spermatozoa and eggs meet in a seawater milieu. This hyperosmotic environment facilitates sperm activation and motility. The fertilization is therefore regarded as being physiologically 'external' within a physically 'internal' environment after the closure of the pouch. It is believed that this protected form of fertilization reduces sperm competition among males. Within the Syngnathidae (pipefishes and seahorses) protected fertilization has not been documented in the pipefishes but the lack of any distinct differences in the relation of testes size to body size suggests that pipefishes may also have evolved mechanisms for more efficient fertilization with reduced sperm competition.

Gestation
The fertilized eggs are then embedded in the pouch wall and become surrounded by a spongy tissue. The pouch provides oxygen, as well as a controlled environment incubator. Though the egg yolk contributes nourishment to the developing embryo, the male sea horses contribute additional nutrients such as energy-rich lipids and also calcium to allow them to build their skeletal system, by secreting them into the brood pouch that are absorbed by the embryos. Further they also offer immunological protection, osmoregulation, gas exchange and waste transport.

The eggs then hatch in the pouch, where the salinity of the water is regulated; this prepares the newborns for life in the sea.

Birth
The number of young released by the male seahorse averages 100–1000 for most species, but may be as low as 5 for the smaller species, or as high as 2,500. When the fry are ready to be born, the male expels them with muscular contractions. He typically gives birth at night and is ready for the next batch of eggs by morning when his mate returns. Like almost all other fish species, seahorses do not nurture their young after birth. Infants are susceptible to predators or ocean currents which wash them away from feeding grounds or into temperatures too extreme for their delicate bodies. Less than 0.5% of infants survive to adulthood, explaining why litters are so large. These survival rates are actually fairly high compared to other fish, because of their protected gestation, making the process worth the great cost to the father. The eggs of most other fish are abandoned immediately after fertilization.

Reproductive roles

Reproduction is energetically costly to the male. This brings into question why the sexual role reversal even takes place. In an environment where one partner incurs more energy costs than the other, Bateman's principle suggests that the lesser contributor takes the role of the aggressor. Male seahorses are more aggressive and sometimes fight for female attention. According to Amanda Vincent of Project Seahorse, only males tail-wrestle and snap their heads at each other. This discovery prompted further study of energy costs. To estimate the female's direct contribution, researchers chemically analyzed the energy stored in each egg. To measure the burden on the males, oxygen consumption was used. By the end of incubation, the male consumed almost 33% more oxygen than before mating. The study concluded that the female's energy expenditure while generating eggs is twice that of males during incubation, confirming the standard hypothesis.

Why the male seahorse (and other members of the Syngnathidae) carries the offspring through gestation is unknown, though some researchers believe it allows for shorter birthing intervals, in turn resulting in more offspring. Given an unlimited number of ready and willing partners, males have the potential to produce 17% more offspring than females in a breeding season. Also, females have "time-outs" from the reproductive cycle 1.2 times longer than those of males. This seems to be based on mate choice, rather than physiology. When the female's eggs are ready, she must lay them in a few hours or eject them into the water column. Making eggs is a huge cost to her physically, since they amount to about a third of her body weight. To protect against losing a clutch, the female demands a long courtship. The daily greetings help to cement the bond between the pair.

Monogamy
Though seahorses are not known to mate for life, many species form pair bonds that last through at least the breeding season. Some species show a higher level of mate fidelity than others. However, many species readily switch mates when the opportunity arises. H. abdominalis and H. breviceps have been shown to breed in groups, showing no continuous mate preference. Many more species' mating habits have not been studied, so it is unknown how many species are actually monogamous, or how long those bonds actually last.

Although monogamy within fish is not common, it does appear to exist for some. In this case, the mate-guarding hypothesis may be an explanation. This hypothesis states, "males remain with a single female because of ecological factors that make male parental care and protection of offspring especially advantageous." Because the rates of survival for newborn seahorses are so low, incubation is essential. Though not proven, males could have taken on this role because of the lengthy period the females require to produce their eggs. If males incubate while females prepare the next clutch (amounting to a third of body weight), they can reduce the interval between clutches.

Feeding habits
Seahorses use their long snouts to eat their food with ease. However, they are slow to consume their food and have extremely simple digestive systems that lack a stomach, so they must eat constantly to stay alive. Seahorses are not very good swimmers, and for this reason they need to anchor themselves to seaweed, coral or anything else that will keep the seahorse in place. They do this by using their prehensile tails to grasp their object of choice. Seahorses feed on small crustaceans floating in the water or crawling on the bottom. With excellent camouflage seahorses ambush prey that floats within striking range, sitting and waiting until an optimal moment. Mysid shrimp and other small crustaceans are favorites, but some seahorses have been observed eating other kinds of invertebrates and even larval fish. In a study of seahorses, the distinctive head morphology was found to give them a hydrodynamic advantage that creates minimal interference while approaching an evasive prey. Thus the seahorse can get very close to the copepods on which it preys. After successfully closing in on the prey without alerting it, the seahorse gives an upward thrust and rapidly rotates the head aided by large tendons that store and release elastic energy, to bring its long snout close to the prey. This step is crucial for prey capture, as oral suction only works at a close range. This two-phase prey capture mechanism is termed pivot-feeding. Seahorses have three distinctive feeding phases: preparatory, expansive, and recovery. During the preparatory phase, the seahorse slowly approaches the prey while in an upright position, after which it slowly flexes its head ventrally. In the expansive phase, the seahorse captures its prey by simultaneously elevating its head, expanding the buccal cavity, and sucking in the prey item. During the recovery phase, the jaws, head, and hyoid apparatus of the seahorse return to their original positions.

The amount of available cover influences the seahorse's feeding behaviour. For example, in wild areas with small amounts of vegetation, seahorses will sit and wait, but an environment with extensive vegetation will prompt the seahorse to inspect its environment, feeding while swimming rather than sitting and waiting. Conversely, in an aquarium setting with little vegetation, the seahorse will fully inspect its environment and makes no attempt to sit and wait.

Threats of extinction
Because data is lacking on the sizes of the various seahorse populations, as well as other issues including how many seahorses are dying each year, how many are being born, and the number used for souvenirs, there is insufficient information to assess their risk of extinction, and the risk of losing more seahorses remains a concern. Some species, such as the paradoxical seahorse, H. paradoxus, may already be extinct. Coral reefs and seagrass beds are deteriorating, reducing viable habitats for seahorses. Additionally, bycatch in many areas causes high cumulative effects on seahorses, with an estimated 37 million individuals being removed annually over 21 countries.

Aquaria
While many aquarium hobbyists keep them as pets, seahorses collected from the wild tend to fare poorly in home aquaria. Many eat only live foods such as brine shrimp and are prone to stress, which damages their immune systems and makes them susceptible to disease.

In recent years, however, captive breeding has become more popular. Such seahorses survive better in captivity, and are less likely to carry diseases. They eat frozen mysidacea (crustaceans) that are readily available from aquarium stores, and do not experience the stress of moving out of the wild. Although captive-bred seahorses are more expensive, they take no toll on wild populations.

Seahorses should be kept in an aquarium with low flow and placid tank mates. They are slow feeders, so fast, aggressive feeders will leave them without food. Seahorses can coexist with many species of shrimp and other bottom-feeding creatures. Gobies also make good tank-mates. Keepers are generally advised to avoid eels, tangs, triggerfish, squid, octopus, and sea anemones.

Water quality is very important for the survival of seahorses in an aquarium. They are delicate species which should not be added to a new tank. The water parameters are recommended to be as follows although these fish may acclimatise to different water over time: A water-quality problem will affect fish behaviour and can be shown by clamped fins, reduced feeding, erratic swimming, and gasping at the surface. Seahorses require vertical swimming space to perform retroductive functions and to prevent depth-related health conditions like Gas Bubble Syndrome, so a refugium that is at least 20 inches/51 centimeters deep is recommended inside an aquarium.
 * Temperature: 23 –
 * pH: 8.1–8.4
 * Ammonia: 0 mg/L (0 ppm) (0.01 mg/L (0.01 ppm) may be tolerated for short periods)
 * Nitrite: 0 mg/L (0 ppm) (0.125 mg/L (0.125 ppm) may be tolerated for short periods)
 * S.G.: 1.021–1.024 at 23 –

Animals sold as "freshwater seahorses" are usually the closely related pipefish, of which a few species live in the lower reaches of rivers. The supposed true "freshwater seahorse" called H. aimei is not a valid species, but a synonym sometimes used for Barbour's and hedgehog seahorses. The latter, which is often confused with the former, can be found in estuarine environments, but is not actually a freshwater fish.

