Palestinian borders and Jewish settlements

Palestinians are suspicious of attempts to maintain an Israeli presence in territories occupied in 1967.

The Palestinian side has insisted that its state should include all the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in the war of 1967 -- in other words, Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The Israelis disagree, saying that Israel's security needs require a presence in strategic parts of the West Bank and that some of the Jewish settlements built during the years of occupation should be incorporated into Israel.

A fact-finding committee led by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell recommended on May 21, 2001, that the Israeli government freeze all settlement activity, including the natural growth of existing settlements. The committee also called on the Palestinian Authority to "make a 100 percent effort to prevent terrorist operations and to punish perpetrators."

Israeli viewpoint

Israel's settler community, which numbers some 200,000 in the West Bank, as well as its conservative and religious supporters see the territory as part of the biblical land of Israel and have vowed to resist ceding control. The settlements are seen as essential for Israel's security -- as a first line of defense from the east. The Gaza settlements, while also flash points in the conflict, are less populated, and the land does not carry as much biblical significance for the Israelis.

Palestinian viewpoint

The Palestinians are suspicious of any attempts to maintain an Israeli presence in territories occupied in 1967. The territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority is dispersed and intersected by 144 Israeli civilian and military installations, diminishing the viability of that administration's control. The settlements are seen as an instrument of the ongoing occupation, the aim of which is to divide any future Palestinian state into noncontiguous portions.