The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are two Palestinian territories that were part of Mandate Palestine and were captured by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967. The Gaza Strip is a Palestinian exclave on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Egypt on the southwest for 11 km (6.8 mi) and Israel on the east and north along a 51 km (32 mi) border. It is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, covering 140 sq miles of land located in the southwest corner of Israel, along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The West Bank is another area of land located within the country of Israel, but it is much larger than the Gaza Strip at 2,173 sq miles. The West Bank stretches across the eastern border of Israel along the west banks of the Jordan River and most of the Dead Sea, thus how it received its name. The holy city of Jerusalem is considered by international law as part of the West Bank, with East Jerusalem being claimed as the capital by both Israelis and Palestinians.
The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are separated from each other by Israeli territory. Both are under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, but the Strip is governed by Hamas, a militant, fundamentalist Islamic organization, which came to power in the last-held elections in 2006. Since then, Gaza has been under a full Israeli-led land, sea, and air blockade, which prevents people and goods from freely entering or leaving the territory.
There has been a conflict over the specific territories of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank for over a hundred years, dating back even before Israel became a country. Since the Six-Day War, though, the tension between Israelis and Palestinians living in these territories has escalated.