Consumption

Seahorse populations are thought to be endangered as a result of overfishing and habitat destruction. Despite a lack of scientific studies or clinical trials, the consumption of seahorses is widespread in traditional Chinese medicine, primarily in connection with impotence, wheezing, nocturnal enuresis, and pain, as well as labor induction. Up to 20 million seahorses may be caught each year to be sold for such uses. Preferred species of seahorses include H. kellogii, H. histrix, H. kuda, H. trimaculatus, and H. mohnikei. Seahorses are also consumed by Indonesians, central Filipinos, and many other ethnic groups.

Import and export of seahorses has been controlled under CITES since 15 May 2004. However, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, and South Korea have chosen to opt out of the trade rules set by CITES.

The problem may be exacerbated by the growth of pills and capsules as the preferred method of ingesting seahorses. Pills are cheaper and more available than traditional, individually tailored prescriptions of whole seahorses, but the contents are harder to track. Seahorses once had to be of a certain size and quality before they were accepted by TCM practitioners and consumers. Declining availability of the preferred large, pale, and smooth seahorses has been offset by the shift towards prepackaged preparations, which makes it possible for TCM merchants to sell previously unused, or otherwise undesirable juvenile, spiny, and dark-coloured animals. Dried seahorse retails from US$600 to $3000 per kilogram, with larger, paler, and smoother animals commanding the highest prices. In terms of value based on weight, seahorses retail for more than the price of silver and almost that of gold in Asia.

Species
On the basis of the newest overall taxonomic review of the genus Hippocampus with further new species and partial taxonomic review,   the number of recognized species in this genus is considered to be 46 (retrieved May 2020):
 * Hippocampus abdominalis Lesson, 1827 (big-belly seahorse)
 * Hippocampus algiricus Kaup, 1856 (West African seahorse)
 * Hippocampus angustus Günther, 1870 (narrow-bellied seahorse)
 * Hippocampus barbouri Jordan & Richardson, 1908 (Barbour's seahorse)
 * Hippocampus bargibanti Whitley, 1970 (pygmy seahorse)
 * Hippocampus breviceps Peters, 1869 (short-headed seahorse)
 * Hippocampus camelopardalis Bianconi, 1854 (giraffe seahorse)
 * Hippocampus capensis Boulenger, 1900 (Knysna seahorse)
 * Hippocampus casscsio Zhang, Qin, Wang & Lin, 2016 (Beibu Bay seahorse)
 * Hippocampus colemani Kuiter, 2003 (Coleman's pygmy seahorse)
 * Hippocampus comes Cantor, 1850 (tiger-tail seahorse)
 * Hippocampus coronatus Temminck & Schlegel, 1850 (crowned seahorse)
 * Hippocampus curvicuspis Fricke, 2004 (New Caledonian seahorse)
 * Hippocampus dahli J. D. Ogilby, 1908 (lowcrown seahorse)
 * Hippocampus debelius Gomon & Kuiter, 2009 (softcoral seahorse)
 * Hippocampus denise Lourie & Randall, 2003 (Denise's pygmy seahorse)
 * Hippocampus erectus Perry, 1810 (lined seahorse)
 * Hippocampus fisheri Jordan & Evermann, 1903 (Fisher's seahorse)
 * Hippocampus guttulatus Cuvier, 1829 (long-snouted seahorse)
 * Hippocampus haema Han, Kim, Kai & Senou, 2017 (Korean seahorse)
 * Hippocampus hippocampus (Linnaeus, 1758) (short-snouted seahorse)
 * Hippocampus histrix Kaup, 1856 (spiny seahorse)
 * Hippocampus ingens Girard, 1858 (Pacific seahorse)
 * Hippocampus japapigu Short, R. Smith, Motomura, Harasti & H. Hamilton, 2018 (Japanese pygmy seahorse)
 * Hippocampus jayakari Boulenger, 1900 (Jayakar's seahorse)
 * Hippocampus jugumus Kuiter, 2001 (collared seahorse)
 * Hippocampus kelloggi Jordan & Snyder, 1901 (great seahorse)
 * Hippocampus kuda Bleeker, 1852 (spotted seahorse)
 * Hippocampus minotaur Gomon, 1997 (bullneck seahorse)
 * Hippocampus mohnikei Bleeker, 1854 (Japanese seahorse)
 * Hippocampus nalu Short, Claassens, R. Smith, De Brauwer, H. Hamilton, Stat & Harasti, 2020 (South African pygmy seahorse or Sodwana pygmy seahorse)
 * Hippocampus paradoxus Foster & Gomon, 2010 (paradoxical seahorse)
 * Hippocampus patagonicus Piacentino & Luzzatto, 2004 (Patagonian seahorse)
 * Hippocampus planifrons Peters, 1877 (flatface seahorse, false-eye seahorse)
 * Hippocampus pontohi Lourie & Kuiter, 2008 (Pontoh's pygmy seahorse)
 * Hippocampus pusillus Fricke, 2004 (pygmy thorny seahorse)
 * Hippocampus reidi Ginsburg, 1933 (longsnout seahorse)
 * Hippocampus satomiae Lourie & Kuiter, 2008 (Satomi's pygmy seahorse)
 * Hippocampus sindonis Jordan & Snyder, 1901 (Sindo's seahorse)
 * Hippocampus spinosissimus Weber, 1913 (hedgehog seahorse)
 * Hippocampus subelongatus Castelnau, 1873 (West Australian seahorse)
 * Hippocampus trimaculatus Leach, 1814 (longnose seahorse)
 * Hippocampus tyro Randall & Lourie, 2009 (Tyro seahorse)
 * Hippocampus waleananus Gomon & Kuiter, 2009 (Walea soft coral pygmy seahorse)
 * Hippocampus whitei Bleeker, 1855 (White's seahorse)
 * Hippocampus zebra Whitley, 1964 (zebra seahorse)
 * Hippocampus zosterae Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 (dwarf seahorse)

Pygmy seahorses
Pygmy seahorses are those members of the genus that are less than 15 mm tall and 17 mm wide. Previously the term was applied exclusively to the species H. bargibanti but since 1997, discoveries have made this usage obsolete. The species H. minotaur, H. denise, H. colemani, H. pontohi, H. severnsi, H. satomiae, H. waleananus, H. nalu, H. japapigu have been described. Other species that are believed to be unclassified have also been reported in books, dive magazines and on the Internet. They can be distinguished from other species of seahorse by their 12 trunk rings, low number of tail rings (26–29), the location in which young are brooded in the trunk region of males and their extremely small size. Molecular analysis (of ribosomal RNA) of 32 Hippocampus species found that H. bargibanti belongs in a separate clade from other members of the genus and therefore that the species diverged from the other species in the ancient past.

Most pygmy seahorses are well camouflaged and live in close association with other organisms including colonial hydrozoans (Lytocarpus and Antennellopsis), coralline algae (Halimeda), and sea fans (Muricella, Annella, and Acanthogorgia). This combined with their small size accounts for why most species have only been noticed and classified since 2001.

title: Seahorse


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Communes of the Calvados department

The following is a list of the 528 communes of the Calvados department of France.

The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):
 * Communauté urbaine Caen la Mer
 * Communauté d'agglomération Lisieux Normandie
 * Communauté de communes de Bayeux Intercom
 * Communauté de communes Cingal-Suisse Normande
 * Communauté de communes Cœur Côte Fleurie
 * Communauté de communes Cœur de Nacre
 * Communauté de communes Intercom de la Vire au Noireau
 * Communauté de communes Isigny-Omaha Intercom
 * Communauté de communes Normandie-Cabourg-Pays d'Auge
 * Communauté de communes du Pays de Falaise
 * Communauté de communes du Pays de Honfleur-Beuzeville (partly)
 * Communauté de communes Pré-Bocage Intercom
 * Communauté de communes Seulles Terre et Mer
 * Communauté de communes Terre d'Auge
 * Communauté de communes Val ès Dunes
 * Communauté de communes Vallées de l'Orne et de l'Odon

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Communes of the Calvados department


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Falaise, Calvados

Falaise is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.

Geography
Flowing through Falaise are The River Ante and The River Trainefeuille, both tributaries of the river Dives.

Falaise borders the area known as Suisse Normande, on its eastern side.

History
The area around Falaise has been inhabited from prehistoric times, but it was only at the end of the prehistoric period and the beginning of the Gallo-Roman era that the area, Falaise in particular, was regularly inhabited. Evidence of settlement from the time has been found at Vaston, an agricultural area just north-east of the modern town.

Falaise, as it is sited today, probably came into being around the castle.

The town was the birthplace of William the Conqueror, first of the Norman Kings of England. He was frequently referred to as William the Bastard, on account of his being born out of wedlock to Herleva from Falaise, reputedly a tanner's daughter.

