Palestine Boundary Disputes

Past:
The Palestinian territories surround the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This
was determined by the UN and other international organizations in the
1990s. Prior to this agreement of territories, Israel had gained the territory of
East Jerusalem in the 1980s, as well as occupied the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip. Because of this they had seen all of Jerusalem to be their territory.
However, the UN, Palestinian National Authority, and the international legal
and humanitarian bodies recognized this area that Israel had occupied to be
a part of Palestinian territories. Because of this the East Jerusalem territory
that had be annexed by Israel had been decided null and void and the
territory was given to Palestine, as well as the territory of the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip. This boundary is shown below by the Green Line as it is
sometimes referred to as. The fascination with this area of land is the
closeness to the ocean and sea ports, and other advantages of living by the

water.

Present:
Even though the West Bank was Palestinian territory, Israel had full military
control and civil control over the majority of it. In addition to this the Gaza
strip is the main area were there can be imports and exports of trading
through Israel. Currently there are still ongoing negotiations and meetings
revolving around who should take control over the areas. The main disputes

revolve around mutual recognition, borders, security, water rights, control of

Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, Palestinian freedom of movement, and
resolving Palestinian claims of a right of return for their refugees. In addition
to these the region presents many historic, cultural, and religious attractions
that interest people worldwide. These factors all make the land very incising
for both sides, which is why neither will give up the fight easily. There have
been many attempts to resolve the solution by creating a two-state solution
where there is an independent Palestinian state alongside a State of Israel.
Although this has been debated numerous times within the past few years, it
has yet to be formed. Both sides believe that this would be the best solution,
however they are uneasy if the other side will be able to uphold the
agreements and stay on their side. The latest round of peace negotiations
took place in June 2013 and was suspended in 2014 because war broke out
between the two sides. It has since ceased, but there still remains tension
between the two sides which makes it difficult to come to a conclusion and
settlement.

Future:
Until there is a final agreement on what should be done, the two sides will
continue to make negotiations. The predicted end result of this conflict will
be that the there will become two separate states for each side. Many
believe this is the best decision, however both sides are so deeply interested

in the territories that they are not able to settle an agreement. If this is not
achieved, there is another solution of having a single state agreement where
only one side gets all of the land. There will continue to be discussion and
negotiations over this topic until it is determined. Wars may continue to
break out between the two sides because they feel so strongly about the
situation.

"IsraeliPalestinian Conflict." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 05 Jan.

2015.
"Palestinian Territories." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 08 Jan. 2015.
"What Are Israel and Palestine? Why Are They Fighting?" Vox. N.p., 31 Mar. 2014.
Web. 06 Jan. 2015