Borders
The dividing lines between Israel proper and the West Bank are heavily disputed. The demarcation line, called the “green line,” was established by the 1949 Armistices Agreements between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Also referred to as the “1967 borders,” the green line also divides Israel from the territories conquered during the 1967 war against Egypt, Syria, and Jordan.
Articles
The Role of the Border in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Daniel Levy / The Harvard International Review (June 2011)
Examination of the history of the conflict as it relates to borders. Questions of how and to what extent are borders an integral aspect of the conflict, and how central the border issue should be to peace efforts, are also addressed. Read More >
Israel and Future Borders: Assessment of a Dynamic Process
Gad Barzilai and Ilan Peleg / Journal of Peace Research (February, 1994)
Deals with the question of determining a future Israeli-Palestinian border within the context of an analytical framework developed by the authors. The article demonstrates the dramatic transformation, among both the Israeli elite and general public, from a territorial to ethnic imperative and from integration of the West Bank and Gaza to separation through withdrawal. Requires JSTOR Login >
Audio and Video
Lines in the Sand
The New York Times (2011)
Overview of the borders issue and related points of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Includes a special focus on the Jordan Valley. Part of the NY Times video series "Challenges in Defining an Israeli-Palestinian Border." (7:01) Watch >
Books
Border Walls: Security and the War on Terror in the United States, India and Israel
Reece Jones | Zed Books (2012)
Book Review (e-International Relations) | CampusBooks
The Shift: Israel-Palestine From Border Struggle to Ethnic Conflict
Menachem Klein | Columbia University Press (2010)
Book Review (Foreign Affairs) | CampusBooks
Public Opinion
Most rightist Israelis would support Palestinian state, dividing Jerusalem
The S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace (2012)
Ha'aretz article on two opinion surveys conducted by different Israeli pollsters that show most Likud-Beiteinu and Habayit Hayehudi voters would support a peace agreement establishing a demilitarized Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, Israel's retention of major settlement blocs and a division of Jerusalem. The two polls also revealed that two thirds of all Israelis support such an agreement. Read More >
Israeli Public Opinion after the November 2012 Gaza War
The Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development / PIPA / CISSM (2012)
Authoritative survey of the Israeli public that includes findings regarding the Palestinian issue (page 12). Finds that a majority of Israelis say that they are ready to accept the Arab Peace Initiative as the basis for negotiation, whereby Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders and a peace agreement is established with all Arab states. PDF >
What do Israelis think of 1967 borders with swaps?
+972 (2011)
Summary of various polls from 2002 to 2010 demonstrating that, while the Jewish Israeli public tends to be divided over a return to the 1967 borders with land swaps, there tends to be clear majority support for the concept when presented as part of a larger package or agreement. Read More >
53% of Palestinians support mutual recognition of Israel as state of Jewish people and Palestine as the state of Palestinian people
The Geneva Initiative (2009)
Among other findings, shows that 68% of Palestinians support the Arab Peace Initiative calling for Arab recognition of and normalization of relations with Israel after it ends its occupation of Arab territories occupied in 1967 and after the establishment of a Palestinian state. Read More >
Reports and Data Sources
Is Peace Possible? - Borders
S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace (2011)
"Borders" chapter of a comprehensive graphic report narrated by Abraham Center president and former Congressman Robert Wexler. Examines the issue of land swaps and how they can address the territorial demands of both Israelis and Palestinians. See More >
Indefensible: Misrepresenting the borders issue to undermine Israeli-Palestinian Peace
Americans for Peace Now (2011)
APN's honest assessment of the "defensibility" of borders based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed upon land swaps. PDF >
Imagining the Border: Options for Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Territorial Issue
The Washington Center for Near East Policy (2011)
David Makovsky analyzes the intersection of demography and geography in the West Bank in an attempt to demystify the territorial dimension of the conflict and facilitate peacemaking. Detailed maps and in-depth population data help show how the parties can use land swaps to meet some of their most important goals, such as minimizing dislocation, ensuring security, and establishing a contiguous Palestinian state in the West Bank. (read more)
Getting to the Territorial Endgame of an Israeli-Palestinian Peace Settlement
James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy (2010)
The result of a workshop composed of two teams of experts, each representing Israeli and Palestinian perspectives. Proposes and addresses various land swap scenarios, as well as the effectiveness of a U.S. bridging proposal on the territorial component of peace. PDF >