Does the Palestinian Authority Run Its Own Areas?
What the Interim Agreement signed on 28 September 1995 assigns in Areas A, B and C, and what Israel’s State Comptroller recorded in 2016 and 2021.
3 areas divide the West Bank under the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement signed on 28 September 1995, and the Interim Agreement states that the Palestinian Council assumes internal security and public order in Area A alone. In Area B the same instrument gives the Council responsibility for public order for Palestinians and keeps overriding security responsibility with Israel, and in Area C it transfers only civil powers not relating to territory. The State Comptroller of Israel reported in 2016 and in 2021 that the Israeli Civil Administration was still supervising planning, building and land registration in Area C.
| Figure | What it counts | Who published it | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area A | Areas where the Council assumes internal security and public order, under Article XIII | Israel and the PLO, Interim Agreement | Signed 28 September 1995 |
| 25 | Palestinian police stations and posts provided for in Area B | Israel and the PLO, Interim Agreement | Signed 28 September 1995 |
| 18 months | Period set for completing three further redeployments after the Council’s inauguration | Israel and the PLO, Interim Agreement | Signed 28 September 1995 |
| 13,481 | Cases of illegal construction located by the Central Supervision Unit in the Palestinian sector, its own count | State Comptroller of Israel | 1997 to 2013 |
| 20,845 dunams, about 0.6% of Area C | Area included in Palestinian master plans, some still in approval | State Comptroller of Israel | Civil Administration estimate, June 2014 |
| 314 | Civil Administration employees, 202 Israeli civil servants and 112 Palestinian employees | State Comptroller of Israel | 2019 |
Oslo II gives the Council internal security in Area A
Article XIII of the Interim Agreement states that the Council assumes “the powers and responsibilities for internal security and public order in Area A”. The wording here is quoted from the English text published by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a party to the agreement it signed. Article XVII(2) states that the Council’s territorial jurisdiction covers West Bank territory “except for Area C”, and that it “includes land, subsoil and territorial waters”.
- Area A: internal security and public order with the Council, under Article XIII.
- Areas A and B land: “Land in populated areas (Areas A and B), including government and Al Waqf land, will come under the jurisdiction of the Council during the first phase of redeployment”, under Article XI(2).
- Personal jurisdiction: applies “to all persons, except for Israelis”, under Article XVII(2).
Article XI transfers planning and zoning in Areas A and B
Article XI(2) states that “All civil powers and responsibilities, including planning and zoning, in Areas A and B, set out in Annex III, will be transferred to and assumed by the Council.” For Area C the same paragraph provides that “Israel will transfer to the Council civil powers and responsibilities not relating to territory”, and Article XVII(2)(d) states that “the Council shall have functional jurisdiction in Area C, as detailed in Article IV of Annex III”. Article XVII(1) removes from the Council’s jurisdiction entirely “Jerusalem, settlements, specified military locations, Palestinian refugees, borders, foreign relations and Israelis”.
| Area | Civil powers under Article XI | Security under Article XIII |
|---|---|---|
| A | All civil powers, including planning and zoning | Council: internal security and public order |
| B | All civil powers, including planning and zoning | Council: public order for Palestinians; Israel: overriding responsibility for security |
| C | Civil powers not relating to territory | Not transferred by Article XIII |
Source: Israel and the PLO, Interim Agreement, signed 28 September 1995, in the text published by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a signatory.
Israel keeps overriding security responsibility in Area B
Article XIII states that in Area B “Israel will transfer to the Council and the Council will assume responsibility for public order for Palestinians”, and that “Israel shall have the overriding responsibility for security for the purpose of protecting Israelis and confronting the threat of terrorism”, with 25 Palestinian police stations and posts. Article XVII(4)(a) states that “Israel, through its military government, has the authority over areas that are not under the territorial jurisdiction of the Council, powers and responsibilities not transferred to the Council and Israelis”. These are Israel’s own undertakings in an instrument it signed and publishes, and the personal limb of Article XVII(2) is one of the two legal tracks in the West Bank.
Oslo II defines Areas A and B by map colour, not percentage
Article XI(3) states that Area A means “the populated areas delineated by a red line and shaded in brown on attached map No. 1”, that Area B means the areas “shaded in yellow” on the same map together with “the built-up area of the hamlets listed in Appendix 6 to Annex I”, and that Area C means “areas of the West Bank outside Areas A and B”. Article XXXI(13)(a) states that the annexes, appendices and maps “shall constitute an integral part hereof”. The Interim Agreement states no share of the West Bank for any of the three areas, and the words “per cent” appear in the main Agreement once, in Article IX, on appointments to the Executive Authority.
| Area | How the Agreement defines it | Share of the West Bank in the text |
|---|---|---|
| A | Populated areas delineated by a red line and shaded in brown on map No. 1 | None stated |
| B | Populated areas shaded in yellow, plus the hamlets in Appendix 6 to Annex I | None stated |
| C | The areas of the West Bank outside Areas A and B | None stated |
Source: Israel and the PLO, Interim Agreement, signed 28 September 1995.
