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Yale Accords Research
On May 14, 1948, the Palestine Mandate, controlled by Britain, was partitioned into a Jewish state and an Arab state. UN Resolution 181 (approved by the General Assembly November 29, 1947; 33 for, 13 against, 10 abstentions, 1 absent) was welcomed by the Jews living in Palestine, but rejected by Arabs in Palestine and neighboring states. The Partition divided the land as shown here:
Less than 24 hours after the declaration of the Jewish state, the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq invaded the new state. The 15 months of fighting and postwar negotiations left Israel in control of the coastal plain, Galilee, and the Negev; Egypt the Gaza Strip; and Jordan the entire West Bank. Jerusalem was split between Jordan, which retained sovereignty over the Eastern part (including the Old City) and Israel the Western sector. Over an eight-day campaign in 1956, the Israeli Defense Forces captured the Gaza Strip and Sinai peninsula. The United Nations stationed a UN Emergency Force at the Egypt-Israel border, and Israel agreed to withdraw on the condition that Egypt would open the Straits of Tiran. Both sides complied with the decision and the boundaries of the nations reverted to the way they were before the campaign. Threatened by Egyptian forces' movement into the Sinai peninsula, blockade of the Straits of Tiran, and Egyptian orders that UN forces retreat from Sinai, Israel launched a preemptive strike on June 5, 1967 first against Egypt and then against Jordan and Syria. The brief (6 day) war which ensued ended in a cease-fire with Israel newly in control of the Gaza Strip, the Sinai peninsula, the Golan Heights, the West Bank, and the entirety of the city of Jerusalem. On October 6, 1973, the Egyptian and Syrian armies attacked Israel as Egyptian forces crossed the Suez Canal into Sinai and Syrian forces penetrated into the Golan Heights. The 1973 war lasted for three weeks and ended as Israeli troops crossed the Suez canal and the Syrian border, pushing their opponents back to their respective countries. After two years of negotiations, Israel agreed to disengage from the areas they had captured during the war, including some territory captured during the Six Day War. The Western part of the Sinai peninsula, that closest to the Suez Canal, was returned to Egypt and the Easternmost edge of the Golan Heights, closest to the Syrian border, was returned to Jordan, as shown below. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed a Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C. on March 26, 1979 which called for Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai peninsula in exchange for peaceful diplomatic ties and mutually recognized borders between the two countries. Several Peace Initiatives between Israel and some Arab states spurred from the 1979 treaty. First was the Madrid Peace Conference of 1991 which began negotiations between Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestinians. In 1993, the Declaration of Principles was formulated in Oslo to allow for Palestinian autonomy in the Gaza Strip, Jericho, and other areas of the West Bank as time passed. Most recently, the Wye River Memorandum of October 1998 has helped push the peace process forward by furthering Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.
The West Bank is composed of two areas: Samaria on the North and Judaea on the South. As agreed upon in the Oslo Accords, Israel has overall responsibility for the external security of the West Bank, as well as the security of its Israeli settlers. The following map shows the divisions created by the Oslo Accords of 1994. The agreements made therein serve as a cornerstone in negotiations concerning the West Bank redeployment.
The cities of Jericho, Bethlehem, Ramalla, Shchem, Jenin, Tulkarm, and parts of Hebron belong to Area A. They are under full Arab civil and military control. Towns and villages in the West Bank which are populated primarily by Palestinians are designated as Area B and are under Arab civil control (including 25 Palestinian police stations) but Israeli military control. In Area B, the Israeli responsibility to maintain security and combat security overrides the Arab civil authority. The remaining territory - that which is either unpopulated, populated by Israelis, or of strategic importance to the State of Israel - is part of Area C. In Area C, Israel has full civil and military control. The Wye River Memorandum of 1998 redistributed thirteen percent of Area C. One percent of Area C was transferred to Palestinian control, effectively becoming Area A. The remaining twelve percent became classified as additions to Area B.
On May 4, 1994, decisions concerning the Gaza Strip were made. Israel agreed to fully withdraw its military forces (including police) from the area within three weeks of the signing. Israeli military bases were evacuated and handed over to Palestinian police, who assumed full authority over the region. Roads remain public to both sides. Coinciding with the military withdrawal was a transfer of authority which placed the Palestinian Authority in full civil control.
The Golan Heights, detailed below, remain under full Israeli military and civil control. Because of its strategic location and altitude and large Israeli population, Israel has been and is likely to be reluctant to compromise authority over the region.
What portion of the West Bank should be controlled by a Palestinian state? What part of the Gaza strip? How should these areas be administered? Who should control the Golan Heights? Israel? Syria? A United Nations peace keeping force? How should borders in the Middle East be patrolled? Should their be agreed upon regulations for this? Are regulations needed for border crossing? Between Israel and Jordan? Syria? Lebanon? Palestinian Authority? Egypt? |