The Château de Falaise (12th–13th century), which overlooks the town from a high crag (falaise), was formerly the seat of the Dukes of Normandy. Also, the Treaty of Falaise was signed at the castle in December 1174 between the captive William I, King of Scots, and the Plantagenet King of England, Henry II.

The town was also the place that Rabbi Yom Tov of Falaise, grandchild of Rashi, held his rabbinical court.

On 26 October 1851, a statue of William the Conqueror was inaugurated here (at his place of birth).

World War II

In modern times, it is known for the battle of the Falaise Pocket during the Allied reconquest of France (called Operation Overlord) in August 1944 in which two German armies were encircled and destroyed by the allied armies. Some 10,000 German troops were killed and 50,000 taken prisoner.

Two-thirds of Falaise was destroyed by allied bombing before the town was taken by a combined force of Canadian and Polish troops. Falaise was largely restored after the war.

Château de Falaise
The main attraction for the town is the Château de Falaise, which was used by Norman Royalty as the seat of the Dukes of Normandy, until the 13th century, when it was captured by King Philip II of France. It is commonly known as Château Guillaume le Conquérant or William the Conqueror's Castle as he was born here. In 1840 it was declared a Monument historique in 1840, and today is open to the public.

National heritage sites
In addition to the castle Falaise has another 23 buildings and areas listed as a Monument historique. Three of these listed buildings, the old courthouse and two houses, are no longer remaining as were destroyed during World War II. Another 3 listed buildings are town houses from the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The remaining 17 listed sites are below:

 * Château de la Fresnaye - a seventeenth century chateau, home of Nicolas Vauquelin, that was listed as a monument in 1945. Since 1986 it has been owned by the city and is now used for hosting exhibitions.
 * Statue of William the Conqueror a nineteeth century statue, showing William the Conqueror, mounted on a horse, and carrying the Gonfalon which had been handed over to him by Pope Alexander II. The statue was created by Louis Rochet, and was listed as a monument in 2024.
 * Place Guillaume-le-Conquérant - The cobblestone floor surrounding the statue and leading to the castle was listed as a monument in 1935.
 * Old City walls - Remains of the 13th century and 17th century city walls, which were first listed as a monument in 1927.
 * Covered market - Built in 1953 to replace the old grain hall which was destroyed during the war, the building was listed as a monument in 2010.
 * Mesnil-Besnard Manor - a 16th century manor house listed as a monument in 1987.
 * Hôtel-Dieu - a thirteenth century place for the sick and elderly to receive care. In 1764 it was converted to a chapel, which it remained as such until World War 2, when it was almost completely destroyed. During the 1960s and 1970s it was completely restored and is now the Cities Library. It was registered as a monument in 1927.
 * La Romaine Inn - Former seventeenth century hostel, that was listed as a monument in 1946.
 * Inn sign - a 17th century carved stone sign for a Inn, listed as a monument in 1946.
 * Guibray fair lodges Former 18th century lodge house, registered as a monument in 1975.
 * Hotel Saint-Léonard is an 18th century hotel that was listed as a monument in 1968.
 * Les Rives Hotel is a former hotel built in the 18th century, that was recently discovered to be on top of medieval remains. The building was listed as a monument in 1967.
 * Louis Liard Lycée - This secondary school for boys was built in the third quarter of the 20th century after the original school was destroyed in World War 2. The building was listed in 2010.
 * Church of Our Lady of Guibray a 12th century Romanesque church listed as a monument in 1961.
 * Church of Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais a twelfth century church thats construction probably began shortly after the conquest of England in 1066, at the instigation of William the Conqueror. It was listed as a monument in 1862.
 * Church of St. Lawrence a 12th century church, built with donations from Matilda of Flanders. It was listed as a monument in 1927.
 * Holy Trinity Church - First built in 840 but it was destroyed during the siege of Philippe Auguste then rebuilt in 1204. It was listed in 1889.

Museums

 * Musée des Automates - Established in 1994, the museum is dedicated to Automatons, mainly ones between 1920 to 1960, with over 300 on display.
 * André Lemaître Museum established in 2000 is dedicated to the work of artist André Lemaître. in December 2022 the museum added Micro-Folie de Falaise - Espace André Lemaitre, which allows visitors to access digitally on giant screens 2,500 art works from 12 major French museums.
 * Memorial des Civils dans La Guerre histoire inaugurated in 2016, the museum is dedicated to the daily life of the people at the heart of the Second World War and pays tribute to the 20,000 civilians killed at the Battle of Normandy.

Notable people & Animals

 * Herleva - (died c. 1050) a Norman woman known for having been the mother of William the Conqueror, and also of William's prominent half-brothers Odo of Bayeux and Robert, Count of Mortain was born here.
 * William the Conqueror (c. 1028 – 1087), future king of England, was born in Falaise.
 * Yom Tov of Falaise, an 11th century French rabbi, grandson of Rashi was born here.
 * Samuel ben Solomon of Falaise, 12th- and 13th-century French rabbi also known by his name, Sir Morel was born here.
 * Nicolas Vauquelin des Yveteaux - (1567–1649) a French libertine poet, the son of Jean Vauquelin de la Fresnaye was born here at the château de La Fresnaye.
 * Antoine de Montchrestien - (c. 1575 – - 1621) a French soldier, dramatist, adventurer and economist was born here.
 * François Bonnemer (1638 - 1689) - a French painter and engraver, was born here.
 * Pierre Henry-Larivière (1761 - 1838) a French politician and député for Calvados to the Convention was born here.
 * Frédéric de Lafresnaye (1783–1861), ornithologist, was born and died here.
 * Louis Félix Étienne, marquis de Turgot - (1796 – 1866) a French diplomat and politician was born here.
 * Louis Alphonse de Brébisson - (1798 – 1888) a French botanist and photographer was born and died here.
 * Moustache - (1799 – 1812) a barbet who is reputed to have played a part in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, was born here.
 * Pauline Roland - (1805 – 1852) a French feminist and socialist was born here.
 * Charles-Philippe de Chennevières-Pointel - (1820 – 1899) a French writer and art historian was born here.
 * Louis Alphonse Gassion - (1881 – 1944) was the father of Édith Piaf also an entertainer, circus performer and theatre actor, who was born here.
 * Lucien Plantefol - (1891-1983) a botanist and member of the French Academy of Sciences who developed a theory of leaf helices to explain phyllotaxis was born here.
 * Jacques Hébert - (1920 – 2018) a French politician was born and later died here.
 * Alain Ferté (b.1955) is a French professional racing driver, who was born here.
 * Michel Ferté (1958 – 2023) was a French professional racing driver who was born here.
 * Rodolphe Thomas (b. 1962) is a French politician and member of the MoDem who was born here.
 * Stéphane Le Bouyonnec (b. 1962) is a Canadian politician who was born here.
 * Cédric Hengbart (b.1980) is a French professional football manager and former player who was born here.

Twin towns – sister cities

Falaise is twinned with:

 * Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom since 1974
 * 🇩🇪 Bad Neustadt an der Saale, Germany since 1969
 * 🇮🇹 Cassino, Italy since 1975
 * 🇨🇦 Alma, Quebec, Canada since 1969

title: Falaise, Calvados


text:
Thatcher

Thatcher most commonly refers to:
 * Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990
 * A professional who installs thatch as a roofing material, i.e. by means of thatching

Thatcher may also refer to:

People

 * Thatcher baronets, a baronetcy created for Denis Thatcher, the husband of Margaret Thatcher

Surname

 * America Iglesias Thatcher (1907–1989), Puerto-Rican labor activist
 * Ben Thatcher (born 1975), retired Welsh footballer
 * Betty Thatcher (1944–2011), English writer and lyricist
 * Carol Thatcher (born 1953), daughter of Margaret Thatcher
 * Colin Thatcher (born 1938), former Saskatchewan cabinet minister and convicted murderer
 * Denis Thatcher (1915–2003), husband of Margaret Thatcher
 * Eva Thatcher (1862–1942), American film actress
 * Frank Thatcher, Dean of St George's Cathedral, Georgetown, Guyana
 * Frederick Thatcher (1814–1890), English and New Zealand architect and clergyman
 * George Thatcher (1754–1824), American lawyer
 * Heather Thatcher (1896–1987), English actress
 * Henry Thatcher (1806–1880), American admiral
 * Henry Calvin Thatcher (1842—1884), the first Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court
 * James Thatcher (MP) ( 1536–1565), English politician
 * James Thatcher (musician), American horn player
 * Joe Thatcher (born 1981), American Major League Baseball pitcher
 * J. T. Thatcher (born 1978), American football player
 * Karen Thatcher (born 1984), American ice hockey player
 * Kim Thatcher (born 1964), American politician
 * Les Thatcher (born 1940), American wrestler
 * Mark Thatcher (born 1953), son of Margaret Thatcher
 * Maurice Thatcher (1870–1973), U.S. Congressman
 * Moses Thatcher (1842–1909), American Mormon apostle
 * Noel Thatcher, British paralympic athlete
 * Raymond S. Thatcher (1903–1988), American politician
 * Richard Thatcher (1846–1909), American POW and university president
 * Roger Thatcher (1926–2010), British statistician
 * Roland Thatcher (born 1977), American golfer
 * Ross Thatcher (1917–1971), 9th Premier of Saskatchewan
 * Samuel Thatcher (1776–1872), member of the United States House of Representatives from Maine
 * Sophie Thatcher, American actress
 * Torin Thatcher (1905–1981), English actor

