CIS's "SUSTAINABLE BORDER"DELINEATING A FUTURE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN BOUNDARY


In May of 2017, the Commanders for Israel's Security unveiled its latest report on what Israel's future borders with the Gaza Strip and West Bank could look like.

Given that roughly 6 million Palestinians live west of the Jordan River - about 1.5 million are Israeli citizens, 320,000 are residents of East Jerusalem, 2.7 million live in the West Bank, and 2 million in the Gaza Strip - the following considerations were of primary focus when determining policy recommendations:

ISRAELI COMMUNITIES SLATED TO LOSE TERRITORY IN LAND SWAPS

FABRIC OF PALESTINIAN LIFE IN THE WEST BANK

ROUTINE SECURITY

The ZOPA


The Zone of Probable Agreement (ZOPA) generally follows the Green Line along the West Bank to the Israeli-Jordanian border areas. The ZOPA includes the major settlement blocs for Israel and equivalent land swaps for a future Palestinian state.

FIRST-LINE SETTLEMENTS


First-line settlements include the smaller towns near the Green Line, such as Shaked and Beit Yatir.


The Four Fingers


The four “fingers” include the following settlements - and the areas that connect them to the Green Line:

ARIEL

KEDUMIM

OFRA- BEIT EL

KIRYAT ARBA

Key Recommendations


As part of an agreed-upon permanent status agreement with the Palestinians, the following is recommended to be under Israeli sovereignty:

THE ZOPA

The Zone of Probable Agreement includes 35 settlements and 466,000 Israeli citizens, representing 2.88% of West Bank land.

FIRST-LINE SETTLEMENTS

First-line settlements include 8 settlements and 8,300 Israeli citizens, representing 0.50% of West Bank land.

PARTIAL FINGERS

The inclusion of "partial finger" areas would allow for 78.3% of Israelis living over the Green Line to remain in their homes, under Israeli sovereignty. Total land swaps would amount to roughly 3.9%.

Annexing these full areas to Israel would require expending significant resources and would cause serious disruptions to the quality of life for both Palestinians and Israelis.