Abstract
The study aims to investigate the urban change in the West Bank between the years 1997 to 2016, under complicated geopolitical conditions. High-resolution aerial photographs (1.25 m and 0.1 m) and moderate-resolution satellite imagery (30 m resolution Landsat data) were used in this study. The results of the study showed that the Palestinians suffer from serious limitations imposed by the Israeli occupation due to the urban expansion, especially in the so-called area C, which represents 61% of the West Bank. The Israeli occupation controls this area. On the other hand, the Israeli occupation provides an opportunity to the Israeli settlers to build more houses and buildings for various purposes. The study also shows that most of the Palestinian urban expansion comes at the expense of agricultural lands. The study recommends that the international community has to place more pressure on Israel to give the Palestinians their freedom to plan for their future, and use their lands freely.
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This work was supported by the Deanship of the Scientific Research at An-Najah National University in Nablus, Palestine (Project ANNU17185O003).
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Ghodieh, A. Urban Built-Up Area Estimation and Change Detection of the Occupied West Bank, Palestine, Using Multi-temporal Aerial Photographs and Satellite Images. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 48, 235–247 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-019-01073-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-019-01073-8