Given name

 * Thatcher Demko (born 1995), American ice hockey player
 * Thatcher Szalay (born 1979), American football player

Fictional characters

 * Becky Thatcher and Judge Thatcher, characters in Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain
 * Inspector Margaret Thatcher, a character on the television series Due South
 * Jeremy Thatcher, a character in the children's novel Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher
 * John Putnam Thatcher, a character in novels by Emma Lathen
 * Justine Thatcher, a character in the BBC Scotland drama Monarch of the Glen
 * Margaret Thatcher, a character in the television series The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
 * Thatcher, code name of Mike Baker, a playable character in the game Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
 * Thatcher Davis, a character in the analog horror series The Mandela Catalogue
 * Thatcher Grey, a character in the TV show Grey's Anatomy
 * Walter Parks Thatcher, a character in the film Citizen Kane
 * William Thatcher, protagonist in the film A Knight's Tale

Places

 * Thatcher, Arizona, U.S.
 * Thatcher, Colorado, U.S.
 * Thatcher, Idaho, U.S.
 * Thatcher, Nebraska, U.S.
 * Thatcher Peninsula, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

Other uses

 * USS Thatcher, the name of more than one U.S. ship
 * Thatchers Cider, a drink
 * C/1861 G1 (Thatcher), a comet

title: Thatcher


text:
User:G from B/Sandbox

Example of national park stub :

Abercrombie River is a national park in New South Wales (Australia), 138 km west of Sydney.

Fact sheet

 * Area: 19,000 ha
 * Latitude: 34° 05' 38" S
 * Longitude: 149° 42' 27" W
 * Date of establishment: December 22, 1995
 * Managing authorities: New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service
 * IUCN category: II

See also: Protected areas of New South Wales (Australia)

title: User:G from B/Sandbox


text:
Communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department

The following is a list of the 119 communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France.

The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):
 * Métropole d'Aix-Marseille-Provence (partly)
 * Communauté d'agglomération Arles-Crau-Camargue-Montagnette
 * Communauté d'agglomération Terre de Provence
 * Communauté de communes Vallée des Baux-Alpilles


text:
Han

Han may refer to:

Ethnic groups

 * Han Chinese, or Han people : the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group
 * Han Taiwanese : the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese people who are fully or partially of Han Chinese descent
 * Han Minjok, or Han people (한민족): the Korean native name referring to Koreans
 * Hän: one of the First Nations peoples of Canada

Former states

 * Han (NW Zhou state) (韓国) (11th century BC – 757 BC), a Chinese state in present-day Shaanxi
 * Han (SE Zhou state) (邗国), a Chinese state in present-day Jiangsu
 * Han (Warring States) (韓) (403 – 230 BC), a Chinese state during the Warring States period
 * Han dynasty (漢/汉) (202 BC – 220 AD), a dynasty split into two eras, Western Han and Eastern Han
 * Shu Han (蜀漢) (221–263), a dynastic state that existed during the Three Kingdoms period
 * Han-Zhao (漢趙) (304–329), one of the Sixteen Kingdoms, known as Han (漢) before 319
 * Cheng-Han (成漢) (304–347), one of the Sixteen Kingdoms, known as Han (漢) after 338
 * Hou Han (侯漢) (552), dynasty name used by Hou Jing during his brief usurpation of the Liang dynasty
 * Former Shu (前蜀) (907–925), a state during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, known as Han (漢) between 917 and 918
 * Southern Han (南漢) (917–971), a state during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
 * Later Han (Five Dynasties) (後漢) (947–951), a state during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
 * Northern Han (北漢) (951–979), successor to Later Han, also during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
 * Chen Han (漢) (1360–1364), an insurgent middle Yangtze state in the late Yuan dynasty
 * Samhan, three ancient confederacies in the southern Korean Peninsula; also refers to the Three Kingdoms of Korea
 * Byeonhan confederacy
 * Jinhan confederacy
 * Mahan confederacy
 * Daehan Jaeguk or Korean Empire (1897–1910), the last monarchial kingdom of Korea

Modern places

 * Daehan Minguk, the South Korean name for Republic of Korea
 * Hanguk, the Korean name for Korea, often referring to the country South Korea
 * Han-sur-Lesse, Rochefort, Belgium
 * Han-sur-Meuse, Meuse, France
 * Han-devant-Pierrepont, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France
 * Han-sur-Nied, Moselle, France
 * Han, Iran, a village in Sistan and Baluchestan Province
 * Han, Eskişehir, Turkey

Arts, entertainment, and media

 * Han Solo, a character in the Star Wars franchise
 * Han Lue, a character in the Fast & Furious franchise
 * The Airlords of Han, the sequel to Armageddon 2419 A.D.
 * "Han", a fifth season episode of The West Wing

Names

 * Han (name), a given name and surname
 * Han (Chinese surname), also Haan, Hahn or Hann, the Romanized spelling of many Chinese family names: 漢, 韓(韩), 邗, 罕, 寒, 憨, etc.
 * Han (Korean surname), (한, 韓 or 漢), also romanized as "Hahn"

Education

 * Han school, Japan, Edo period
 * HAN University of Applied Sciences, in the Netherlands

Languages

 * Hän language, an indigenous language of North America
 * Han Chinese language, or just Chinese
 * Korean language (한국어 Hangug-eo), as known in South Korea
 * Han languages, a group of languages of ancient Korea
 * Han, the ISO 639-3 code for the Hangaza language of Tanzania

Writing systems

 * Hán, used in Vietnamese orthography
 * Han characters (漢字, Pinyin: Hanzi, often referred to as Chinese characters)
 * Han unification (Han character glyph unification) in Unicode
 * Hangul (한글 Hangeul), the Korean alphabet
 * Hanja (한자, 漢字), Han characters used for the Korean language

Other

 * Hän, a Finnish 3rd person pronoun

Transportation

 * Hanwell railway station, in England
 * Hindaun City railway station, in India
 * Noi Bai International Airport, serving Hanoi, Vietnam
 * BYD Han (汉), a Chinese passenger car

Other uses

 * Khan (title), or Han (汗) in Chinese transliteration, originally Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler
 * Han system (藩), a term for feudal clan or fief in Japan
 * Han (cultural), a Korean cultural concept of lament
 * Han Canal (邗溝), an early component of China's Grand Canal
 * Han (inn), also spelled khan, caravanserai
 * Han (trilobite), a monotypic genus
 * Health Alert Network of US CDC
 * Home network, or home area network, in computing
 * Hospitality Association of Namibia
 * Hydroxylammonium nitrate
 * Type 091 submarine, Chinese nuclear submarine class
 * Hanson Robotics, a robotics company that created the robot Han

title: Han


text:
Communes of the Cantal department

The following is a list of the 246 communes of the Cantal department of France.

Intercommunalities
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):
 * (CABA)   Communauté d'agglomération du Bassin d'Aurillac
 * (CCCGC)  Communauté de communes de Cère et Goul en Carladès
 * (CCCC)   Communauté de communes de la Châtaigneraie Cantalienne
 * (CCMS)   Communauté de communes du Massif du Sancy (partly)
 * (CCPG)   Communauté de communes du Pays Gentiane
 * (CCPM)   Communauté de communes du Pays de Mauriac
 * (CCPS)   Communauté de communes du Pays de Salers
 * (CCSA)   Communauté de communes Sumène Artense
 * (HTC)    Hautes Terres Communauté
 * (SFC)    Saint-Flour Communauté

title: Communes of the Cantal department


text:
Communes of the Charente department

The following is a list of the 362 communes of the Charente department of France on 1 January 2024.

