At the end of May 2011, US President Barack Obamaissued a statement calling on Israel and Palestine to conclude a peace treaty in which both these states recognize the borders of Israel in 1967. Such a statement by the American president caused a shock in Tel Aviv, as it will turn into not only territorial but also great political losses for the state of Israel. After 1967, the borders changed and expanded many times, especially in the West Bank of the Jordan River.
Over the past decades, the newMany large Jewish settlements have been established, which have now grown considerably. The cities of Hebron and Nablus, located in the West Bank, have, along with Jerusalem, enormous religious significance for the Israelis. Therefore, despite the 1967 borders of Israel, many families of rabbis and traditional Jews migrated to the West Bank, despite the fact that this territory was Palestinian. Currently, more than 500,000 Jews live here in 121 settlements.
If we restore the borders of Israel in 1967,it will be necessary not only to freeze all construction, but also to demolish all the settlements that already exist. But an even greater problem will be the need to resettle more than half a million of its citizens who currently reside in this territory. But not only settlements in the West Bank are becoming a stumbling block, an even greater loss for Israel will be the partition of the historically important city of Jerusalem over the former 1967 borders. The authorities of the Jewish state do not want to share this city under any circumstances.
Back in 1980, the Knesset adopted a very importantthe law in which Jerusalem received the status of "holy city". However, the Palestinians insist that East Jerusalem become the capital of the Palestinian state. And since before 1967, East Jerusalem was under the control of Jordan, then the border between Israel and Jordan was also affected. Based on all these considerations, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu will have to accept substantial losses, which for him is a fundamentally important issue.
The authorities of the Jewish state have always believed thatthe borders of Israel in 1967 are not safe and they were opposed to the Palestinians gaining their statehood at the expense of the loss of Israeli territory. If it is necessary to transfer the current borders, not only the Likud party may lose its political face, but the independence of Israel may also be called into question, since such an act can become an automatic recognition of an independent Palestinian state.
Since Israel controls the bulk of thedisputed territories, while Palestine is critically lacking in land, this provokes and makes possible the development of further conflicts. But the Israeli government fears, with good reason, that if borders are shifted in favor of Palestine, the presence of Hamas in this insecure region will certainly increase. Therefore, Israel demands that the state of Palestine be demilitarized and at the same time that Israeli troops are located in the border areas of the Jordan River.
In addition, the official recognition of the territoriesPalestine will entail receiving exactly the same requirements from other neighboring states. In particular, during the war in 1967, Syria lost territory, which is called the Golan Heights. Because of this, the situation in the region is developing in such a way that there can be no successful peace negotiations until the borders of Israel of 1967 are restored, namely, the Jewish state is against it. In addition, Israel refuses to grant the Arab state of Palestine territorial sovereignty.
