The proposal to create a transitional regime of autonomy for the Arab population of the West Bank was initiated by Israel Prime Minister Begin. Through US mediation, the idea of autonomy was adopted by Egypt and Israel at Camp David as a program of full autonomy to the Arab inhabitants. The Camp David Accords proposed withdrawing the Israel military administration from the West Bank and Gaza and replacing it, for a transitional period of five years, with an elected council. The issue of the final status, after the termination of the five-year period, was left open to negotiation. The Accords referred to “the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and their just requirements.” This phrase could be understood as referring to a right of self-determination but it was not stated explicitly. Egypt and Israel failed to agree on the implementation of the autonomy plan. The issues that prevented agreement were participation of East Jerusalem Arabs in the elections for the Council and the powers and responsibilities that were to be transferred to the elected council. The main elements of the Camp David Accords were, later, adopted by the Israel-PLO “Oslo” agreements.

The legal status of the West Bank remains one of the core issues of controversy in the Arab-Israel dispute. After the 1948 War, the Gaza Strip came under Egyptian control and the West Bank under the control of Jordan. Both areas came under Israel control after the 1967 war. The Israel legal position as to the status of these territories was that they were not the territories of a foreign state hence legally Israel did not have to apply the IVth Geneva Convention. Israel undertook to apply the humanitarian provisions of the Convention. Israel unilaterally withdrew its armed forces and civilians from the Gaza Strip. The majority of the population of the West Bank are Arab Palestinians who, under international law, have a right of self-determination. The 1947 UN Partition plan recommended that the West Bank be part of an Arab state. The 1922 League of Nations Mandate, however, promised the Jewish people the right to create a Jewish National Home in Palestine, which at the time, included the West Bank. Israel and the PLO have agreed to negotiate the future status of the West Bank. The majority of the Arab population of the West Bank are under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, however, the major part of the territory of the West Bank, including all Israeli settlements remain under Israeli military administration. To date, the parties have not yet managed to agree on what will be the final status of the West Bank.