The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):
 * Communauté d'agglomération Grand Angoulême
 * Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Cognac
 * Communauté de communes des 4B Sud-Charente
 * Communauté de communes de Charente Limousine
 * Communauté de communes Cœur de Charente
 * Communauté de communes Lavalette Tude Dronne
 * Communauté de communes La Rochefoucauld - Porte du Périgord
 * Communauté de communes du Rouillacais
 * Communauté de communes Val de Charente

title: Communes of the Charente department


text:
Communes of the Charente-Maritime department

The following is a list of the 463 communes of the Charente-Maritime department of France.

The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):
 * Communauté d'agglomération Rochefort Océan
 * Communauté d'agglomération de La Rochelle
 * Communauté d'agglomération Royan Atlantique
 * Communauté d'agglomération de Saintes
 * Communauté de communes Aunis Atlantique
 * Communauté de communes Aunis Sud
 * Communauté de communes du Bassin de Marennes
 * Communauté de communes Cœur de Saintonge
 * Communauté de communes de Gémozac et de la Saintonge Viticole
 * Communauté de communes de la Haute-Saintonge
 * Communauté de communes de l'Île-de-Ré
 * Communauté de communes de l'Île-d'Oléron
 * Communauté de communes des Vals de Saintonge


text:
Palestinian territories

The Palestinian territories, also known as the Occupied Palestinian Territory, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) employed the term Occupied Palestinian Territory in its advisory opinion of July 2004, titled "Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory". In its July 2024 advisory opinion, titled "Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem", the ICJ wrote "Territorial scope — Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 encompassing the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip — The 'Occupied Palestinian Territory' constituting, from legal standpoint, a single territorial unit." The term Occupied Palestinian Territory was used by the United Nations and other international organizations between October 1999 and December 2012 to refer to areas controlled by the Palestinian National Authority. However from 2012, when Palestine was admitted as one of its non-member observer state, the United Nations began exclusively using the name State of Palestine. The European Union (EU) also uses the term Occupied Palestinian Territory. The government of Israel and its supporters refer to these areas as "disputed territories".

The Gaza Strip and the West Bank were occupied by Egypt and Jordan, respectively, since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War until the Six-Day War of 1967. In 1967, Israel occupied both territories and has since maintained control. In 1980, Israel absorbed East Jerusalem and proclaimed the entire to be its capital. The inclusion, though never formally amounting to legal annexation, was condemned internationally and declared "null and void" by the United Nations General Assembly. The Palestinian National Authority, the United Nations, international legal and humanitarian bodies and the broader international community  regard East Jerusalem as part of the West Bank, and consequently, part of the Palestinian territories. The Palestinian National Authority never exercised sovereignty over the area, although it housed its offices in Orient House and several other buildings as an assertion of its sovereign interests. Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem has not been recognized by the International community on the grounds that the unilateral annexation of territory occupied during war contravenes the Fourth Geneva Convention. The World Bank estimates the annual cost to the Palestinian economy of Israeli occupation at $3.4 billion in 2013. The cost of the occupation for Israel over four decades (1967–2007) is estimated to be $50 billion.

In 1988, with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) intention to declare a Palestinian State, Jordan renounced all territorial claims to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In 1993, following the Oslo Accords, parts of the territories politically came under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority (Palestinian enclaves, technically known as Areas A and B). Israel still exercised full military and civil control over 61% of the West Bank (Area C). The Oslo Accords established access to the sea for Gaza within 20 nautical miles from the shore. In the context of the Gaza–Israel conflict, the Berlin Commitment of 2002 reduced this to 12 mi. In October 2006, Israel imposed a 6-mile limit, and at the conclusion of the 2008–2009 Gaza War restricted access to a 3-nautical-mile limit, beyond which a no-go zone exists. As a result, in 2012 more than 3,000 Palestinian fishermen were denied access to 85% of the maritime areas agreed to in 1995. The majority of the Dead Sea area is off-limits to Palestinian use, and Palestinians are denied access to its coastline.

Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip in 2005. The Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007 divided the Palestinian territories politically. Abbas's Fatah largely ruled the West Bank and was recognized internationally as the official Palestinian (National) Authority. In 2009, the UN considered the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to still be occupied by Israel.

On 29 November 2012, UNGA 67/19 reaffirmed "the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to independence in their State of Palestine on the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967" and decided "to accord to Palestine non-member observer State status in the United Nations". The next month, a UN legal memorandum recognized Palestine's preference of the name "State of Palestine" with Mahmoud Abbas as its current leader. It was noted that there was no legal impediment to using the designation 'Palestine' to refer to the geographical area of the Palestinian territory. It was also explained that there was also no bar to the continued use of the term "Occupied Palestinian Territory including East Jerusalem" or such other terminology as might customarily be used by the UN General Assembly. The ISO adopted the name change in 2013. The UN Security Council continues to treat Palestine as a non-sovereign entity, preventing its admission to the UN General Assembly as a full member state. Israeli governments have maintained that the area involved is within territorial dispute. The extent of the territories, while subject to future negotiations, have frequently been revendicated by the Palestinian (National) Authority as the Green Line. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, 135 UN Member Nations have recognized the State of Palestine. It has not been recognized by Israel and most Western nations, including the United States.

In 2014, Fatah and Hamas agreed to hold elections and form a compromise Unity Government. The government survived the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, but dissolved on 17 June 2015 after President Abbas said it was unable to operate in the Gaza Strip.

Name
The United Nations, the European Union, International Committee of the Red Cross, and the government of the United Kingdom, have used for many years the terms the "Occupied Palestinian Territory" or "Occupied Palestinian Territories".

The phrase "occupied Palestine" has been used by Palestinians to mean Israel although Professor Julie Peteet also says that this usage diminished with the advent of the peace process and PLO recognition of Israel. A parallel exists in the aspirations of David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin, to establish Jewish sovereignty over all of Greater Israel in trust for the Jewish people.

Boundaries

The Palestinian territories consist of two distinct areas: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. Although the boundaries are commonly referred to as the "1967 borders", they are historically the armistice lines under the 1949 Armistice Agreements, which brought an end to the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and are commonly referred to as the Green Line. The 1949 armistice lines were expressly declared to be armistice lines, and not international borders. Some Palestinian negotiators have claimed a return to those lines as the borders of a future Palestinian state, while Hamas does not recognize the State of Israel at all. The Arab League has supported these boundaries as the borders of the future State of Palestine in the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

The eastern limit of the West Bank is the border with Jordan. The Israel–Jordan peace treaty defined that border as the international border, and Jordan renounced all claims to territory west of it. The border segment between Jordan and the West Bank was left undefined pending a definitive agreement on the status of the territory.

The southern limit of the Gaza Strip is the border with Egypt. Egypt renounced all claims to land north of the international border, including the Gaza Strip, in the Egypt–Israel peace treaty. The Palestinians were not parties to either agreement.

The Gaza Strip is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea. The natural geographic boundary of the West Bank, as the name implies, is the Jordan River. To the Territories belong the territorial waters of the Gaza Strip and the part of the Dead Sea between the West Bank and the Jordan border-line (see adjacent CIA map), which are also completely controlled by Israel.

Palestinian state
The Palestinian territories are part of the area intended by the United Nations to become the territory of the future State of Palestine. Originally, a larger area was allotted to the planned Palestinian state in Resolution 181 of 29 November 1947, but the Arabs rejected it and in the 1948 Palestine war, the Israeli army conquered major parts of it. While in the Partition Plan about 45% of historic Palestine was destined for the Arabic state, the Palestinian territories constitute only some 23%. The last figure is including all space occupied by Israeli settlements, walls, and roads.

In the UN, nearly all countries voted in favour of Resolution 58/292 of 17 May 2004; namely, that the boundaries of a future Palestinian state should be based on the pre-1967 borders, which correspond with the Green Line. The Resolution affirmed, in connection with the Palestinian right to self-determination and to sovereignty, that the independent State of Palestine should be based on the pre-1967 borders. In Resolution 43/177 of 15 December 1988, the declaration of independence of the State of Palestine was acknowledged by the UN General Assembly, but it was not admitted as a member state. In the same resolution, their sovereignty over the Occupied Palestinian Territory was recognized.

On 29 November 2012, the UN General Assembly passed United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19 changing Palestine's observer status at the UN from "entity" to "non-member state" by a vote of 138 to 9, with 41 abstentions.

