evidence: The West Bank has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East war, but decades of difficult on-off talks between Israel and the Palestinians - both of whom assert rights there - have left its final status unresolved. [...] Israel claims historical and religious rights to the West Bank as the ancestral land of the Jewish people. It also says its presence there - especially in the Jordan Valley - is strategically vital for its self-defence. [...] Assuming it happens (Israel and the US are still deliberating exactly when and how), the settlements and surrounding areas will become permanent parts of Israel (at least, from Israel's position). Reversal would require the support of a large majority of Israeli MPs, something which is very unlikely.