The Civil Administration still supervised Area C building in 2014
Annex I Article I(5) states that “After the inauguration of the Palestinian Council, the Israeli Civil Administration will be dissolved and the Israeli military government will be withdrawn”, and Article XI(2)(d) with Annex I Article I(9) set three further redeployments, each after an interval of six months, to be completed within 18 months of the Council’s inauguration. The State Comptroller of Israel reported in 2016 that the Civil Administration’s Central Supervision Unit located 13,481 cases of illegal construction in the Palestinian sector and 6,605 in the Israeli sector between 1997 and 2013, carrying out demolition in 3,813 and 1,807 of them respectively, the unit’s own count of its own enforcement activity and a count of cases it located rather than of construction built. The State Comptroller of Israel also recorded 25 staff officers acting for the government ministries, 314 Civil Administration employees in 2019, and real estate in the area registered in hard-copy registers.
Which figures here may not be added together?
- The Interim Agreement states no area share for Areas A, B or C, so any percentage of the West Bank comes from a body that measured it and belongs to that body.
- The 13,481 and the 6,605 are cases located by the Central Supervision Unit across 1997 to 2013 and are floors on construction; the demolition figures are cumulative over that whole window rather than per-case completion rates, and the two sectors differ in size by more than double.
- About 0.6% of Area C is printed as an approximation and the 2016 audit gives no total area for Area C, so the share cannot be divided out into an area figure.
- Clauses of the Interim Agreement and Supervision Unit counts measure different things: an allocation of powers in one case, enforcement activity in the other.
Questions readers ask
Does the Palestinian Authority control Area C?
Article XI(2) of the Interim Agreement states that in Area C “Israel will transfer to the Council civil powers and responsibilities not relating to territory”, and Article XVII(2) states that the Council’s territorial jurisdiction covers the West Bank except for Area C.
Who has security responsibility in Area B?
Article XIII of the Interim Agreement states that the Council assumes responsibility for public order for Palestinians in Area B and that Israel has “the overriding responsibility for security for the purpose of protecting Israelis and confronting the threat of terrorism”.
How many Palestinian police stations does the Agreement provide for in Area B?
The Interim Agreement states 25 Palestinian police stations and posts for Area B, in Article XIII.
Does the Agreement say Area C is 60% of the West Bank?
No share appears in the text. The Interim Agreement states that Area C means “areas of the West Bank outside Areas A and B”, and Areas A and B are defined by a red line and a shading on attached map No. 1.
Who measured the area shares that circulate?
This record carries none. The Interim Agreement states no share, and any percentage is attributable to whichever body measured it rather than to the instrument.
What did the Agreement say would happen to the Civil Administration?
Annex I Article I(5) of the Interim Agreement states that after the Council’s inauguration “the Israeli Civil Administration will be dissolved and the Israeli military government will be withdrawn”.
What did Israel’s auditor find the Civil Administration doing in 2019?
The State Comptroller of Israel recorded 314 Civil Administration employees, 25 staff officers representing the government ministries, and land registers kept in hard copy rather than computerised.
Which subjects are outside the Council’s jurisdiction altogether?
Article XVII(1) of the Interim Agreement states that they are “Jerusalem, settlements, specified military locations, Palestinian refugees, borders, foreign relations and Israelis”.
Does the Council have any powers in Area C?
Article XVII(2)(d) of the Interim Agreement states that “the Council shall have functional jurisdiction in Area C, as detailed in Article IV of Annex III”.
Does the Agreement give the Council jurisdiction over Israelis?
Article XVII(2) of the Interim Agreement states that personal jurisdiction applies “to all persons, except for Israelis”, and Article XVII(4)(a) places Israelis under Israel’s military government.
What does the Agreement say about Gaza?
Article XXXI(8) of the Interim Agreement states that the two sides “view the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as a single territorial unit”. This record carries no Israeli official figure on who administers Gaza.
How long was the transfer schedule meant to run?
The Interim Agreement states three further redeployments at six-month intervals, to be completed within 18 months of the Council’s inauguration, and Article XXXI(5) states that permanent status negotiations would begin not later than 4 May 1996.
Sources
- Israel and the PLO, 1995. The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Articles XI, XIII, XVII and XXXI, with Annex I. English text published by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gov.il. Primary and official record.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2016. Judea and Samaria Area: Activity of the Supervision and Enforcement Unit and Aspects of Land Registration. Annual Report 66b. library.mevaker.gov.il. Official record.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2021. Staff Officers in the Civil Administration in the Judea and Samaria Region. Annual Report 70C, English abstract. library.mevaker.gov.il. Official record.