East Jerusalem
Immediately after the Six-Day War of June 1967, Israel effectively annexed East Jerusalem, an area comprising the much smaller prior Jordanian municipality of east Jerusalem and a surrounding area of the West Bank, as far as Kalandia to the north and Har Homa to the south. Israeli law, jurisdiction and administration were applied to this area, which was also made part of the Israeli Jerusalem municipality in its entirety. East Jerusalem residents became Israeli residents with blue Israeli ID cards. In 1980, the Knesset elevated the issue of the unity of Jerusalem to constitutional status by enacting Basic Law: Jerusalem the Capital of Israel, an act which was condemned by much of the world community, the few, mainly Latin American, embassies maintained in west Jerusalem promptly moving to Tel Aviv. Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem lacks international recognition by any country. Seven UNSC resolutions, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 declared it "null and void" and required that it be rescinded, stating that it was a violation of international law (the Fourth Geneva Convention). The United Nations never explicitly recognized Jerusalem as part of either Israel or Palestine, as Resolution 181 (1947) was never revoked. In Resolution 181, Jerusalem was intended to become a corpus separatum under international regime. Most countries do not recognize either West Jerusalem or Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state. East Jerusalem is generally recognized as part of the Palestinian Territories. In UN resolutions concerning Israel, East Jerusalem is routinely referred to as a part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

According to the Israeli Supreme Court, the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits unilateral annexation of occupied territory, does not apply to East Jerusalem, as there was no "legitimate sovereign" recognised by Israel and its allies previously exercising control over the territory. In Israel, there has always been large support for retaining all of Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, although opinions differ regarding the large number of outlying Palestinian villages and neighbourhoods annexed to Jerusalem beyond "core" East Jerusalem (the Old City, Sheikh Jarrah and the large post-1967 Jewish neighborhoods such as Ramot, Ramat Eshkol, French Hill and Gilo).

A few times, there were Israeli or U.S. proposals to divide East Jerusalem between Israel and the Palestinians. In the 1995 Beilin–Abu Mazen agreement, Israeli negotiators proposed Palestinian sovereignty over some Arab neighborhoods within an expanded Jerusalem that would include annexed Israeli neighborhoods and major settlement blocs. In 2000, U.S. president Bill Clinton offered a similar proposal in his Clinton Parameters. In more recent years, the Israeli position has strongly been favourable to keeping all of Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty.

Gaza Strip
In 2005, Israel pulled all its remaining forces out of the Gaza Strip and dismantled its settlements. Nevertheless, according to the international community, the Gaza Strip is still considered to be occupied by Israel. Israel has denied that it occupies the Gaza Strip, but two of the three border sectors of the Gaza Strip, together with the coast and airspace, are controlled by Israel (the third border sector near Rafah is controlled by Egypt). The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 stated in 2007: "Israel remains an occupying Power in respect of Gaza. Arguments that Israel ceased its occupation of Gaza in 2005 following the evacuation of its settlements and the withdrawal of its troops take no account of the fact that Israel retains effective control over Gaza by means of its control over Gaza's external borders, airspace, territorial waters, population registry, tax revenues and governmental functions. The effectiveness of this control is emphasized by regular military incursions and rocket attacks."

Governance
The political status of the territories has been the subject of negotiations between Israel and the PLO and of numerous statements and resolutions by the United Nations. (See List of United Nations resolutions concerning Israel.) Since 1994, the autonomous Palestinian National Authority has exercised various degrees of control in large parts of the territories, as a result of the Declaration of Principles contained in the Oslo Accords. The United States government considers the West Bank and Gaza as a single entity for political, economic, legal and other purposes.

The State Department and other U.S. government agencies, such as USAID West Bank and Gaza, have been tasked with projects in the areas of democracy, governance, resources, and infrastructure. Part of the USAID mission is to provide flexible and discrete support for implementation of the Quartet Road Map. The Road Map is an internationally backed plan that calls for the progressive development of a viable Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza. Participating states provide assistance through direct contributions or through the Palestinian State account established by the World Bank.

Hamas won a majority of seats in elections for the Palestinian Parliament in 2006 and formed a government in Ramallah for the entire PA largely shunned by the United States and Israel. The Fatah movement continued to dominate the PA security forces in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In 2007, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip by force, executing PA officers and removing its officials, many of whom, such as Muhammad Dahlan, escaped the Gaza Strip with their families.

Mahmoud Abbas promptly deposed the Hamas-dominated PA government, and two rival administrations were created, a Fatah-controlled one in the West Bank, with which Israel, the US and the EU resumed business, and a Hamas-controlled one in the Gaza Strip which was largely shunned by the world community. After Hamas intensified rocket and mortar fire on Israeli civilian centers from the Gaza Strip, the United States and Israel instituted a military and economic blockade of the Gaza Strip. When that failed to topple the new government, a covert operation was launched to eliminate Hamas by force. The covert initiative was exposed when confidential State Department documents were accidentally leaked by the U.S. envoy. The talking points delivered to the Fatah leadership said: Hamas should be given a clear choice, with a clear deadline: they either accept a new government that meets the Quartet principles, or they reject it. The consequences of Hamas' decision should also be clear: If Hamas does not agree within the prescribed time, you should make clear your intention to declare a state of emergency and form an emergency government explicitly committed to that platform.

Since the Battle of Gaza (2007), the administration of the territories has been contested by two rival factions of the Palestinian National Authority, with Hamas controlling the Gaza Strip and Fatah continuing to administer the West Bank. Both groups claim legitimacy over leadership of the Palestinian territories. Most countries with an interest in the issues, including most of the Arab countries, recognize the administration of Mahmoud Abbas as the legitimate government over both Palestinian Territories.

During Operation Cast Lead the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1860 (2009), which said that the Gaza Strip constitutes an integral part of the territory occupied in 1967 that will be a part of the Palestinian state.

On 15 December 2011, Iceland recognized Palestine as an independent and sovereign state within the pre-1967 Six-Day War borders; Össur Skarphéðinsson, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, and Dr. Riad Malki, the Foreign Minister of Palestine, formally confirmed the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Iceland and Palestine.

The 2014 Fatah–Hamas Gaza Agreement provided for elections and the formation of a compromise unity government. The 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict intervened, however the unity government survived. In August, Palestinian leaders said they would apply to the United Nations Security Council for the establishment of a timetable for ending the Israeli occupation in the West Bank. The application would be made on 15 September 2014, following an Arab League meeting on 5 September at which support for the move would be requested. Unless a timetable was established, the Palestinian leadership said it would apply to the International Criminal Court where it would hold Israel responsible for its actions not only in the West Bank, but in the Gaza Strip.

Political status and sovereignty

The international community regards the Palestinian territories, meaning the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, as territories occupied by Israel. Israel has withdrawn its military forces from the Gaza strip, but it continues to be designated the occupying power in the Gaza Strip by the United Nations, the United States and various human rights organizations. The final status of the Palestinian Territories as an independent state is supported by the countries that form the Quartet's "Road map for peace". The government of Israel has also accepted the road map but with 14 reservations.

A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel–PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area. In other areas of the West Bank, transfer of powers took place pursuant to the Israel–PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel–PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel–PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement.

The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of Israeli settlements and citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and the West Bank had begun in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but have been derailed by the al-Aqsa Intifada that began in September 2000.

In 2003, the Israeli government issued a plan for total withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and part of the northern West Bank by late 2005. This became known as the Disengagement Plan. The Palestinian Authority welcomed this plan, but declared that until final status, it would still consider the Gaza Strip under Israeli occupation. Many Israelis opposed the plan, and tensions were very high in Israel before and after the Disengagement Plan was approved by the Israeli Knesset on 16 February 2005.

In August 2005, the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli police forcibly removed all settlers from the Gaza Strip. Israel completed the disengagement on 12 September 2005. Presently, most of the West Bank is administered by Israel though 42% of it is under varying degrees of autonomous rule by the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority. The Gaza Strip is currently under the control of Hamas.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an independent international treaty organisation with its own legislative assembly. Many of the member states recognise the State of Palestine. The Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki presented the ICC prosecutor with documentary evidence which shows that 67 states in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe have legally recognised the State of Palestine.

In January 2010, King Abdullah of Jordan, after a meeting with the Israeli president Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum in Davos, declared that his country does not want to rule the West Bank and that "the two-state solution" to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict was the only viable option. If rule over the territory was to be transferred to the kingdom, it would only "replace Israeli military rule with Jordanian military rule... and the Palestinians want their own state".

On Thursday, 29 November 2012, In a 138–9 vote (with 41 abstaining) General Assembly resolution 67/19 passed, upgrading Palestine to "non-member observer state" status in the United Nations. The new status equates Palestine's with that of the Holy See. The change in status was described by The Independent as "de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine". The vote was a historic benchmark for the partially recognised State of Palestine and its citizens, whilst it was a diplomatic setback for Israel and the United States. Status as an observer state in the UN will allow the State of Palestine to join treaties and specialised UN agencies, including the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the International Criminal Court, and other organisations for recognised sovereign nations. It shall permit Palestine to claim legal rights over its territorial waters and air space as a sovereign state recognised by the UN, and allow the Palestinian people the right to sue for control of their claimed territory in the International Court of Justice and to bring war-crimes charges against Israel in the International Criminal Court.

