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.