These varying climates help people live by allowing them to plant a variety of different agricultural crops and products that are suitable for these environments. For example, Jericho is hot and semi-tropical, so they grow all different types of fruits such as bananas and dates. Meanwhile, Ramallah is cooler and has more of a colder winter that allows for olive trees, green almonds and some citrus fruits such as pomelos and other crops to grow. These products require an incubation period during the cold season.
Despite this diversity and the many different agricultural options, one particular geographic and environmental issue that makes it challenging for people to live here is potential drought. The West Bank is a landlocked territory, which means that it does not have access to a large body of water. While it does border the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, the Palestinian Authority does not exercise control over these areas because they are administered by the Israeli authorities. Water rights and access to different bodies of freshwater is something that is internationally contested in the West Bank and other surrounding areas. When there is drought or when water supplies are not being distributed fairly, farmers have a hard time irrigating and watering their crops.
