The Territorial Aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The Territorial Aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict – Sources, Standpoints, Alternatives, and Consequences Shaul Arieli May 2012 www. shaularieli. com

From Mandate to Division

• • The Balfour Declaration The Term “Palestine” – the general area of the State of Israel. Britain was reluctant to make firm commitments – the last draft that was rejected by “His Majesty’s Government agrees to the principle that Palestine should be reconstituted as the National Home of the Jewish people”.

Replacing the imperial principle with the right of self-determination and the Mandates’ principle

83 k- Jews 673 k- Arabs A Jewish national home “…placing the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home…” (The mandate for Palestine, 1922)

Israel - Identity, Borders and Regime Democracy מדינה Jewish יהודית National Home Demography Territory

From Division to War

400 k- Jews 900 k- Arabs “a conflict between two national movements whose claims are valid and may not be reconciled… other than by partition…” (The royal commission report, 1937)

638 k- Jews 1300 k- Arabs “…only thorough the partition can the two conflicting national aspirations have a real expression and can the two people find their place as independent nations in the international community and in the United Nations” (The 1947 partition committee report) “Independent Arab and Jewish States… shall come into existence… not later than 1 October 1948” (UN resolution 181)

1000 k- Jews 160 k- Arabs David Ben Gurion (Knesset protocols, vol. 1, April 1, 1949): “The IDF can occupy the entire territory between the Jordan River and the sea. But what kind of a country will we have, assuming that there are elections and that Dir Yassin is not our policy. We will have a Knesset with an Arab majority. In the trade off between a whole country and a Jewish state, we have chosen the Jewish state”.

The return of the idea of Greater Israel

Negotiating and Signing

“A territory of at least 11%, which 80% of the settlers live in, will be annexed to Israel. We will not transfer land which is under Israeli sovereignty (land swap) to the Palestinians. Palestinian refugees will not have the right of return to Israel. The Palestinian state will be demilitarized and security arrangements will be set accordingly. Israel will control a quarter of the Jordan Valley for a few years in order to guarantee its control in the Jordan. Palestine crossings”.

Unilateral Actions and Ideas

Additional Negotiations

Jerusalem

Jerusalem 532 k- Jews 303 k- Arabs

Territorial Swaps

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