Customary international law, including the International Court of Justice's interpretation of the Fourth Geneva Convention in their July 2004 ruling, has been widely interpreted as prohibiting Israel from building settlements, due to its clauses prohibiting the transfer of a civilian population into an occupied territory. This was reaffirmed 5 December 2001, at the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention. The participating High Contracting Parties called upon Israel "to fully and effectively respect the Fourth Geneva Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and to refrain from perpetrating any violation of the Convention. They reaffirm the illegality of the settlements in the said territories and of the extension thereof."

Article 47 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits any change of status in occupied territory concluded through negotiations between the occupying power and local authorities under occupation. This finding also suggests that Israel may be in violation of the Rome Statute (one of the primary legal instruments of the International Criminal Court), Article 8, section (2)(b)(viii): "The transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory" see:.

Given that United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19 upgraded Palestine to non-member observer state status in November 2012, representatives of Palestine may now be able to take members of the Israeli government to the International Criminal Court under violations of the Rome Statute. On 31 January 2012, the United Nations independent "International Fact-Finding Mission on Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" filed a report stating that if Israel did not stop all settlement activity immediately and begin withdrawing all settlers from the West Bank, it potentially might face a case at the International Criminal Court, increasing credibility of any Palestinianin attempt to do so.

The UN has, after granting Palestine observer state status, permitted Palestine to title its representative office to the UN as 'The Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations', seen by many as a reflexion of the UN's de facto recognition of the State of Palestine's sovereignty, and Palestine has started to re-title its name accordingly on postal stamps, official documents and passports. The Palestinian authorities have also instructed its diplomats to officially represent 'The State of Palestine', as opposed to the 'Palestine National Authority'. Additionally, on 17 December 2012, UN Chief of Protocol Yeocheol Yoon decided that 'the designation of "State of Palestine" shall be used by the Secretariat in all official United Nations documents'.

Critics point out that implementation of the Oslo Accords has not improved conditions for the population under occupation. In 2009, the UN considered the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to still be occupied by Israel. Israel's policies and actions in its ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories have drawn accusations that it is committing the crime of apartheid.

Israel contends that the settlements are not illegal as the West Bank is considered a "disputed territory" under international law. United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 recognized Israel's rights to "safe and secure borders", which has been interpreted by the Israeli government as meaning that Israel had a right to West Bank territory for secure borders. The San Remo Conference, binding under international law, further envisioned the West Bank as being part of a sovereign Jewish state, and arguably encourages, rather than prohibits Jewish settlement in the area. Furthermore, according to the Israeli government, many of the settlements were established on the sites of former Jewish communities that had existed there prior to 1947 on land that was legitimately bought, and ethnically cleansed by Arab forces. Israel views the territory as being the subject of legitimate diplomatic dispute and negotiation under international law.

East Jerusalem, captured in 1967, was unilaterally annexed by Israel. The UN Security Council Resolution 478 condemned the annexation as "a violation of international law". This annexation has not been recognized by other nations, although the United States Congress declared its intention to recognize the annexation (a proposal that has been condemned by other states and organizations). Because of the question of Jerusalem's status, most states base their diplomatic missions there and treat Tel Aviv as the capital, though the United States and Guatemala both have embassies in the Jerusalem. Israel asserts that these territories are not currently claimed by any other state and that Israel has the right to control them.

Israel's position has not been accepted by most countries and international bodies, and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip are referred to as occupied territories (with Israel as the occupying power) by most international legal and political bodies, the rest of the Arab bloc, the UK, including the EU, the United States (before President Trump), both the General Assembly and Security Council of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the Israeli Supreme Court (in a decision regarding the Israeli West Bank barrier).

Former U.S. President George W. Bush stated, during his presidency, that he did not expect Israel to return entirely to pre-1967 borders, due to "new realities on the ground."

Both US President Bill Clinton and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who played notable roles in attempts at mediation, noted the need for some territorial and diplomatic compromise on this issue, based on the validity of some of the claims of both sides. One compromise offered by Clinton would have allowed Israel to keep some settlements in the West Bank, especially those in large blocks near the pre-1967 borders of Israel. In return, Palestinians would have received concessions of land in other parts of the country. The United Nations did not declare any change in the status of the territories as of the creation of the Palestinian National Authority between 1993 and 2000, although a 1999 U.N. document implied that the chance for a change in that status was slim at that period.

During the period between the 1993 Oslo Accords and the Second Intifada beginning in 2000, Israeli officials asserted that the term "occupation" did not accurately reflect the state of affairs in the territories. During this time, the Palestinian population in large parts of the territories had a large degree of autonomy and only limited exposure to the IDF except when seeking to move between different areas. Following the events of the Second Intifada, and in particular, Operation Defensive Shield, most territories, including Palestinian cities (Area A), came back under effective Israeli military control, making the discussion along those lines largely moot.

In the summer of 2005, Israel implemented its unilateral disengagement plan; about 8,500 Israeli citizens living in the Gaza Strip were forcibly removed from the territory, along with citizens from 4 settlements in the northern West Bank; some were compensated with alternative homes and a sum of money. The Israel Defense Forces vacated Gaza in 2005, but invaded it again in 2006 in response to rocket attacks and the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Hamas.

In January 2010, King Abdullah of Jordan, after a meeting with the Israeli president Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum in Davos, declared that his country does not want to rule the West Bank and that "the two-state solution" to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict was the only viable option. If rule over the territory was to be transferred to the kingdom, it would only "replace Israeli military rule with Jordanian military rule... and the Palestinians want their own state."

In December 2010, Brazil recognized Palestine as a state with its 1967 borders. This move was later followed by Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, Bolivia and Ecuador. This action was later criticized by Israel and the United States, who labelled it "counterproductive".

Palestinians
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) estimated Palestinians at mid year 2009 as 10.7 million persons as follows: 3.9 million in the Palestinian Territory (36.6%), 1.2 million (11.5%) in Israel; 5.0 million in Arab countries (46.2%), 0.6 million in foreign countries (5.7%).

According to The Guardian (2008), the Palestinian territories have one of the fastest growing populations in the world, with numbers surging 30% in the past decade (2008). There were 3.76 million Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, up from 2.89 million ten years earlier.

According to the U.S. Census, population growth from 1990 to 2008 in Gaza and the West Bank was 106%, from 1.9 million (1990) to 3.9 million persons.

According to the UN (2010), the Palestinian population was 4.4 million. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) population density in 2009 was 654 capita/km2, of which 433 capita/km2 in the West Bank including Jerusalem and 4,073 capita/km2 in Gaza Strip. In mid-2009, the share of population less than 15 years was 41.9% and above 65 years 3%.

Religion
The overwhelming majority of Palestinians are Muslims. Almost the entire Palestinian Muslim population is Sunni, although few dozen converts to Ahmadiyya Islam resides in West Bank. According to Palestinian constitution, article 4: "Islam is the official religion of Palestine. Respect for the sanctity of all other divine religions shall be maintained".

Christians constitute about 1–2% of population of Palestinian territories. The Christian population of Gaza is estimated at 3,000. There are about 370 Samaritans in West Bank village of Kiryat Luza on Mount Gerizim who hold both Palestinian and Israeli citizenship. The number of Jewish settlers in West Bank is estimated at 341,000 as of the end of 2012 and over 200,000 in East Jerusalem.

Language
Arabic is the official language in the State of Palestine. Palestinian Arabic is the vernacular. Hebrew and English are widely spoken. 16.1% of the population are Israeli settlers who mostly speak Hebrew as their native language, and Hebrew is a second or third language to many Palestinians.

Israeli settlers

In the 1970s, Israel's methods for seizing Palestinian land to establish settlements included requisitioning for ostensibly military purposes and spraying of land with poison.

The PCBS estimated that about 564,000 Israeli settlers lived in the West Bank in 2012. Some 203,000 of them were settled in East Jerusalem (Area J1 of the Jerusalem Governorate) and 346,000 in the remaining West Bank.

Consistent with its policy of Jerusalem as a united and indivisible capital of Israel, Israel does not publish exact figures of the number of settlers in East Jerusalem. Rather the figures of Israelis in Judea and Samaria District are given. Independently from the political composition of its subsequent governments, the number of settlers in the West Bank has grown rapidly and in a relatively straight line since 1967 (see graphics). The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics counted about 341,000 settlers end 2012 in the Judea and Samaria District, which does not include Jerusalem.

