The West Bank is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the Levant region of Western Asia that forms the main bulk of the Palestinian territories. It is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel to the south, west, and north. The West Bank is much larger than the Gaza Strip at 2,173 sq miles and 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 West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. The West Bank is mostly composed of north-south–oriented limestone hills having an average height of 2,300 to 3,000 feet (700 to 900 meters) that descend eastwardly to the low-lying Great Rift Valley of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. The West Bank is home to nearly three million Palestinians. Jewish settlers in the West Bank are Israeli citizens and enjoy the same rights and liberties as other Israelis, while the West Bank’s Palestinian residents, excluding those living in East Jerusalem, fall under the partial jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is operating with an expired presidential mandate and has no functioning legislature.