Areas A, B and C

These are the three areas that the West Bank is divided into. Each area has a different set-up in terms of who leads on the governance, administration and civil and security control in the area. Area A (18 per cent of the West Bank) is under Palestinian Authority (PA) control. Area B (about 22 per cent) is shared-responsibility: the PA is responsible for civil administration and Israeli jurisdiction covers security control. Area C (at 63 per cent, the largest chunk of land) is under full Israeli civil and security control. When the plan was written up in 1993 as part of the Oslo Accords, the measure was meant to be an interim one, with full Palestinian governance achieved by 1999. Twenty years on, the division of land into areas A, B and C is still in place.