Administrative divisions
The Constitution of the League of Arab States says the existence and independence of Palestine cannot be questioned de jure even though the outward signs of this independence have remained veiled as a result of force majeure. The League supervised the Egyptian trusteeship of the Palestinian government in Gaza after the termination of the British Mandate and secured assurances from Jordan that the 1950 Act of Union was "without prejudice to the final settlement".

By the 1988 declaration, the PNC empowered its central council to form a government-in-exile when appropriate, and called upon its executive committee to perform the duties of the government-in-exile until its establishment.

Under the terms of the Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the PLO, the latter assumed control over the Jericho area of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on 17 May 1994. On 28 September 1995, following the signing of the Israeli–Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli military forces withdrew from the West Bank towns of Nablus, Ramallah, Jericho, Jenin, Tulkarem, Qalqilya and Bethlehem. In December 1995, the PLO also assumed responsibility for civil administration in 17 areas in Hebron. While the PLO assumed these responsibilities as a result of Oslo, a new temporary interim administrative body was set up as a result of the Accords to carry out these functions on the ground: the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

An analysis outlining the relationship between the PLO, the PNA (PA), Palestine and Israel in light of the interim arrangements set out in the Oslo Accords begins by stating that, "Palestine may best be described as a transitional association between the PA and the PLO." It goes on to explain that this transitional association accords the PA responsibility for local government and the PLO responsibility for representation of the Palestinian people in the international arena, while prohibiting it from concluding international agreements that affect the status of the occupied territories. This situation is said to be accepted by the Palestinian population insofar as it is viewed as a temporary arrangement.

Since the Battle of Gaza (2007), the two separate territories, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, are divided into a Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip and a Fatah civil leadership in the autonomous areas of the West Bank. Each sees itself as the administrator of all Palestinian Territories and does not acknowledge the other one as the official government of the territories. The Palestinian Territories have therefore de facto split into two entities.

Governorates
After the signing of the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian territories were divided 16 governorates under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority. Since 2007 there are two governments claiming to be the legitimate government of the Palestinian National Authority, one based in the West Bank and one based in the Gaza Strip.

West Bank Areas

The Oslo II Accord created three temporary distinct administrative divisions in the Palestinian territories, the Areas A, B and C, until a final status accord would be established. The areas are not contiguous, but rather fragmented depending on the different population areas as well as Israeli military requirements.
 * Area A (full civil and security control by the Palestinian Authority): circa 3% of the West Bank, exclusive East-Jerusalem (first phase, 1995). In 2011: 18%.  This area includes all Palestinian cities and their surrounding areas, with no Israeli settlements. Entry into this area is forbidden to all Israeli citizens. The Israel Defense Forces occasionally enters the area to conduct raids to arrest suspected militants.
 * Area B (Palestinian civil control and joint Israeli–Palestinian security control): circa 25% (first phase, 1995). In 2011: 21%. Includes areas of many Palestinian towns and villages and areas, with no Israeli settlements.
 * Area C (full Israeli civil and security control, except over Palestinian civilians): circa 72% (first phase, 1995). In 2011: 61%. These areas include all Israeli settlements (cities, towns, and villages), nearby land, most roadways that connected the settlements (and which Israelis are now restricted to) as well as strategic areas described as "security zones." There were 1,000 Israeli settlers living in Area C in 1972. By 1993, their population had increased to 110,000.  they number more than 300,000 – as against 150,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom are Bedouin and fellahin.

History
In 1922, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire that ruled Greater Syria for four centuries (1517–1917), the British Mandate for Palestine was established. Large-scale Jewish immigration from abroad, mainly from Eastern Europe took place during the British Mandate, though Jewish immigration started during the Ottoman period. The future of Palestine was hotly disputed between Arabs and Jews. In 1947, the total Jewish ownership of land in Palestine was 1,850,000 dunams or 1850 km2, which is 7.04% of the total land of Palestine. Public property or "crown lands", the bulk of which was in the Negev, belonging to the government of Palestine may have made up as much as 70% of the total land; with the Arabs, Christians and others owning the rest.

The 1947 United Nations Partition Plan proposed a division of Mandate Palestine between an Arab and a Jewish state, with Jerusalem and the surrounding area to be a corpus separatum under a special international regime. The regions allotted to the proposed Arab state included what became the Gaza Strip, and almost all of what became the West Bank, as well as other areas.

The Partition Plan was passed by the UN General Assembly in November 1947. The Partition Plan was accepted by the Jewish leadership, but rejected by the Arab leaders. The Arab League threatened to take military measures to prevent the partition of Palestine and to ensure the national rights of the Palestinian Arab population. One day before the expiration of the British Mandate for Palestine, on 14 May 1948, Israel declared its independence within the borders of the Jewish State set out in the Partition Plan. US President Harry Truman recognized the State of Israel de facto the following day. The Arab countries declared war on the newly formed State of Israel heralding the start of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Arab countries announced "an intervention in Palestine to restore law and order", heralding the start of the 1948 Palestine War.

After the 1947–1949 Palestine war, the 1949 Armistice Agreements established the separation lines between the combatants, leaving Israel in control of some of the areas designated for the Arab state under the Partition Plan, Transjordan in control of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Egypt in control of the Gaza Strip and Syria in control of the Himmah Area.

In 1950, Jordan annexed the West Bank. Only the United Kingdom formally recognized the annexation of the West Bank, excluding the case of East Jerusalem which was de facto recognized. In the Gaza Strip the Arab League formed the All-Palestine Government, which operated under Egypt occupation.

Article 24 of the Palestinian National Covenant of 1964, which established the Palestine Liberation Organization, stated: "This Organization does not exercise any territorial sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip or in the Himmah Area" (i.e. the areas of the former Mandate Palestine controlled by Jordan, Egypt and Syria, respectively).

Israel captured both territories in the 1967 Six-Day War, as well as other territory belonging to Egypt and Syria. Since then, these territories have been designated Israeli-occupied territories. Immediately after the war, on 19 June 1967, the Israeli government offered to return the Golan Heights to Syria, the Sinai to Egypt and most of the West Bank to Jordan in exchange for peace. At the Khartoum Summit in September, the Arab parties responded to this overture by declaring "no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel and no negotiations with Israel."

UN Security Council Resolution 242 introduced the "Land for Peace" formula for normalizing relations between Israel and its neighbors. This formula was used when Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in 1979 in exchange for a peace treaty. While that treaty mentioned a "linkage" between Israeli–Egyptian peace and Palestinian autonomy, the formerly Egyptian-occupied territory in Gaza was excluded from the agreement, and remained under Israeli control.

The Oslo Accords of the early 1990s between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel led to the creation of the Palestinian Authority. This was an interim organization created to administer a limited form of Palestinian self-governance in the territories for a period of five years during which final-status negotiations would take place. The Palestinian Authority carried civil responsibility in some rural areas, as well as security responsibility in the major cities of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Although the five-year interim period expired in 1999, the final status agreement has yet to be concluded despite attempts such as the 2000 Camp David Summit, the Taba summit, and the unofficial Geneva Accords.

title: Palestinian territories


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Worth County, Georgia

Worth County is a county located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,784. The county seat is Sylvester. Worth County is included in the Albany, GA metropolitan statistical area.

History
Worth County was created from Dooly and Irwin counties on December 20, 1853, by an act of the Georgia General Assembly, becoming Georgia's 106th county. It was named for Major General William J. Worth of New York. In 1905, portions of Worth County were used to create Tift and Turner counties.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 575 sqmi, of which 571 sqmi is land and 4.1 sqmi (0.7%) is water.

The eastern third of Worth County, from west of State Route 33 heading east, is located in the Little River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin. The northern third of the county is located in the Middle Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). A narrow portion of the western edge of Worth County is located in the Lower Flint River sub-basin of the same ACF River basin. Finally, a portion of the southwest of the county, north of Doerun, is located in the Upper Ochlockonee River sub-basin of the larger Ochlockonee River basin.

Major highways

 * US 82.svg U.S. Route 82
 * Georgia 32.svg State Route 32
 * Georgia 33.svg State Route 33
 * Georgia 112.svg State Route 112
 * Georgia 133.svg State Route 133
 * Georgia 256.svg State Route 256
 * Georgia 300.svg State Route 300
 * Georgia 313.svg State Route 313
 * Georgia 520.svg State Route 520

Adjacent counties

 * Crisp County - north
 * Tift County - east
 * Turner County - northeast
 * Colquitt County - south
 * Mitchell County - southwest
 * Lee County - northwest
 * Dougherty County - west

Cities

 * Poulan
 * Sylvester
 * Warwick

Town

 * Sumner

Unincorporated communities

 * Acree
 * Bridgeboro

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 20,784 people, 8,002 households, and 5,896 families residing in the county.

title: Worth County, Georgia